#sieverodonetsk

“Russia has begun turning over the bodies of Ukrainian fighters killed at the Azovstal steelworks, the fortress-like plant in the destroyed city of Mariupol where their last-ditch stand became a symbol of resistance against Moscow’s invasion.

Dozens of the dead taken from the bombed-out mill’s now Russian-occupied ruins have been transferred to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where DNA testing is underway to identify the remains, according to both a military leader and a spokeswoman for the Azov Regiment.

The Azov Regiment was among the Ukrainian units that defended the steelworks for nearly three months before surrendering in May under relentless Russian attacks from the ground, sea and air.

It was unclear how many bodies might remain at the plant.”-via AP

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“Russian officials in occupied Mariupol have shut down the southern port city for quarantine over a possible cholera outbreak, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, told Ukrainian television that the city is bracing itself for an epidemic as dead bodies and litter are piling up in the city.

Andryushchenko, who left the city early on in the war, cited his sources still in the city, saying, “The word ‘cholera’ is increasingly heard in the city among local officials and their supervisors. As far as we can see the epidemic has more or less begun already.”

He said they were aware of isolated cases in Mariupol, where most of the city’s infrastructure has been destroyed by Russian airstrikes.

The Kyiv Independent reports that Ukraine’s health ministry warned that mass burials and poor access to clean water were creating a risk of cholera in Mariupol.

The ministry began reporting suspected cases of cholera in the region on 1 June, the paper reports.”-via The Guardian

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“The Ukrainian navy said it has pushed back a fleet of Russian warships more than 100km from its Black Sea coast.

The group of Russian vessels were “forced to change tactics” after carrying out a naval blockade on Ukraine’s coast for weeks, the navy command of Ukraine’s armed forces said on Facebook.

The navy’s update said:

As a result of our active actions on the impact of the enemy’s naval forces, the Russian Black Sea Fleet ship grouping was thrown off Ukrainian shores for more than a hundred kilometres. In an attempt to regain control of the north-western part of the Black Sea, the opponent had to change tactics: deployed Bal and Bastion coastal missile systems in Crimea and in Kherson region; redeploy additional forces to Snake Island.

A group of about 30 Russian ships and submarines continue to block civilian navigation, it said, while the situation in the north-western Black Sea remained “difficult”.

The statement continued:

We have deprived the Russian Black Sea Fleet of complete control over the north-west part of the Black Sea, which has turned into the “grey zone”. Meanwhile, the enemy has adopted our tactics, and is trying to reclaim control of the north-west part of the Black Sea through coastal missile complexes and winged air missiles.

It has not been possible to independently verify this information.”-via The Guardian

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“The families of Russian national guard members who have died in Ukraine and Syria will receive a one-time payment of 5m rubles (£65,000 or $80,000), according to a Kremlin decree on Monday.

The decree signed by Vladimir Putin said the payments would also go to families of those killed during the “special military operation” in Ukraine’s breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.”-via The Guardian

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“Heavy fighting continues in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, with the situation "changing every hour," according to Ukrainian officials.

Oleksandr Striuk, the head of the city's military administration, said "there are enough [Ukrainian] forces and means to recapture the city. There are fierce battles and street fights."

Striuk said Russian forces had a substantial numerical advantage. "They tried to attack the city, and it is happening now. They are throwing away more and more human resources, which of course complicates the situation," the official said.

"Now Severodonetsk is being leveled, because they can't capture it in one to two days. The city is being destroyed. It is impossible to say about the preservation of infrastructure because even before the acute phase of the attack on the city and its assault, the infrastructure was almost destroyed. Both gas and water supply will need almost complete reconstruction," he added. The highway from the west along which supplies for the Ukrainian front lines travel is under increasing attack from Russian artillery, with Russian units getting closer to it. Striuk said that it "remains under the control of the Armed Forces, but it is still dangerous to move as enemy artillery is reaching [it.]".

The General Staff said that Ukrainian units were thwarting the enemy's attempts to take control of the highway.

The Russians have intensified artillery attacks on areas north of the city of Sloviansk and are shelling Ukrainian positions on the southern side of the Siverskiy Donets river. Russian forces appear to be close to the town of Sviatohirsk on the north side of the river — the site of a historic Russian Orthodox monastery. But there is no evidence that they have been able to cross the river in this area.”-via CNN

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“Ukraine’s president is asking for a secure corridor for Ukrainian vessels to be able to ship out grain and prevent food shortages in Africa and Asia.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a news conference on Monday that Kyiv is in talks with countries like Turkey and the U.K. about security guaranties for Ukrainian ships.

