Russian invasion of ukraine

1. Russia bombards residential buildings in Odesa region, killing at least 21 Ukrainian authorities say Russian missiles have struck a multi-storey block of flats and nearby holiday resorts in Ukraine's southern Odesa region, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens. The Ukrainian president's office said three X-22 missiles fired by Russian bombers struck an apartment building and two campsites. Ukraine’s Security Service said two children were among the dead. Ukraine’s Security Service said 38 people, including six children and a pregnant woman, were being treated in hospital for injuries. Kyiv says the missiles were fired from a plane in the Black Sea, where a day earlier Russian troops left the strategically important Snake Island. “A terrorist country is killing our people. In response to defeats on the battlefield, they fight civilians," said Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to the Ukrainian president. 2. Norway announces €970-million Ukraine … [Read more...] about Ukraine war: five things you need to know about the conflict from Friday

‘With the attack on Ukraine, we have entered a new era,” announced the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, back in February. Declaring the Russian invasion a Zeitenwende – a turning point – his bold words seemed to usher in a new age of German confidence and decision-making. war in Ukraine , arguing that it misses “the big issues” such as “our future relationship with Russia”. He also called the idea that it was obvious who was the perpetrator and who the victim in the Ukraine war a “eurocentric” one, and urged caution regarding Ukrainian EU membership: “Being attacked,” Plötner argued, “does not automatically improve a state’s adherence to the rule of law”. With such differing voices in his inner circle, all eyes are on Scholz. Yet the chancellor’s own instincts seem to collide with new ideas. He was certainly quick to row back on Plötner’s remarks, arguing in parliament the next day that a partnership with “Putin’s aggressive, imperialist Russia is unimaginable in the … [Read more...] about Germany must solve its identity crisis before it’s too late for Ukraine

Russia's claims it is withdrawing troops from the Ukrainian border is false, the US and NATO have said, with the number actually increasing by 7,000. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of a defence meeting in Brussels on Wednesday that the West had "not seen any withdrawal of Russian forces and, of course, that contradicts the message of real diplomatic effort [from Russia]." "What we have seen is they have increased the number of troops and more troops are on their way." He warned after the meeting that Russia's use of force is "the new normal in Europe" and that it was maintaining "a massive invasion force ready to attack with high-end capabilities from Crimea to Belarus". US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the US had seen "more Russian forces, not fewer" with a senior official adding that an additional 7,000 troops had been detected, with some arriving as recently as Wednesday. Moscow claimed on Tuesday that some of its troops had … [Read more...] about US says ‘more Russian forces, not fewer’ at the Ukrainian border

Ukraine says 21 dead in Russian missile strikes in Odesa region EU's von der Leyen has said Ukraine's EU candidacy goes "hand-in-hand" with helping to rebuild the country Ukraine has started exporting electricity to the EU, via Romania Donetsk separatists charge 2 more Britons with mercenary activities This article was last updated at 22:16 UTC/GMT EU official says plans to rebuild Ukraine should also address environment According to the EU Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevicius, plans to rebuild Ukraine will need to address restoring the country's war-torn ecosystems. "The [environmental] price tag every day is increasing, because we see the barbaric actions of the Russian side [are] not stopping," Sinkevicius said. "They bomb chemicals facilities" and have put nuclear power plants at risk, he said, adding that "hundreds of thousands of tons" of destroyed Russian military machinery would need to be cleared. He said environmental damage was "a … [Read more...] about Ukraine reports fatal Russian missile strikes in Odesa region — live updates

Ukraine cuts ties with Syria over Luhansk and Donetsk recognition Amnesty report says Russia committed 'war crime' with Mariupol theater strike Russian troops have withdrawn from Snake Island The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia not to execute two Britons captured after fighting for Ukraine German and Ukraine presidents hold phone call This live updates article is now closed. For our latest, on July 1, click here. UCL lecturer says NATO knows Ukraine war is a 'war of attrition' Dr. Aglaya Snetkov, an expert on Russian foreign policy and lecturer at University College London, told DW it's now accepted by all sides that the war in Ukraine is likely to continue for months and that there is no end in sight. "I think in practice we have now a war of attrition and on the ground we simply don't know how long it's going to take," she said. Snetkov also said that the NATO summit in Madrid was crucial in focusing NATO's interests and focusing NATO's … [Read more...] about Ukraine: Russia pulls back forces from Snake Island — as it happened

