Ukrainian authorities in the northeastern Kharkiv region are ordering civilians near the front line to evacuate as Russia ramps up an assault. Meanwhile, Germany has sent Ukraine more air defenses. Follow DW for more.
Ukrainian authorities are ordering thousands of civilians to evacuate from dozens of towns and villages in northeastern Ukraine, as Russian forces make a renewed effort to punch through the front lines.
In September 2022, Russian occupation in the city of Kupiansk and the territories around it was forced out by the Ukrainian military. Now, Russia is striking back, amid a slow-moving Ukrainian counteroffensive
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Wednesday that “the intensity of combat and enemy shelling is high” in the area.
Meanwhile, Germany is set to boost Ukraine’s air defenses with two more Patriot missile batteries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media it is part of the, “work to strengthen Ukraine and protect it from Russian terror.”
It comes as Russia said it thwarted drone attacks on Moscow and Crimea.
Here’s an overview of some of the main stories concerning Russia’s war in Ukraine on Thursday, August 10:
The governor of the Russian region of Bryansk on the Ukrainian border said two people were killed in a small village Thursday by Ukrainian shelling.
“At present, two civilians have been killed by the Ukrainian armed forces,” Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said on social media.
He added that the attack took place in the Russian village of Chausy. The village lies about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine has praised talks hosted by Saudi Arabia last weekend on the conflict as a “breakthrough.”
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Thursday the talks showcased the possibility of mobilizing global support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 10-point plan to end the war.
The plan involves Russian troops’ withdrawal and the restoration of all Ukrainian territory to Kyiv’s control.
“If a country wants to be in the front seat of world politics, it has to become part of these coordination meetings,” Kuleba told the Reuters news agency in an interview.
The talks were attended by officials from over 40 countries, including China, India, Brazil, the US and European countries. Moscow, however, was not present.
“We are fully satisfied with the dynamics of this process,” he said.”I believe the meeting in Jeddah was a breakthrough because for the first time, we brought together countries representing [the] entire world, not only Europe and North America.”
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Russian forces attacked a “civilian infrastructure object” in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday, killing one person, Anatoliy Kurtev, Zaporizhzhia city council’s secretary, said on his Telegram channel.
The attack set off a fire, which also injured five people, Kurtev said. He had initially reported two injuries, saying they were both taken to a medical facility.
Ukrainian authorities on Thursday ordered the evacuation of nearly 12,000 civilians in 37 towns and villages in the northeastern Kharkiv region, as Russian forces attempt to punch through front lines in the region.
In September 2022, Russian occupation in the city of Kupiansk and the territories around it was forced out by the Ukrainian military. Now, Russia is pushing back in the region, as a slow-moving Ukrainian counteroffensive occupies many units at several points along a nearly 1,000 kilometer front line.
“Russians are trying to prevail [in the Kupiansk area] and break through our defense… the situation remains difficult but under control,” Sergiy Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern forces, said on national television.
Administrators in Kupiansk said that residents could evacuate to the city of Kharkiv, located some 90 kilometers (56 miles) to the west.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Russia’s prosecutors have declared the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) monitoring group as an “undesirable” organization, a move that criminalizes the group’s work investigating armed conflicts that involve Moscow.
The label is often used by authorities to crack down on dissent. It puts CIT staff members at greater risk and outlaws the sharing of online content.
The Russian prosecutor’s office accused the group of Russian open source investigators, which monitors Moscow’s Ukraine offensive, of “participating in propaganda campaigns” against Russia.
CIT was created by Ruslan Leviev, who is wanted for spreading so-called “fake news” against the Russian military, including a probe into the Mariupol theater bombing. The group has also covered Russian operations on the ground in Syria.
Arkady Volozh, the founder of Russian tech giant Yandex, condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, describing it as “barbaric.”
Yandex was Russia’s most popular search engine site and a top tech company that employed thousands of people before the war.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Volozh said in a statement, becoming one of the few prominent Russian billionaires to criticize the war.
“I am horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine — many of them my personal friends and relatives — whose houses are being bombed every day,” he said. “I am against the war,” he added.
Volozh moved to Israel in 2014 and resigned as CEO of Yandex last year after the European Union sanctioned him for abetting Kremlin disinformation.
A temporary humanitarian corridor to the Black Sea is ready to export grains from Ukrainian ports, the Ukrainian navy said.
Oleh Chalyk, a spokesperson for the naval forces, told Reuters news agency that the corridor would be for commercial ships stranded at Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
The first ships were expected to use the corridor within days, the spokesperson added.
The navy said in a separate statement that the risk posed by mines in the Black Sea and Russian attacks remains.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain suppliers, but exporting grains has become increasingly difficult as the war continues.
