Russia-Ukraine war live news: Deadly missiles target Odesa

Julie Carroll

1 year ago

Ukraine says an overnight Russian missile attack killed three people in Odesa and three in the Donetsk region as Russia ramps up its offensive.
Ukrainian forces shelled a residential area in Nova Kakhovka, injuring one person, the city’s Russia-installed administration said.
Russia says it repelled Ukrainian forces in the south Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk frontlines in the last twenty-four hours and targeted Ukrainian arms warehouses.
Vladimir Rogov, a top Russian officer, has been reported killed in a Ukrainian missile strike during Kyiv’s counteroffensive on the Zaporizhia front.

Ukraine tried to mount offensives on three fronts: Russia

The Russian Defence Ministry says Ukrainian forces unsuccessfully tried to mount offensives on the south Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk fronts in the last twenty-four hours.

In a statement, the ministry said Ukrainian forces had suffered heavy losses in men and equipment.

It added that its forces had also targeted Ukrainian weapons depots, reserve forces, and foreign mercenaries in overnight strikes.

Sweden must do its part if it wants NATO approval: Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Sweden must do its part if it wants Turkey to ratify its NATO membership bid before an alliance meeting in July.

“Sweden has expectations. It doesn’t mean that we will comply with them,” Erdogan said in remarks released by his office.

“In order for us to meet these expectations, first of all, Sweden must do its part.”

The president also said he met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Istanbul in early June.

Sweden and Finland applied to join the US-led defence bloc last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While Finland joined the bloc in April, Sweden still awaits approval from Hungary and Turkey.

Photos of the aftermath of a Russian strike in Kramatorsk

Zelenskyy says Ukraine will expel the ‘Russian evil’

Zelenskyy says Ukraine will “expel the Russian evil from our land” after six people were killed in overnight missile strikes in Odesa and the Donetsk region.

In a post on Twitter showing footage of destroyed buildings, Zelenskyy wrote: “Cities with ruins instead of life. Cities with flooded streets. Cities that exist only in fond memories. Cities where explosions now sound instead of children’s laughter.

“We will never forgive the pain that Russia has brought to our land. And we will expel the Russian evil from all our land, liberate every city and village of ours from the occupier and return justice to our people.”

‘Extremely fierce battles’ in Ukraine, minister says

In “extremely fierce” fighting, Ukraine reports small advances in its counteroffensive against Russian forces.

On Telegram, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the Ukrainian actions had had “partial” success.

“Our troops are moving in the conditions of extremely fierce battles, aviation and artillery superiority of the enemy,” she said.

Maliar added that Ukrainian troops had advanced 200 to 500 metres (220 to 550 yards) in areas near Bakhmut and 300 to 350 metres (330 to 380 yards) close to Zaporizhzhia.

Fighting continued near the village of Makarivka and battles were raging on in the areas of Novodanylivka and Novopokrovsk near Mariupol, she said.

Wagner Group boss reiterates refusal to sign ministry contracts

The head of Russia’s Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, reiterates that his mercenaries will not sign contracts with the defence ministry, a day after President Vladimir Putin said the agreements were needed.

“None of Wagner’s fighters is ready to go down the path of shame again,” Prigozhin said. “That’s why they will not sign the contracts.”

He added that a compromise could be found if the government allows Wagner fighters to receive social guarantees and status as combatants.

On Tuesday, Putin backed a call by the defence ministry for “volunteer” fighters to sign contracts in a move widely seen as a means to assert control over the Wagner Group.

Putin said contracts were necessary to allow all participants in Russia’s campaign in Ukraine to receive benefits, including compensation for wounded fighters.

Senior Chechen commander wounded in Ukraine, Russia says

A senior Chechen commander fighting in Ukraine has been wounded, the Russian Ministry of Defence television channel Zvezda reported.

Adam Delimkhanov, a member of the State Duma and commander of the Chechen division of the Russian national guard, is widely seen as the region’s second most senior official behind Ramzan Kadyrov.

In a message posted on Telegram, Kadyrov said he could not contact Delimkhanov and asked for help finding his “dear brother”.

Delimkhanov took a prominent role in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, commanding Chechen forces in the bloody battle for Mariupol in the early days of the war.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian media reported that Delimkhanov had been killed in an artillery strike in southern Ukraine.

France, Saudi Arabia to discuss the war in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the war in Ukraine when he meets Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), on Friday, the French presidency says.

The talks between the two leaders come a month after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended an Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, where MBS expressed his readiness to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.

Earlier in the day, the Saudi state news agency reported that MBS had left for France.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant can get water from wells: Russia

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant can get water to cool its fuel from its own wells if the level of a nearby reservoir falls significantly, Russian official Yevgeny Balitsky was quoted as saying by the Russian state-owned Tass news agency.

The level of the Kakhovka Reservoir has fallen sharply after a dam breach last week.

Blast in Odesa comes 24 hours after Kryvyi Rih attack: AJ correspondent

Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from Kyiv, says the attack on Odesa comes 24 hours after a missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, which killed 11 people.

“In the early hours of Wednesday morning, it was Odesa’s turn, the Black Sea port city. Four missiles fired, one getting through and striking infrastructure, including what’s described as a residential sector and shopping mall,” Hull said.

“Three reported dead there with 13 injured and rescue efforts still going on. Also, reports coming in this morning of early hours attacks on two towns in eastern Donetsk. Three people killed there with three further injuries reported.”

