Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Ukrainian fighters have reclaimed seven villages in counteroffensive so far, says deputy defence minister
Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile
Ukraine: Residential building in Zelensky’s hometown engulfed by flames after deadly strike
Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and shelled the eastern Donetsk region early Wednesday, killing at least six people, regional Ukrainian officials said.
Russian forces have recently stepped up aerial strikes in their nearly 16-month war, a Ukrainian military spokesman said.
It comes as Ukraine claims to have made advances in the face of “extremely fierce” fighting during its counteroffensive against Vladimir Putin’s forces, and has suggested Russia is losing a “staggering” 900 troops a day.
As the lower house of Russia’s parliament gave its initial backing to plans to enable Moscow to enlist suspected or convicted criminals to bolster its army in Ukraine, Kyiv’s deputy defence minister claimed advances of several hundred metres near Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia.
The claimed advances – which contrast with Russian claims to have repelled attacks – preface a critical Nato meeting this week where Kyiv will urge the West to greenlight delivery of fighter jets, with senior Kyiv official Yuriy Sak telling The Independent that if “had we had F-16s, by now the situation would have been different”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that NATO should not bet on his country approving Sweden‘s application to join the Western military alliance before a July summit because the Nordic nation has not fully addressed his security concerns.
Sweden and Finland applied for membership together following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April after the Turkish parliament ratified its request, but Turkey has held off approving Sweden’s bid.
NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time the leaders of member nations meet for a summit in Lithuania‘s capital on July 11-12. Speaking to journalists on his way back from a state visit to Azerbaijan on Tuesday, Erdogan said Turkey’s attitude to the accession was not “positive.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that NATO should not bet on his country approving Sweden’s application to join the Western military alliance before a July summit because the Nordic nation has not fully addressed his security concerns
Russian forces have fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and shelled the eastern Donetsk region killing at least six people and damaging dozens of homes
Moscow has recently stepped up aerial strikes in their nearly 16-month war. Kyiv’s armed forces, meanwhile, have reported limited gains in the early stages of a counteroffensive to take back the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine‘s territory that is under Russian control.
The grinding Ukrainian advance is pressing slowly ahead, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said. Western analysts and military officials say the effort to dislodge entrenched, powerfully armed and large numbers of Russian troops could take years.
Meanwhile, Kyiv’s armed forces have reported further gains in the early stages of its counteroffensive
Ukraine has celebrated the first territorial gains of its long-trailed counteroffensive against the invading Russian forces.
Unverified photographs and video appearing on Sunday and on Monday morning showed Ukrainian soldiers holding their country’s blue and yellow flag aloft in triumph in the eastern villages of Storozheve, Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka in Donetsk, suggesting they had been recaptured from occupying enemy troops.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar posted one of the photos from Storozheve and thanked the 35th Separate Brigade of Marines for liberating it.
Resistance appears to have won back four small towns in Donetsk and three in Zaporizhzhia in first skirmishes of counteroffensive
Even a “very successful” Ukrainian counteroffensive may need to be repeated next year, a British defence minister has said, as he warned against expectations of a “decisive victory”.
Opening a general debate on global military operations, James Heappey told the Commons “there isn’t really an update to give” on Ukraine but “a word of caution, instead”, adding: “These are very early stages of a very complex plan, a necessarily complex plan, given the scale of the challenge that they have.
“It will take a number of weeks until anybody can make any credible assessment over the success of the offensive. But it is under way, that much is clear.
“I think it is clear that there have been some early gains for the Ukrainians, that in some parts of the Russian line the regiments are performing incredibly and are holding their ground, but in many other parts of the line there is evidence of abandonment and mutiny.
“That should not in any way, I think, encourage us to believe that this is some war movie that all ends with a sort of wonderful, glorious victory, decisive victory, at the very end.”
He went on: “That that may happen, it’s perfectly possible that it will, the Ukrainians have shown time and time again that they are brilliant at exceeding what normal military laws should expect, but it is also very possible that a very successful counteroffensive still brings with it the requirement to go again next year.