“It is important for us that there is a security corridor ... that the fleet of this or that country ensures the shipping of the grain,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy adds that “if now we have 22-25 million tons blocked there, in the fall we might have 75 (million tons).”

“What are we going to do? he asked. ”That’s why we can’t do without the ports.”

The issue of blocked grain will be on the agenda on Wednesday during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Turkey. Ankara is involved in efforts by the United Nations to reach an agreement for the shipment of Ukrainian grain amid an escalating food crisis.

Zelenskyy says Kyiv hasn’t been invited, possibly because Turkey wants to get security guarantees from Russia for its own ships first.

He explains that Ukraine can’t export large shipments of grain via railways because of long delivery times, even though Kyiv has been in talks with Poland and the Baltic nations. A transport through the territory of Russia’s ally Belarus isn’t an option, he said.”-via AP

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“UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence Pramila Patten said Monday that she believes the humanitarian situation in Ukraine is “turning into a human trafficking crisis.”

“Women and children fleeing the conflict are being targeted for trafficking and exploitation – in some cases facing further exposure to rape and other risks while seeking refuge,” Patten told the UN Security Council in New York City on Monday. She said addressing the issue will require “a coherent and coordinated response at the level of European institutions” and “a concerted, integrated and holistic cross-border response humanitarian partners, law enforcement agencies, border forces, immigration officials and political leaders.”

The UN special representative added that she visited reception centers at Ukrainian borders in Poland and Moldova. While there has been an outpouring of financial and moral support for Ukrainians from neighboring countries, there have also been a number of “credible anecdotal accounts from humanitarian staff” regarding suspected attempts of human trafficking, Patten said. She called the protection challenges related to the displacement of Ukrainians “unprecedented.”

“Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova confirmed on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday.

Moskalkova said that among those returned to Russia were four employees of state atomic energy corporation Rosatom, soldiers and some other civilians.

"Early this morning they landed on Russian soil," Moskalkova said in an online post.

On Saturday an exchange of truck drivers between Russia and Ukraine was also conducted, Moskalkova said, with 32 Russian truck drivers, 20 Ukrainians and a number of Belarus nationals exchanged.

Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk had said on Saturday that 12 of its soldiers were being returned after a prisoner exchange with Russia, the third such swap since the start of conflict.

Vereshchuk said that 14 civilians were also returning to Ukraine as part of the deal.

Moscow has denied targeting civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" aimed at demilitarising its neighbour. Ukraine and its Western allies call this a baseless pretext for war.”-via Reuters

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“Russia is sending a large number of reserve troops to Sievierodonetsk from other battle zones to try to gain full control of the frontline eastern city, the governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region has said.

“Today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, they will throw in all the reserves they have … because there are so many of them there already, they’re at critical mass,” Serhiy Haidai said on national television.

He said Russian forces already controlled most but not all of Sievierodonetsk.”-via The Guardian 

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“Lithuanian authorities have said a ban on the transit through their territory to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad of goods that are subject to EU sanctions will take effect from Saturday.

News of the ban came on Friday, through a video posted by Kaliningrad’s governor, Anton Alikhanov, Reuters reported.

The EU sanctions list includes coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology, and Alikhanov said the ban would cover about 50% of the items that Kaliningrad imports.

Its immediate start was confirmed by the cargo arm of Lithuania’s state railways service in a letter to clients following “clarification” from the European Commission on the mechanism for applying the sanctions.”-via The Guardian

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“Russia's tugboat Vasily Bekh, hit by the Ukrainian military in the Black Sea on June 17, has sunk.

Maksym Marchenko, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, said this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"This morning, our Navy struck the Black Sea Fleet's support vessel Vasily Bekh, equipped with a Tor air defense missile system. It later emerged that it had sunk," he said in a video address.

Marchenko expressed hope that the Ukrainian military would create in the Russian Black Sea Fleet an "underwater brigade of ships at the bottom of the Black Sea."”-via Ukrinform

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“A Ukrainian medic who smuggled footage out of the besieged city of Mariupol has been freed by Russian troops three months after being captured.

Yuliia Paievska, known as Taira, used a bodycam to record her team’s efforts tending to the injured, including both Ukrainian and Russian soldiers, reports Associated Press.