Ukraine says 21 dead in Russian missile strikes in Odesa region EU's von der Leyen has said Ukraine's EU candidacy goes "hand-in-hand" with helping to rebuild the country Ukraine has started exporting electricity to the EU, via Romania Donetsk separatists charge 2 more Britons with mercenary activities This article was last updated at 22:16 UTC/GMT EU official says plans to rebuild Ukraine should also address environment According to the EU Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevicius, plans to rebuild Ukraine will need to address restoring the country's war-torn ecosystems. "The [environmental] price tag every day is increasing, because we see the barbaric actions of the Russian side [are] not stopping," Sinkevicius said. "They bomb chemicals facilities" and have put nuclear power plants at risk, he said, adding that "hundreds of thousands of tons" of destroyed Russian military machinery would need to be cleared. He said environmental damage was "a … [Read more...] about Ukraine reports fatal Russian missile strikes in Odesa region —as it happened

Russia's new "patriotic" 100 rouble banknote is impossible to withdraw from ATMs because the Western companies that programmed them have quit the country. The Association of Russian Banks has asked for a six-month delay to the introduction of the banknote, which carries a drawing of a Second World War memorial to "heroic" Soviet soldiers, because bank machines require reprogramming to dispense them. "With the departure of suppliers, any updates to the software of … ATMs, as well as cash registers and terminals, have become impossible,” the Kommersant newspaper quoted the association as saying earlier this year. The headache of how to get the new 100 rouble banknote, worth roughly £1.50, into circulation highlights how Western-imposed sanctions are impacting businesses in Russia. Around 60 per cent of bank machines in Russia were manufactured by Diebold Nixdorf using software installed by NCR. Diebold Nixdorf and NCR are both US companies which have suspended sales and … [Read more...] about Russian cash machines can’t dispense 100 rouble banknotes – because of Western sanctions

It had once exemplified Ukraine ’s pride in those who have served under its flag, helping wounded soldiers returning from the frontlines. Today, all that remains of the veterans’ rehabilitation centre in war-scarred Borodyanka is skeletal pillars. A direct hit from a Russian tank shell left behind what is now a ruined shell, surrounded by blossoming poppies. Ukraine’s government, however, is being supported by two British charities not just to rebuild, but to turn the facility into a world-leading institution for soldiers left with the devastating after-effects of frontline service. The Ukrainian Veterans’ Rehabilitation Centre was destroyed in early March as Moscow’s forces attacked the town, which lies 40km to the north of Kyiv. Two employees were killed and civilians were buried alive as entire residential apartment blocks were razed to the ground during Moscow’s aborted attempt to advance on the capital. Russian forces briefly occupied the town before their … [Read more...] about Ukraine vows to rebuild wounded heroes centre destroyed by Russian shelling

After witnessing the first two weeks of the war in Ukraine , I went back to the region of Kyiv a month later, to find a very different atmosphere. Life was slowly resuming in the Ukrainian capital following the retreat of Russian troops from the region only a fortnight earlier. I knew the sight of people walking the streets again, and the bright beds of tulips blooming in Maidan Square would contrast starkly with what awaited me on the outskirts of the city. I had come back to document alleged war crimes in the area. The scale of destruction was startling. What used to be peaceful suburbs and villages had been turned into heaps of ruins, behind which lay the open wounds of those who had lived through weeks of horror. Located at the gates if the capital, the town of Irpin stands as a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian offensive. This is where I met Sasha, a 29 year old construction worker. He walked me through the nightmare he had endured in his … [Read more...] about Ukraine war: Survivors describe Russian army atrocities in the outskirts of Kyiv

Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine has taken a steep toll on the country's young residents, according to new figures released Friday. In a Telegram post , Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said juvenile prosecutors have determined that 343 children had died as a result of Russia's months-long assault on her country. Her office said that the death and injury counts it reported were not final, "as work is ongoing to establish them in places of active hostilities, in temporarily occupied and liberated territories," according to an English translation of the post. Although Russia has denied that it has been targeting civilians since the war began in late February, civilian casualties reported by Venediktova and the U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights indicate that the impact on Ukrainians has been very high. The OHCHR recently said that it recorded 4,731 civilian deaths from February 24, when the invasion started, to midnight on June 26. This … [Read more...] about Putin’s war has killed 343 children in Ukraine, prosecutor general says