Russia withdrew from an initiative that guaranteed the safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports in July, complicating Kyiv’s efforts to keep up food supplies for the world.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Russian drones destroyed a fuel depot in the western Ukrainian Rivne region in an overnight attack in the early hours of Thursday.
Regional governor Vitaliy Koval said the attack had caused a huge blaze, but that there were no casualties.
“Today at night the Rivne region came under a massive drone attack,” Koval said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app. Rivne is home to one of Ukraine’s five nuclear power plants.
In the video, he stood in a field with a large fire raging in the background.
“The chemical and radiation level is normal. We do not plan to evacuate the population,” he said.
The Ukrainian air force said that seven out of 10 Iranian-made Shahed drones were shot down during an overnight Russian attack that lasted for several hours.
Koval said 45 rescuers and 14 units of special vehicles had been working on the site to extinguish the fire.
Twelve people are missing after a mysterious blast on the premises of a factory thought to be operating for the Russian weapons industry.
Rescuers are searching beneath the rubble in Sergiyev Posad, about 70 kilometers (about 45 miles) north-east of Moscow, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the emergency services.
At least one person was reported dead with another 55 injured.
Human error was said to be the official cause of the blast.
According to an investigation by the independent news site Agentstvo, the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant is involved in developing a new Russian fighter aircraft.
The facility is also known to have made optical devices for military use.
The connection between Zaporizhzhia nuclear plantand its remaining main external power line broke overnight leaving the nuclear plant connected via a reserve line, state-owned power generating company Energoatom said on Thursday.
The power generating capacity of the reserve line was half of the main power line, which put the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on the verge of shutting down, Energoatom said.
“Such a regime is difficult for the reactor plant, its duration is limited by the project’s design and it can result in failure of the main equipment of the energy unit,” Energoatom said on Telegram.
The power plant and its six reactors have been under the control of Russian forces since the early days of the invasion of Ukraine.
Zaporizhzhia is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and has been a major issue emerging from the war between the two countries.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)has held many rounds of negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to set up a safety protocol to prevent mishaps with the power plant.
Tension at the border of Poland and Belarus continues to mount as Warsaw intends to send an additional 10,000 soldiers at the border to support the Border Guard, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Thursday.
“About 10,000 soldiers will be on the border, of which 4,000 will directly support the Border Guard and 6,000 will be in the Reserve,” Blaszczak said during a radio interview.
“We move the army closer to the border with Belarus to scare away the aggressor so that it does not dare to attack us,” he added.
Last month’s arrival of Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus and their military drills near the border has left Poland in a heightened state of worry.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly said he is stopping Wagner troops who want to attack Poland.
As a member of NATO, an attack on Poland would trigger a collective response from all 31 members of the military alliance.
NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu told DW that Wagner mercenaries in Belarus do not pose an immediate threat to alliance members.
“NATO has significantly increased its defensive presence in the eastern part of the alliance in response to Russia’s aggressive actions, and we continue to do what is necessary to deter any threat and protect every inch of allied territory,” Lungescu said.
“NATO is closely monitoring all military activities inside Belarus,” Lungescu added. “We do not see any direct or imminent military threat posed by Wagner mercenaries to our allies, but we remain vigilant.”
Germany said it would send two more Patriot air defense missile systems to Ukraine so it could protect itself from Russian bombards.
“This will definitely bring us closer to creating a full-fledged air shield for Ukraine. This will help people, cities, villages,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
The Patriot system is used to combat enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles, and it is considered one of the most advanced defense systems developed by the United States.
Patriot systems come in fully mobile batteries, including a command center and radar station to detect incoming threats and launchers.
German and US-supplied Patriot air defense missile systems are already being used in Ukraine.
According to Kyiv, Patriot batteries have intercepted Russian hypersonic missiles several times.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it downed 11 Ukrainian drones near Sevastopol, the city in Crimea that houses Russia’s Black Sea navy base, the state-owned RIA news agency reported.
“Near the city of Sevastopol, two UAVs were hit by on-duty anti-aircraft defense equipment, another 9 were suppressed by means of electronic warfare and crashed in the Black Sea before reaching the target,” the ministry said.
Russian air defenses also shot down two drones moving toward Moscow, said Sergei Sobyanin, the city’s mayor.
One drone was downed near the town of Kaluga on the outskirts of Moscow and another over the Central Ring Highway surrounding the Russian capital, the mayor said.
Russia’s emergency service said an auto repair shop caught fire in Domodedovo outside Moscow.
Videos posted on social media showed billowing black smoke and flames.
Some posts also suggested two explosions were heard before the fire.
The fire comes just a day after Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a drone was downed in the area.
Domodedovo Airport, one of Russia’s busiest, had to be closed during that incident.
mfa/lo (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)