The day before she was captured she handed the clips over to the agency’s reporters, one of whom fled the city with it embedded in her tampon.

Taira and a colleague were then taken as prisoners by Russian forces on 16 March, the same day an airstrike hit a theatre, killing 600 people.

“It was such a great sense of relief. Those sound like such ordinary words, and I don’t even know what to say,” her husband, Vadim Puzanov, said.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Friday night confirmed the medic was home, adding work would continue to “liberate everyone”.”-via The Guardian

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“Five civilians were killed and 12 injured on Saturday in a Ukrainian bombardment of the eastern separatist city of Donetsk, according to local authorities.

“As a result of the bombardment by Ukrainian forces, five people were killed and 12 others were wounded in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the local authorities said in a statement posted on Telegram.

Donetsk is located in the Donbas coal region of eastern Ukraine and is part of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic. It has been partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

Since the Russian invasion into Ukraine in February, the region has been the subject of fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

“From this morning, massive enemy bombardments are targeting the capital of the republic,” pro-Russian forces said in a statement, adding that more than 200 artillery shells of 155mm calibre fell on several districts of Donetsk on Saturday.”-via The Guardian

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President Zelenskyy’s wife, Olena Zelenska, has given an interview to The Guardian. In my opinion, it’s an interesting read. I’m posting the first few paragraphs below:

“In the early hours of 24 February, Olena Zelenska became aware of the sound of muffled booms somewhere in the distance. As she drifted towards wakefulness, she realised the sounds she was registering could not be fireworks. Her eyes snapped open; she discovered she was alone in the bed. She jumped up and hurried to the next room, where she found her husband, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, already dressed for work in a suit and tie.

“What’s going on?” she asked him.

“It’s started,” he told her.

“Six hundred ninety-eight computers. 344 vehicles. 1,500 radiation dosimeters. Irreplaceable software. Almost every piece of firefighting equipment.

The list of what Russia’s occupying forces stole, blew up or riddled with bullets in and around Chernobyl’s laboratories is still being compiled.

While the catastrophe that many feared has been avoided — war unleashing radiation across the region from the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986 — officials at the defunct Chernobyl plant are taking stock of Russia’s capricious and chaotic month here, in which nine of their colleagues were killed and five were kidnapped.”-via Washington Post 

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“Sweden will send anti-ship missiles, anti-tank weapons and 12.7 mm rifles including ammunition to [Ukraine]. This 4th support package also includes financial contribution to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Total amount includes more than 95 million euros. Russia’s war against [Ukraine] must stop!”-via Twitter, Ann Linde, Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs

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“About 800 people, including children, are hiding beneath a chemical factory in the key eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, now 80% held by Russian troops, as more western allies promise additional missile systems and arms to Kyiv.

Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk, said on Thursday that bitter street fighting continued in the city, where Ukrainian forces have pledged to fight “to the end”.

As Russia’s war on Ukraine neared its 100th day, he said 800 people were hiding in Soviet-era bomb shelters beneath the Azot factory. “There are locals there, who were asked to leave the city but refused,” he said. “Also children, though not many.”

The British defence ministry said that while the main road into Sievierodonetsk remained under Ukrainian control, Russia had taken most of the city and “continues to make steady local gains, enabled by a heavy concentration of artillery”.

Ukraine’s armed forces general staff said the invading forces were “conducting assault operations inside Sievierodonetsk” and also attacking other parts in the east and north-east of the city. At least four civilians had been killed and 10 wounded there, officials said.”-via The Guardian

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“Russian forces are currently occupying about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address to the Luxembourg parliament. The front lines of battle stretch across more than 1,000km (620 miles), the Ukrainian president said, adding that 100 Ukrainians are dying on a daily basis in eastern Ukraine, and another 450-500 people are wounded.”-via The Guardian

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“Boris Johnson has offered battlefield training for tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, during an unannounced visit to Ukraine for talks with president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The prime minister’s second trip to the war-torn country comes a day after a joint visit by French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian PM Mario Draghi.

He said that a UK-led programme using British Army expertise could train as many as 10,000 Ukrainian service personnel every 120 days outside the country, in a move which he said could “change the equation” in the war against Russian invaders.

“My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you, and we will be with you until you ultimately prevail,” said Mr Johnson

“As Ukrainian soldiers fire UK missiles in defence of your nation’s sovereignty, they do so also in defence of the very freedoms we take for granted.