IAEA chief to visit Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Thursday

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi will visit the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday, the Interfax news agency cites a Russian-installed local official as saying.

The head of the international nuclear watchdog was expected to visit the plant on Wednesday, but an official who requested anonymity said he was delaying the trip until he can “travel safely”.

Grossi has repeatedly warned about the threat posed by Europe’s largest nuclear power plant being in a warzone.

Swedish prosecutor hopes to conclude Nord Stream investigation in autumn

Sweden hopes to be able to determine who was behind the Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage by autumn, the prosecutor leading the country’s investigation tells Radio Sweden.

In September, several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and newly completed Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea.

Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told Radio Sweden he had met the German prosecutor and they were working together but declined to give details.

“I hope that we at least this autumn will be able to make a decision regarding indictments. At least that is the ambition as things stand now,” Ljungqvist said. “I think, actually, in time, it will be brought to light [who carried out the sabotage].”

Belarus begins receiving Russian tactical nuclear weapons

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country has started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons, some of which he said were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

The deployment is Moscow’s first move of such warheads – shorter-range less powerful nuclear weapons that could potentially be used on the battlefield – outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The step is being watched closely by the US and its allies as well as by China, which has repeatedly cautioned against the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war.

“We have missiles and bombs that we have received from Russia,” Lukashenko said in an interview with Rossiya-1, a Russian state-owned TV channel, which was posted on the Telegram channel of the Belarusian Telegraph Agency.“The bombs are three times more powerful than those [dropped on] Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he said.

Uptick in Russian tactical combat air sorties in the last two weeks: UK intelligence

The British Ministry of Defence has published its latest briefing on the situation in Ukraine.

“In the last two weeks, there has been an uptick in Russian tactical combat air sorties, especially over southern Ukraine,” the ministry said on Twitter.

“This has almost certainly been in response to reports of increased Ukrainian offensive operations, as the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) attempt to support ground troops with air strikes.”

“Despite the uptick, VKS’ daily sortie rate remains much lower than the peak of up to 300 daily missions early in the war,” it added.

Areas to watch out for in Ukraine’s counteroffensive

To hold onto parts of Ukraine, Russia is said to have built some of the most extensive lines of defence Europe has seen since World War II.

Now Ukraine’s counteroffensive has begun, Al Jazeera’s Defence Editor Alex Gatopoulos takes a look at where the fighting is taking place.

Moscow has free hand to destroy undersea communications cables: Medvedev

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said there were no longer any “moral limits” to stop Moscow from destroying undersea communication cables given what he said was Western complicity in the Nord Stream pipeline blasts.

Medvedev made the comments on his official channel on the Telegram messaging app.

US media reports have suggested that Washington was aware of a Ukrainian plot to blow up the gas pipelines. Kyiv has denied it destroyed them.Unexplained explosions ruptured both Nord Stream 1 and the newly built Nord Stream 2 pipelines, carrying gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, last September.

Three killed in Russian missile attack on Odesa: Ukraine

Russian missiles struck civilian buildings in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa overnight, killing at least three and wounding 13, Ukraine’s military has said.

Russia launched four cruise missiles on the city, the southern command of Ukraine’s armed forces said. The military said earlier that two missiles were destroyed before hitting their targets.

“As a result of air combat and blast waves, a business centre, an educational institution, a residential complex, food establishments and shops in the city centre were damaged,” the southern command said.“Sifting through the debris continues. There may be people under.”

Ukraine forces shell Nova Kakhovka, says Russia-installed administration

Ukraine forces shelled a residential area in the city of Nova Kakhovka, injuring one person, the city’s Russia-installed administration has said.

Last week, the Kakhovka dam in the city was destroyed, flooding swathes of land and forcing thousands to flee.

The administration also said that shelling of the nearby village of Plodove disrupted power supply there.

UN nuclear chief’s visit to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant delayed

A planned visit by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi to the Russian-held Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been delayed by a day, Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported.

It said Grossi had been due to visit on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the IAEA said it needed access to a site near the nuclear plant to check water levels. The plant’s reservoir, which provides cooling water for six nuclear reactors, had been significantly drained following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

Source: Aljazeera

Ukraine tried to mount offensives on three fronts: Russia

Sweden must do its part if it wants NATO approval: Turkey

Photos of the aftermath of a Russian strike in Kramatorsk

Zelenskyy says Ukraine will expel the ‘Russian evil’

‘Extremely fierce battles’ in Ukraine, minister says

Wagner Group boss reiterates refusal to sign ministry contracts

Senior Chechen commander wounded in Ukraine, Russia says

France, Saudi Arabia to discuss the war in Ukraine

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant can get water from wells: Russia

Blast in Odesa comes 24 hours after Kryvyi Rih attack: AJ correspondent

IAEA chief to visit Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Thursday

Swedish prosecutor hopes to conclude Nord Stream investigation in autumn

Belarus begins receiving Russian tactical nuclear weapons

Uptick in Russian tactical combat air sorties in the last two weeks: UK intelligence

Areas to watch out for in Ukraine’s counteroffensive

Moscow has free hand to destroy undersea communications cables: Medvedev

Three killed in Russian missile attack on Odesa: Ukraine

Ukraine forces shell Nova Kakhovka, says Russia-installed administration

UN nuclear chief’s visit to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant delayed