Page 7 - Kiev Ukraine

Killed 234 fighters while thwarting an incursion from Ukraine, says Russia

The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday night that Moscow's military and security forces killed 234 fighters while thwarting an incursion into Russian border regions earlier in the day. In a statement, the ministry blamed the attack on the Kyiv regime and Ukraine's terrorist formations, insisting that the Russian military and border forces were able to stop the attackers and avert a cross-border raid. It also said the attackers lost seven tanks and five armored vehicles. The reports of border fighting earlier on Tuesday were murky, and it was impossible to ascertain with any certainty what was unfolding in Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions. Cross-border attacks in the area have occurred sporadically since the war began and have been the subject of claims and counterclaims, as well as disinformation and propaganda. Ukrainian long-range drones smashed into two oil facilities deep inside Russia on Tuesday, officials said, while an armed incursion claimed by Ukraine-based Russian ..

European leaders in Kyiv as Ukraine marks 2 yrs since Russia's invasion

Western leaders descended on Kyiv on Saturday to mark the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled overnight to Kyiv by train along with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They arrived shortly after a Russian drone attack struck a residential building in the southern city of Odesa, killing at least one person. Three women also sustained severe burns in the attack Friday evening on a residential building, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on his social media account. Rescue services are still combing rubble looking for survivors. The foreign leaders are in Ukraine to express solidarity as Ukrainian forces run low on ammunition and weaponry and Western aid hangs in the balance. More than ever we stand firmly by Ukraine. Financially, economically, militarily, morally. Until the country is finally free, von der Leyen said i

Ukraine claims it downed another Russian plane in a major blow to Moscow

Ukrainian forces downed a Russian early warning and control aircraft Friday, the air force chief said, a major win for the country as its army fights to repel persistent Russian attacks along the front line as the war enters its third year. General Mykola Oleshchuk thanked Ukraine's military intelligence for helping down the Russian A-50 aircraft on Russia's military holiday Friday. Congratulations to the occupiers on the Defender of the Fatherland day, Oleshchuk said on a sardonic note. Ukrainian media carried footage purportedly showing a massive fire that erupted when the big warplane crashed in the Krasnodar region on the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov. The Russian military didn't comment on the Ukrainian claim, but emergency officials in the Krasnodar region reported that a plane crashed in the area without identifying it. Several Russian military bloggers confirmed the plane's loss and some alleged that it was downed in a friendly fire incident. If confirmed, the plane's ..

Russian missiles target Ukraine's Kyiv and Kharkiv, at least 3 killed

A complex Russian missile attack targeted Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv on Tuesday morning, killing at least three people, wounding several others and damaging residential buildings, officials said. In the capital of Kyiv, city administration chief Roman Popko said at least one person was killed. Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said nine people were wounded, including a 13-year-old boy. In Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, two people were killed and at least 11 were wounded, according to the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. An entire section of a multi-story residential building was destroyed, trapping an unknown number of people there, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Recent Russian attacks have tried to find gaps in Ukraine's defences by using large numbers of missiles and drones in an apparent effort to saturate air defence systems. The massive barrages more than 500 drones and missiles were fired between December 29 and January 2, according to officials in Kyiv a

Pentagon holds meeting to raise funds for supply of weapons to Ukraine

For the first time since Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin established the international group to support Ukraine in April 2022, the United States will host the monthly gathering of about 50 countries out of money, unable to send the ammunition and missiles that Ukraine needs to fend off Russia. While waiting for Congress to pass a budget and potentially approve more money for Ukraine's fight, the US will be looking to allies to keep bridging the gap. Tuesday's meeting will focus on longer-term needs, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters on Monday. Even though we aren't able to provide our security assistance right now, our partners are continuing to do that, Singh said. The meeting will be virtual because Austin is still recuperating at home from complications of treatment for prostate cancer. The Pentagon announced its last security assistance for Ukraine on December 27, a USD 250 million package that included 155 mm rounds, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles an

UN seeks $4.2 billion to help people in Ukraine, refugees this year

The United Nations appealed on Monday for USD 4.2 billion to help people in Ukraine and displaced outside the country this year, saying that people on the front lines have exhausted their meagre resources and many refugees also are vulnerable. About three-quarters of the total, USD 3.1 billion, is meant to support some 8.5 million people inside Ukraine. The remaining USD 1.1 billion is sought for refugees and host communities outside Ukraine. A recent wave of attacks underscores the devastating civilian cost of the war and a bitter winter is increasing the need for humanitarian aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN refugee agency said in a statement from Geneva. In front-line towns and villages, people have exhausted their meagre resources and rely on aid to survive, it said. Ukraine has been subjected to massive Russian barrages recently. More than 500 drones and missiles were fired between December 29 and January 2, according to officials in .