“That is why I have offered President Zelensky a major new military training programme that could change the equation of this war –harnessing that most powerful of forces, the Ukrainian determination to win.

“Two months on from my last visit, the Ukrainian grit, determination and resilience is stronger than ever, and I know that unbreakable resolve will long outlive the vain ambitions of President Putin.””-via Yahoo News

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”Ukraine introduces visa regime for Russian citizens.

In the framework of counteracting unprecedented threats to the national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state, he suggested that the Cabinet of Ministers consider revising the regime of entry of Russian citizens into Ukraine.

And today the Cabinet of Ministers must make this important decision - the Resolution "On termination of the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation on visa-free travel for citizens of Ukraine and the Russian Federation and application of some international agreements of Ukraine with the Russian Federation."

According to the planned decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, from July 1, 2022, Ukraine will introduce a visa entry regime for Russian citizens.” -via President Zelenskyy’s Telegram (Ukrainian, translated)

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“The European Union's executive arm on Friday recommended making Ukraine a candidate for EU membership, a first step on what was expected to be a long road for the war-torn country to join the 27-nation bloc.

The European Commission delivered its proposal to award Ukraine candidate status after a fast-tracked analysis of answers to a questionnaire. The Ukrainian government applied for EU membership less than a week after Russia invaded the country.

"Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective," commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "We want them to live with us, the European dream."

The leaders of the bloc's existing members are scheduled to discuss the recommendation during a summit next week in Brussels. The European Commission's endorsement, while a strong sign of solidarity with Ukraine, is likely to take years or even decades to materialize into EU membership.

Along with Ukraine, the European Commission also recommended giving neighboring Moldova EU candidate status. The commission also reviewed Georgia's application but said the Caucasus nation first needs to fulfill a number of conditions.”-via NPR

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“Negotiations are underway to allow for the safe evacuation of hundreds of civilians sheltering at a chemical plant in Severodonetsk, the head of the district’s military administration told Ukrainian television.

   “A ceasefire and a corridor are being negotiated, but there are a lot of Russian provocations and ‘games,’” Roman Vlasenko said, though made clear that he did was not personally involved in talks.

Russia earlier this week said that it would open a “humanitarian corridor” for civilians at the plant to evacuate, but only to Russian-controlled territory to the north, not to Ukraianian-held Lysychansk to the west.

Serhiy Hayday, head of the regional military administration, told CNN on Thursday that an evacuation would be possible only if there were a complete ceasefire, but that he was highly skeptical of any promises made by Russia.

Vlasenko said that the situation at the Azot plant was “tense.”

“Bridges are all blown up, there is no direct access to Lysychansk,” he said. “We use creative approaches to communication and logistics.”"

At repeated points during the war, Ukrainian officials say, Russian forces have broken promises to open evacuation corridors, driven civilian evacuees onto their territory and failed to observe ceasefire agreements.”-via CNN

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“Units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine forced the enemy to leave the village of Dmytrivka, Izium district, Kharkiv region.

In the Slavic direction , the enemy's main efforts are focused on continuing the offensive in the direction of the city of Slavyansk, the fighting continues. He tried to conduct reconnaissance near Krasnopil by battle, was unsuccessful, and retreated.

The enemy carried out systematic artillery shelling in the areas of the settlements of Dibrivne, Pashkove, Hrushuvakha, Kurulka, and Velyka Komyshuvakha.” -via Pravda (Ukrainian source)

“Russia has warned Lithuania and the EU it could adopt “harsh measures” against them if the transit of some goods to and from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad did not resume.

A spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, said in a statement:

If the situation does not stabilise in the coming days, then Russia will take harsh measures against Lithuania and the European Union.

The issue has taken “too long to resolve”, she added.

Lithuania has banned the transit of goods subject to EU sanctions across its territory to Kaliningrad, on the Baltic sea.”-via The Guardian

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“Luhansk’s governor said Russian forces were indiscriminately shelling populated areas on Friday, Reuters reports.

“They are not stopped even by the fact that civilians remain there, dying in houses and yards,” Serhiy Gaidai said.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts.

In Sievierodonetsk, which was fully occupied by Russian forces last month, most of the infrastructure has been destroyed and major repairs are needed, said Oleksandr Striuk, the mayor.

