War in eastern ukraine

Two more British citizens are facing the death penalty after being captured by Russian forces in a pro-Putin rogue state in eastern Ukraine. Andrew Hill, 35, and Dylan Healy, 22, face trial in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR]. The pair have been charged with ‘mercenary activities’, according to the Russian TASS news agency. Hill has been identified as a father-of four from Plymouth and is reported to have previously served in the Lancaster regiment of the British army. Healy, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, has been previously described as a civilian volunteer seeking to evacuate people from war-ravaged Ukraine . Two other Britons, Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, are currently appealing a death sentence in the DPR which would see them shot by a firing squad. Hill was earlier warned that he was likely to face a death sentence. This can be appealed, and under DPR laws the condemned can also seek a pardon from the pro-Putin ruler of the … [Read more...] about British dad and aid worker held captive in eastern Ukraine face death penalty

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Donetsk recognition Amnesty report says Russia committed 'war crime' with Mariupol theater strike Russian troops have withdrawn from Snake Island The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia not to execute two Britons captured after fighting for Ukraine German and Ukraine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

‘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

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

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 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

By Sophie Williams in Kyiv & Yaroslav Lukov in London Published 1 hour ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Russia-Ukraine war At least 20 people, including one child, have died in overnight Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's southern Odesa region, Ukrainian officials say. The state emergency service, DSNS, says 16 people were killed in a nine-storey building hit by one missile in the village of Serhiyivka. Another four people, including the child, were killed in a separate strike on a holiday resort in the village. Russia has fired dozens of missiles on Ukrainian cities in the past few days. On Friday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov again denied that Russia was hitting civilian targets. The DSNS said the missiles hit Serhiyivka at about 01:00 on Friday (22:00 GMT Thursday). It released footage showing firefighters … [Read more...] about Ukraine war: Russian missile strikes kill 20 in Odesa region – emergency service

A tank commander has become the first Russian soldier to be convicted of a war crime by a Ukrainian court since Moscow's invasion of the country began on February 24. Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old tank commander from the Siberian region of Irkutsk, was sentenced to life in prison by a Kyiv court on Monday. Shishimarin last week pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed 62-year-old man in the northeastern Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka on February 28. Shishimarin said he had been ordered to shoot at the man from a car in which he was traveling. Shishimarin had apparently confessed to the killing in a video released earlier this month by the Security Service of Ukraine, also known as the SBU. "I was ordered to shoot," Shishimarin said in the video. "I shot one [round] at him. He falls. And we kept on going." Last week, the defendant said he was "nervous" at the time of the shooting and "didn't want to kill" victim Oleksandr Shelipov when he was ordered to do so. Shelipov … [Read more...] about Russian soldier sentenced to life in prison over Ukraine war crime

SERGIYVKA: Missiles slammed into a Ukrainian apartment building and a recreation centre early Friday, killing 21 people and wounding dozens in the Odessa region, in attacks swiftly condemned by Germany. At least one child was killed, Ukrainian officials said, blaming the strikes on Russia a day after Moscow abandoned positions on a strategic island in a major setback to the Kremlin´s invasion. The missiles struck the two buildings in the town of Sergiyvka about 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of the Black Sea port of Odessa, which has become a strategic flashpoint in the now more than four-month-old war. "The death toll in Odessa blast rose to 21," Sergiy Bratchuk, Odessa deputy chief of district, told Ukrainian television. A 12-year-old boy was among the dead, he added. Ukraine´s emergency services ministry said 16 people were killed at the block of flats and five others, including a child, at the recreation centre. The strikes were launched by aircraft that flew in from the … [Read more...] about Ukraine says Russian missiles kill 21 near Odessa

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