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Ukraine war: Kyiv sets up positions across key Dnipro River – reports

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According to reports, Ukrainian troops have established positions on the east bank of the Dnipro River in southern Kherson region, which is partially held by Russia. The crossing of the river could be significant in future offensives, and Russian military bloggers have confirmed the advance.

While Ukraine’s military has not yet confirmed the movement, BBC Ukraine’s military sources have reported a “certain movement across [the] Dnipro” near Kherson city. If the reports are true, it could help Ukraine in pushing back Russian troops and possibly cutting the land corridor to Crimea. However, military experts warn that the area’s difficult terrain could make any troop movements a tough task.

Ukraine’s advances could be hindered by Russia’s advantage in the air. Although the Ukrainian military has announced preparations for a counter-offensive, it has not specified where or when it will occur. The Kherson region on the east bank of the Dnipro has been under Russian control until now, with the river serving as a natural barrier.

The Institute for the Study of War has confirmed that Ukrainian forces are operating in areas northwest of Oleshky on the east bank of the Dnipro. However, the scale of the reported advance and the Ukrainian military’s intentions are unclear. Russia’s WarGonzo military blogger reported that Ukrainian troops were trying to gain a foothold on Bolshoi Potemkin island, located between the new and old channels of the Dnipro.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Nataliya Humenyuk did not confirm or deny the reports but stated that “difficult work is continuing” and that operational information is kept confidential until it is safe for the military.

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China disowns ambassador’s remarks questioning Ukrainian independence

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China’s Paris ambassador Lu Shaye’s recent comments questioning the sovereignty of Ukraine and other former Soviet countries have caused outrage and led to calls for Beijing to clarify its stance. However, on Monday, China’s foreign ministry stated that it respects the independence of all post-Soviet republics.

Despite being a major ally of Russia, China has not condemned President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last year, and sees itself as a key player in efforts to bring peace to the region. However, many in the West doubt China’s impartiality on the issue due to its increasing trade ties with Russia amid Western sanctions prompted by the invasion.

Ambassador Lu was interviewed by the French LCI network, where he was asked about China’s view on Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. The interviewer argued that according to international law, the region belongs to Ukraine.

Chinese Ambassador Lu Shaye’s recent remarks questioning the sovereignty of Ukraine and other former Soviet countries, including his suggestion that international law could not be relied on to defend their sovereignty, have been rejected by China’s foreign ministry. The ministry’s spokesperson affirmed Beijing’s respect for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all countries, and upheld the principles of the United Nations Charter.

The Chinese embassy in Paris issued a statement calling Ambassador Lu’s remarks a personal point of view and not to be over-interpreted. However, the remarks have caused concern among some countries, and the representatives of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have summoned China’s representatives to clarify the situation.

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Ukraine says Russian missiles destroyed in Crimea

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Russian missiles that were being delivered by rail in the north of the annexation of Crimea were destroyed, according to the Ukrainian defence ministry. The city of Dzhankoi’s newly-installed Russian mayor claimed drones had targeted the neighbourhood.

Ukraine reported the blasts but, as is customary, did not specifically claim responsibility for the attack. If true, it would be a very infrequent military incursion by Ukraine into Crimea, which has been annexed since 2014.

In the past, Russia has been attacked in Crimea, but most of the time, Ukraine has refused to take credit or has attributed the attacks to political sabotage. If this strike was real, it would indicate that the Ukrainian air force’s ability to use drones has improved.

Up until today, it has appeared that Ukrainian rockets cannot reach Crimea. Nonetheless, this attack shows that drones are at least capable of penetrating Russian defences farther than previously believed.

Russian Kalibr-NK cruise missiles meant for the Russian Black Sea Fleet were destroyed by the “strange” explosions, according to Ukrainian defence intelligence. In recent months, strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure have frequently used Kailbr missiles.

According to an unconfirmed account from a local resident that was mentioned on Ukrainian TV, there were “booms” that lasted for 30 minutes and left some of Dzhankoi without electricity. The explosions “continue Russia’s demilitarisation process and set up the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for deoccupation,” according to the military ministry.

Russian forces have utilised Dzhankoi as a rail hub connecting Crimea with other regions of seized Ukraine. According to Russian TV reports, there was no damage to the rail infrastructure as a result of the strike on Tuesday.

According to preliminary results, a residential building and a store were damaged, according to Russia’s investigation body. It stated that all of the targets were civilian.

The Russian-installed administrator, Ihor Ivin, reported that a 33-year-old male was rushed to the hospital for treatment after being injured by shrapnel from a downed drone. He said nothing about any military objectives being hurt.

According to Mr. Ivin, the electricity grid was destroyed and a number of structures caught fire. According to a different Russian-appointed official, a drone was struck above a technical institute in the middle of an instruction area and a student residence. Separately, officials in southern Russia said that Ukrainian military had used a drone to attack an oil pipeline pumping station north of the Ukrainian border. There were none, according to the governor of the Bryansk region.

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Ukraine war: Russia halts grain deal after ‘massive’ Black Sea Fleet attack

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Russia has said that it will no longer take part in the international agreement, which permits Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports. The accusation that Ukraine had launched a “massive” drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea, came hours earlier.