“This is impossible until the city is de-occupied and Ukrainian control is restored and a planning project is put in place. And in the meantime the situation with sanitation will be catastrophic,” Striuk said.”-via The Guardian

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“The US is sending four more Himars, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to Ukraine, a US senior defense official told reporters at a press briefing on Friday.

The four additional Himars will bring the total number given to Ukraine to 12. According to the official, the first eight were especially useful as the fighting in Donbas against Russian forces evolved into an artillery fight.

In addition to the four Himars, the US is sending up to $400m in additional military equipment and supplies. Equipment includes three tactical vehicles, demolition munitions, counter-battery systems and other spare parts, according to Defense News.

The new shipment will also include 1,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition, the defense official said.”-via The Guardian

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“Five civilians were killed as a result of Russian strikes on the frontline Donetsk towns of Bakhmut and Siversk, Ukraine’s prosecutor general said.

Three people, including a 12-year-old boy, were injured after Russian forces opened “heavy fire” on Bakhmut and Siversk, the prosecutor general’s office said on Telegram.

Five civilians died in the intensive care unit of a hospital after the strikes, it said.

“Russia says it has full control over Sievierodonetsk. Russian forces have established full control over the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk and the nearby town of Borivske, a senior defense ministry official said in a statement on Saturday.

Reuters reports:

Ukrainian officials said earlier in the day that their troops had withdrawn from Sievierodonetsk after a prolonged battle with regular Russian troops and fighters from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).

“As a result of successful offensive operations, units of the people’s militia of the LPR, with the support of Russian troops ... completely liberated the cities of Severodonetsk and Borivske,” said defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

He said the attack had thwarted what he called an Ukrainian attempt to turn the city’s Azot chemical plant into a stubborn centre of resistance.

Konashenkov said LPR fighters now controlled the plant, where several hundred citizens had been sheltering. He made no mention of their fate.”

-via the Guardian

After weeks of bloody street fighting and months of withering bombardment, Sievierodonetsk is now “fully occupied” by Russian forces, its mayor, Oleksandr Stryuk, said on June 25.

With Ukrainian troops’ withdrawal from Sievierodonetsk, the fighting now shifts to neighboring Lysychansk, the last Ukrainian-held city in the region. Capturing Sievierodonetsk brings Moscow closer to taking full control of Luhansk Oblast, 95% of which is already under the control of Russian forces.

The mayor’s report came a day after Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai announced that Ukrainian troops would retreat from the charred ruins that were once home to over 100,000 people. The retreat was a “tactical withdrawal” to be able to launch more effective counterattacks from Lysychansk, according to Kharyton Starskyi, a press officer with the Rapid Response Brigade of Ukraine's National Guard.

Starskyi said Ukraine had begun withdrawing troops from Sieverodonetsk days ago, to preserve their lives.

Lysychansk sits on the opposite bank of the Siversky Donets River from Sieverodonetsk. The Russian forces have taken many losses in their attempts to ford the river over the past two months of fighting. Ukraine will utilize Lysychansk's higher ground to defend against the continued Russian onslaught, Ukraine's intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told Reuters.

-via Kyiv Independent

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“The US has announced that it will provide 18 patrol boats to Ukraine as part of the 13th security package promised on Thursday.

“Included in the package announced Thursday are two 35-foot, small-unit riverine craft; six 40-foot maritime combat craft; and ten 34-foot, Dauntless Sea Ark patrol boats,” the Department of Defense said on Thursday.

A senior defense official at the Pentagon said, “These are largely to protect the riverways and to enable Ukraine to maintain its control of the riverways. They can also be used in ... close-in coastal areas.””-via The Guardian

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“On June 24, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko and the Federal Minister of Finance of Germany Christian Lindner signed an Agreement between the Governments of Ukraine and Germany on the provision of 1 billion euros in grant funding to Ukraine. The funds will be directed to the state budget of Ukraine to finance priority social and humanitarian expenditures during martial law.

These funds will be directed to Ukraine through the mechanism of the administrative account of the International Monetary Fund.

"Mr. Lindner, thank you personally, your team and everyone involved in the process, thanks to whose efforts we structured this agreement very quickly. We hope to receive funds in the near future. This grant is an extremely important contribution to support our state in this difficult time. We highly appreciate the assistance from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, "Serhiy Marchenko said during the signing of the Agreement.”-via Ministry of Finance of Ukraine official page (Ukrainian source)

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“Greece on Saturday suspended visa applications for Russians for an indefinite period, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia reported. The decision came months after Greece announced that Russians will no longer be eligible to apply for, hold, or renew investment-based residence permits in Greece. The Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum suspended the program for citizens of Russia “until a further notice” in response to its brutal invasion of Ukraine.”-via Republic World

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“Russian missiles hit military facilities in northern and western Ukraine. Russian missiles have hit military infrastructure in northern Ukraine, local officials have said.