“It matters enormously to our Ukrainian friends, just as much as it is important that Putin hears that the international donor community is ready to rearm, retrain and go again next year, and the year after, and the year after.”
Germany will purchase six Iris-T air defence systems for its air force at cost of some €950m (£812m), a member of the budget committee has told Reuters after politicians approved the deal.
Boasting a range of some 25 miles and a 360 degree view, the Iris-T system is one of the most coveted weapons which Berlin has supplied to Ukraine, which has deployed the units to shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft including Iranian-made Shahed drones.
The Luftwaffe is due to take delivery of the first unit in 2024. Berlin has bought two Iris-T units built by Diehl for Ukraine and pledged to send another two to Kyiv, but has not yet equipped its own forces with the systems.
Nato should not bet on Turkey approving Sweden’s application to join the military alliance before a July summit, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, accusing the Nordic nation of failing to fully address his security concerns.
Despite finally relenting to allow Finland’s simultaneous bid several months ago, Ankara still refuses to grant Stockholm permission to join the bloc, accusing Sweden of being too lenient towards groups Turkey claims pose a threat to its security.
Speaking to journalists on his way back from a state visit to Azerbaijan on Tuesday – as senior officials from Nato, Turkey, Sweden and Finland met in Ankara – Mr Erdogan said Turkey’s attitude to the accession was not “positive.”
Mr Erdogan said the Turkish delegation at the meeting “will give this message: ‘This is our president’s opinion, don’t expect anything different at [the upcoming Nato summit in] Vilnius.”
The lower house of Russia’s parliament has given its initial backing to plans allowing Moscow’s defence ministry to sign contracts with suspected or convicted criminals to fight in Ukraine.
Under the proposed changes, a contract could be concluded with someone being investigated for committing a crime, who is having their case heard in court or after they have been convicted but before the verdict takes legal effect, according to the database of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house.
People convicted of sexual crimes, treason, terrorism or extremism would not be able to sign up. Those who do sign up would be exempt from criminal liability upon completion of their contract or if they receive awards for their combat prowess.
The new changes being examined by the Duma do not cover recruitment of people already serving their sentences and the Defence Ministry has not commented.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has dismissed reports that one of his senior commanders had been killed or wounded in Ukraine, insisting that he was in fact “alive and well”.
The commander, Adam Delimkhanov, leads the Chechen division of the Russian national guard and is also a member of Russia’s parliament, and is widely viewed as the Caucasian region’s second most senior official after Mr Kadyrov, who is a close ally of Vladimir Putin.
Mr Kadyrov claimed to have known that Mr Delimkhanov was uninjured from the start of what he called “a fake information attack”, and to have remained silent in order to embarrass Ukrainian media outlets which reported on the commander’s alleged injury.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russia’s Zvezda television channel cited the parliamentary press service as saying that Mr Delimkhanov had been wounded in Ukraine, with the Kremlin expressing “worry” over the reports.
Mr Delimkhanov, who has an active social media presence, with over half a million followers on Telegram, did not comment.
An associate of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison on “extremism” charges – the latest verdict in a crackdown on dissent by the Kremlin as it wages war in Ukraine, reports Dasha Litvinova.
Lilia Chanysheva who used to head Navalny’s office in the Russian region of Bashkortostan, was found guilty of calling for extremism, forming an extremist group and founding an organization that violates rights.
Navalny aide Lyubov Sobol called it a political verdict, saying President Vladimir Putin had “put one more hostage in a penal colony”. Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said Chanysheva had been punished for fighting for the future of her country.
Sentence for Lilia Chanysheva comes as Kremlin intensifies a crackdown on dissent while it wages war in Ukraine – and sparks outrage from opposition figures
A fire has broken out at the Novocherkassk power station in Russia’s southern Rostov region, close to the border with Ukraine, RIA has reported.
The Russian state-owned news agency did not say what had caused the blaze.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Ukrainian servicemen of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade “Edelweiss” shift position after firing rockets from a BM-21 ‘Grad’ multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions, near Bakhmut
AFP via Getty Images
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Log in
New to The Independent?
Or if you would prefer:
Want an ad-free experience?
Hi {{indy.fullName}}