The foreign minister of Ukraine claimed that Russia was “using a false pretext.” Russia also accused British troops of taking part in the attack on Saturday and the blowing up of gas pipelines last month without offering any supporting evidence. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) responded by claiming that Russia was “peddling false accusations of an epic scale.”

Drones deployed in the attack on Saturday, according to the Russian defence ministry, targeted ships involved in the grain exchange. One vessel, according to the report, experienced minimal damage.

The Russian side is unable to guarantee the safety of civilian dry cargo ships taking part in the “Black Sea Initiative” and suspends its execution as of today for an extended period, according to a statement released by the Russian foreign ministry hours later.

The move, according to the statement, was “related to operations by the Ukrainian military forces, which were led by British specialists,” and these actions “were intended… against Russian ships that ensured the running of the abovementioned humanitarian corridor.”

However, Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, claimed that Russia was obstructing the grain corridor under “a bogus pretext.” He claimed that Ukraine had “warned of Russian’s attempts to destroy” the agreement. The UN, which mediated the agreement with Turkey, was in contact with Moscow, according to a UN spokeswoman.

It went on to say that it was “essential that all parties refrain from any action that would threaten the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” which it described as a crucial humanitarian initiative aimed at enhancing access to food for millions of people worldwide.

The accord made it possible for Ukraine to resume grain exports to the Black Sea, which had been halted after Russia invaded the nation.

The UN secretary general personally negotiated it, and it was hailed as a significant diplomatic triumph that lessened a severe world food crisis.

But Russia has protested that the arrangement may not be renewed because its own exports are still being hampered.

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Crimea bridge partly reopens after huge explosion – Russia

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Hours after a large bomb destroyed portions of the road, light traffic has once again started to flow across Russia’s only bridge to the Crimea.

According to investigators, three persons were killed in the explosion on Europe’s longest bridge, which served as a symbol of Russia’s annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Russian authorities assert that the victims were in a neighbouring automobile when a lorry exploded.

The bridge’s railway portion, where oil tanks caught fire, has reportedly also been reopened. After authorities announced the restricted reopening, video showed vehicles using the road.

2018 saw the opening of the rail and road crossing, which is a crucial supply route for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a counsellor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, did not expressly attribute blame to Ukraine but wrote: “Crimea, the bridge, the beginning.

Everything that is illegal must be destroyed, everything that has been taken must be given back to Ukraine, and everything that Russia has captured must be evicted.

The explosion on the bridge was compared by the Ukrainian defence ministry to the April sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva.

Two infamous Russian power symbols in Ukrainian Crimea have been destroyed, it tweeted. “What comes after that?”

The official Twitter account of Ukraine simply wrote, “Sick burn.”

The response of the Kiev administration to the destruction of civilian infrastructure, according to Russia’s foreign ministry, “is a witness to its terrorist nature.”

The symbolism and impact of seeing the bridge, which President Putin opened, on fire cannot be overstated.  The bridge has been utilised by Russia to transport soldiers, military supplies, and equipment to battlegrounds in southern Ukraine.

In light of their commitment to retaking the peninsula, Ukrainian authorities claimed it to be a valid target. Any assault on Crimea, where there is a sizable Russian force presence, will be viewed as a further grave humiliation for the Kremlin. Ukrainians particularly detest the bridge. One day after Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 70, the fire sparked an uproar on Ukrainian social media.

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Putin praises the annexation of Crimea and the war as lessons in heroism

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Eight years after Russian troops seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the event is being commemorated in Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium with flag-waving crowds and special lessons in schools. In front of the crowd, President Vladimir Putin made a special appearance.

Workers for the state claimed they had been ordered to participate. Teachers held lessons in schools to commemorate the “Crimean spring.” The Russian army has seized towns and cities along Ukraine’s south coast from its bases in Crimea. Mr. Putin has used the anniversary to emphasize his love for the motherland on several occasions.

Officials claimed that over 200,000 people had gathered at the stadium, but the figures could not be confirmed. The stadium holds an official capacity of 81,000 people, but there were large crowds outside as well. President Putin praised the military for demonstrating Russian unity, saying: “When necessary, they act as brothers, shielding each other from bullets with their bodies. We haven’t seen such unity in a long time.” He also repeated the lie that Russian troops were preventing genocide in eastern Ukraine.

In what the Kremlin later described as a technical glitch, his address on almost every major state TV channel abruptly cut to singer Oleg Gazmanov belting out the words “Forward, Russia” as he spoke on stage. Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, spoke at the event, as did Margarita Simonyan, a top state television journalist, and Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry.

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Ukraine troops, separatists start pull back from crucial battle frontline

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The Ukraine troops, as well as the separatists invaded certain regions in the country near its Russian border, have began to move back from the frontline of a crucial battle ground between the two forces.

The pull back is a part of the deal that the Ukraine government reached with Russia and the separatists recently.

The step is expected to bring peace to the entire region. It is very crucial also, as the newly elected Ukraine President is scheduled to visit his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the near future, along with his French and German counterparts.

Peace in Ukraine is very important for the entire Europe, as the region is one of the main economic powers in the continent. Instability in Ukraine means uneasiness in Europe.

The regions close to the Russian borders in Ukraine is unstable since Putin-led country invaded Crimea.


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