Reuters reports that Vitaliy Bunechko, governor of the Zhytomyr region in the north of the country, said strikes on a military target killed at least one soldier.

“Nearly 30 missiles were launched at one military infrastructure facility very near to the city of Zhytomyr,” said Bunechko, adding that nearly 10 missiles had been intercepted and destroyed.

In the northern Chernihiv region, governor Vyacheslav Chaus said the small town of Desna came under “massed” rocket strikes on Saturday morning. There were no casualties and he did not specify what had been hit, adding only that there had been “infrastructure damage.”

The missile strikes in northern Ukraine come as in the country’s west, Lviv governor Maxim Kozitsky said that four were wounded in an attack on the Yavoriv military facility.”-via The Guardian

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“Russia will send missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to Belarus in the next few months, Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Saturday while hosting Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

“In the coming months, we will transfer to Belarus Iskander-M tactical missile systems, which can use ballistic or cruise missiles, in their conventional and nuclear versions,” Putin said.

He also offered to upgrade Belarus’ warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons, amid soaring tensions with the West over Ukraine. Lukashenko has previously asked Putin to “adapt” the planes.

“Many Su-25 (aircrafts) are in service with the Belarusian military. They could be upgraded in an appropriate way,” Putin said, adding, “This modernisation should be carried out in aircraft factories in Russia and the training of personnel should start in accordance with this,” he added.

“We will agree on how to accomplish this,” Putin said.

“The Ukrainian Army said Tuesday that it had launched some airstrikes on Zmiinyi Island, which is also known as Snake Island.

The Southern Operational Command of the Ukrainian Army said it had used “aimed strikes with the use of various forces” on the island.

The military operation is still on going and that “information silence” was required until the end of the operation, the command added.

Zmiinyi Island was the scene of one of the opening salvos of the war in Ukraine and is of strategic importance to both sides. During the opening days of the war, it was the site of a demand from a Russian war ship to Ukrainian defenders to surrender. They replied, infamously, with "Russian warship, go f**k yourself” – a phrase that become a motif of Ukrainian resistance.”-via CNN (I’m keeping an eye on this as best as I can.)

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“A fire that broke out after Ukrainian forces allegedly attacked oil rigs in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea is approaching an oil well, according to a pro-Russian official.

The Russian-backed leader of annexed Crimea, Sergei Askyonov, blamed Kyiv for yesterday’s attack, which allegedly hit a platform owned by a Crimean oil and gas company. Three people were wounded and a search was under way for seven workers, he said on Monday.

A Russian senator for Crimea, Olga Kovitidi, told the Interfax news agency:

As for the fire, it is not subsiding on the platform. At night, the fire approached the oil well.

She said the “search continues” for the seven missing persons, while the three injured are in hospital but their condition is not critical.”-via The Guardian

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“15 people died. 16 - wounded. Such are the terrible consequences of Russian daytime shelling in the Kharkiv region.

In the evening, the Russian occupiers fired on the Chuguiv community. According to preliminary data, 6 dead, 4 wounded. Data is updated.

In Kharkiv - 11 wounded, 5 people died. An 8-year-old child died and her mother was injured in the Kharkiv district. There are 3 victims in Zolochiv community.”-from the Telegram of Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov (Ukrainian source)

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“Russian troops have captured the frontline village of Toshkivka in the Donbas region as they keep trying to seize the strategic city of Severodonetsk.

The head of the Severodonetsk district military administration, Roman Vlasenko, told CNN on Tuesday that the village had not been under Ukrainian control since Monday.

Toshkivka is located south of Severodonetsk, where Ukrainian forces have mounted fierce resistance to Moscow’s armies.”-via CNN

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“US Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced trip to Ukraine on Tuesday, where he met Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova.

The two will discuss efforts by the United States and other countries to help Ukraine "identify, apprehend, and prosecute those individuals involved in war crimes" in Ukraine, according to a statement from a Justice Department official.  