Russia suspects supply of India-made 115mm artillery shells to Ukraine

The Ministry of External Affairs has categorically denied these claims, stating that the Foreign Minister has only held discussions on bilateral cooperation with Ukraine

Zelenskyy urges global response to Russia's 'latest act of terror'

In response to the devastating attacks that left at least 31 people dead and over 150 injured, Ukraine urgently called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

Russian shelling kills 4 as Ukraine prepares to observe Christmas

Russian shelling in southern Ukraine's Kherson region killed four people on Sunday, including an 87-year-old man and his 81-year-old wife who died after a strike on their apartment building. The barrage injured nine other people, including a 15-year-old, sparked fires in homes and at a private medical facility, and set a local gas pipeline alight, the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said. There are no holidays for the enemy, Andrii Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, wrote on social media, commenting on the Kherson attack. They do not exist for us as long as the enemy kills our people and remains on our land. The shelling across Kherson reached the center of the region's capital city of the same name. The assault took place as Ukraine prepared to officially celebrate Christmas for the first time on December 25, having previously marked the date on Jan. 7. Some Orthodox Ukrainians observed Christmas on Dec. 25 last year in response

Prez Putin increases military pressure on Ukraine, expects western support

After blunting Ukraine's counteroffensive from the summer, Russia is building up its resources for a new stage of the war over the winter, which could involve trying to extend its gains in the east and deal significant blows to the country's vital infrastructure. Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be hoping that relentless military pressure, combined with changing Western political dynamics and a global focus on the Israeli-Hamas war, will drain support for Ukraine in the nearly 2-year-old war and force Kyiv to yield to Moscow's demands. As far as the Russian leadership is concerned, the confrontation with the West has reached a turning point: The Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed, Russia is more confident than ever, and the cracks in Western solidarity are spreading, said Tatiana Stanovaya, senior fellow with Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, in a recent analysis. An aid package for Ukraine has stalled in the US Congress as Republicans insist on linking any more money to .

Explosions heard in Kyiv in possible air attack; no word on damage so far

A series of loud explosions rang out in Ukraine's capital early Monday followed by air raid sirens. There was no immediate word on the origin of the explosions, but they sounded like air defence units firing into the sky. Kyiv is routinely targeted by Russian drone and missile attacks. Just over two weeks ago, Kyiv came under what Ukrainian officials said was the most intense drone attack since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones against the capital, of which 74 were destroyed by air defenses. The explosions Monday occurred just after 4 a.m. as the city was under its nightly curfew. There was no immediate information on any damage or casualties.

Ukraine port hit a day before Putin meets Erdogan for grain deal talks

Moscow says its own food exports face obstacles under the deal, and that not enough grain is going to nations in need

Yevgeny Prigozhin's death won't change the face of Vladimir Putin's war

Putin has gambled that he and his people have more patience, staying power and guts than does the decadent West

Overnight drone attack on Moscow injures 1, prompts airport closure

Russian authorities say three Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow in the early hours on Sunday, injuring one person and prompting a temporary closure of one of four airports around the Russian capital. The Russian Defense Ministry referred to the incident as an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime" and said three drones targeted the city. One was shot down in the surrounding Moscow region by air defense systems and two others were jammed. Those two crashed into the Moscow City business district in the capital. Photos from the site of the crash showed the facade of a skyscraper damaged on one floor. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the attack insignificantly damaged the outsides of two buildings in the Moscow City district. A security guard was injured, Russia's state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials. No flights went into or out of the Vnukovo airport on the southern outskirts of the city for about an hour, according to Tass, and the air space over Moscow

Kyiv said to have launched major push against Russian forces in southeast

Kyiv has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from southeastern Ukraine as part of its weeks-long counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle in the country's southeast, according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts. The surge in troops and firepower has been centreed on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a Western official said late Wednesday. The official was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. Fighting has intensified in recent weeks at multiple points along the 1,500-kilometre (930-mile) front line as Ukraine deploys Western-supplied advanced weapons and Western-trained troops against the deeply entrenched Russian forces who invaded 17 months ago. Ukrainian officials have been mostly silent about battlefield developments since they began early counteroffensive operations, though Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said troops are advancing toward the city of Melitopol in Zaporizhizh

Nearly 50,000 Russian men died in conflict with Ukraine, shows report

Nearly 50,000 Russian men have died in the war in Ukraine, according to the first independent statistical analysis of Russia's war dead. Two independent Russian media outlets, Mediazona and Meduza, working with a data scientist from Germany's Tubingen University, used Russian government data to shed light on one of Moscow's closest-held secrets the true human cost of its invasion of Ukraine. To do so, they relied on a statistical concept popularised during the COVID-19 pandemic called excess mortality. Drawing on inheritance records and official mortality data, they estimated how many more men under age 50 died between February 2022 and May 2023 than normal. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses, and each is at pains to amplify the other side's casualties. Russia has publicly acknowledged the deaths of just over 6,000 soldiers. Reports about military losses have been repressed in Russian media, activists and independent journalists say. Documenting the dead h

Blinken meets Ukrainian foreign minister, underscores support for Kyiv

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in London during his visit to the UK and underscored Washington DC support for Kyiv's economic recovery

Kyiv deploys forces along Ukraine-Belarus border: Russia's Foreign Ministry

The Ukrainian army has deployed significant forces along the Belarus border, the Russian Foreign Ministry said and also claimed that Kyiv has periodically tried to test the defence capability

Ukraine conflict: Air raid alerts in Kyiv as multiple blasts rock Crimea

As air raid sirens wailed across most of Ukraine overnight for several hours, numerous explosions were reported in Crimea on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera

Russia launches 20 missiles, 2 drones at Ukraine, attack kills 16 people

Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Ukraine early on Friday, killing at least 16 people, most of them when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in the centre of the country, officials said. Three children, including a toddler, were among the dead. The missile attacks included the first one against Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in nearly two months, although there were no reports of any targets hit. The city government said Ukraine's air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles over Kyiv. The strikes on the nine-story residential building in central Ukraine occurred in Uman, a city located around 215 kilometres (134 miles) south of Kyiv. Fourteen people died in that attack, according to the interior ministry, including two 10-year-old children. The Ukrainian national police said 17 people were wounded and three children were rescued from the rubble. Nine were hospitalised. The bombardment was nowhere near the war's sprawling