Garland had previously announced a trip to Europe scheduled for this week to meet with European leaders and discuss their joint efforts to combat Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Garland is the most recent top-ranking US official to travel to Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv in April, and a congressional delegation led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell traveled to Kyiv just a few weeks later.

Appearing alongside Venediktova inside Ukraine, Garland said he was there to “express the unwavering support of the United States for the people of Ukraine in the midst of the unprovoked and unjust Russian invasion.”

Garland also said he wanted to discuss actions the United States “is taking to assist the Ukrainian authorities in holding accountable those responsible for the atrocities, for the war crimes that the entire world has seen.”

“The United States is sending an unmistakable message – there is no place to hide. We and our partners will pursue every avenue available to make sure that those responsible for these atrocities are held accountable,” Garland said.”-via CNN

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“The World Bank said on Tuesday its board of executive directors approved $1.49 billion of additional financing for Ukraine to help pay wages for government and social workers, expanding the bank’s total pledged support for Kyiv to over $4 billion.

The World Bank said in a statement that the latest round of funding for Ukraine is supported by financing guarantees from Britain, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Latvia.

Ukraine’s economy is in tatters.

The project is also being supported by parallel financing from Italy and contributions from a new Multi-Donor Trust Fund.”-via The Guardian

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“Radiation levels in the area surrounding Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant are normal after detectors came back online today, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The radiation detectors in the Exclusion Zone around the defunct nuclear power plant began transmitting data for the first time since Russia seized the area on 24 February.

The UN nuclear watchdog reported today that readings show radiation levels in the area are normal.

“Most of the 39 detectors sending data from the Exclusion Zone ... are now visible on the IRMIS (International Radiation Monitoring Information System) map,” said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a statement. “The measurements received so far indicated radiation levels in line with those measured before the conflict.””-via The Guardian 

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“Breaking news is coming through from Tass, the Russian state-owned news agency, declaring that more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered in the southern port city of Mariupol after weeks taking a last stand have been transferred to Russia, Reuters reports.

More Ukrainian prisoners of war will be taken to Russia “later on”, Reuters is further reporting, with Tass citing a “Russian law enforcement source”.

Ukraine has said it is working for all the prisoners to be returned while some Russian legislators say they should be put on trial.”-via The Guardian

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“One killed after fresh Russian strike on Kharkiv, mayor says. One person was killed and three injured after a Russian strike hit Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, according to the mayor, Ihor Terekhov.

Russia “does not leave Kharkiv alone and constantly keeps people in fear”, Reuters quoted Terekhov as saying on national television.”-via The Guardian

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“As of Tuesday, the bodies of 210 Ukrainian soldiers have been repatriated by Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense Main Intelligence Directorate.

“The process of returning bodies of fallen defenders of Mariupol is ongoing,” due to the efforts of the POW Treatment Coordinating Staff, the statement said.

It said most of the bodies returned to Ukraine were those of the “heroic defenders of Azovstal," so Ukrainian soldiers at the massive Azovstal steel factory in Mariupol, the last bastion of Ukraine’s defense in that southern port city, before it fell to Russian and Russian-backed forces.

The Coordination Staff on behalf of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is working to get the bodies of all the deceased returned, as well as some 2500 POWs believed held in the custody of Russian or Russian-backed forces.

“All fallen soldiers must return to the territory controlled by Ukraine. And each of them will be lead to the last journey with honors due to the heroes,” the statement said.”-via CNN

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“Ukrainian forces struggled to hold their ground in bloody street-to-street fighting in the eastern frontline city of Sievierodonetsk as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the situation was difficult, also pledging to retake Russia's gains.

The days-long battle for the industrial city has emerged as pivotal, with Russia focusing its offensive might in the hope of achieving one of its stated aims - to fully capture surrounding Luhansk province on behalf of Russian-speaking separatists.

"We have to achieve a full deoccupation of our entire territory," Zelenskiy said by video link at an event hosted by Britain's Financial Times newspaper on Tuesday.

Asked about comments by France's Emmanuel Macron that it was important not to "humiliate" Moscow, interpreted in Ukraine as implying some demands must be accepted, Zelenskiy said: "We are not going to humiliate anyone, we are going to respond in kind."”-via Reuters

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“Shelling continues in the southern Mykolaiv region, according to Vitalii Kim, the head of the Mykolaiv region military administration.

Kim said two people were killed in the past 24 hours. An administrative building, outpatient clinic, stadium and district council in the city of Bashtanka were also shelled, he said.