A 73-year-old woman was killed early Saturday due to shelling by Russian troops on a settlement in Kharkiv region; the UN said it was “appalled” at an attack on a hotel in Zaporizhzhia, while another strike to the west claimed the life of eight-year-old Volodymyr Balabanyk.
Saturday 12 August 2023 15:50, UK
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If you’re just joining us this Saturday afternoon, here’s what you’ve missed so far:
We’ve been reporting Russia’s claims that it has shot down three rockets which it says were fired by Ukraine at the Kerch Bridge linking mainland Russia with annexed Crimea.
Videos have been published on Russian Telegram accounts appearing to show a huge cloud of white smoke billowing from one side of the bridge.
It’s not clear exactly what has caused the smoke – whether it’s debris from a shot-down rocket, or whether a rocket did indeed hit the bridge, contrary to Russia’s claims that they were all shot down.
Another video from further away appears to show an area of black smoke coming from further down the bridge too.
Russia’s foreign ministry strongly criticised Ukraine for what it called a “terrorist attack” on the Crimean Bridge today, saying it endangered the lives of innocent people and promised to respond.
“There can be no justification for such barbaric actions and they will not go unanswered,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Earlier, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian rocket attack on the 12-mile (19 km) bridge, which links Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia across the Kerch Strait.
The ministry said Russian forces had also shot down a number of Ukrainian drones targeting the peninsula.
Poland has responded to the unexpected statement by self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, expressing his sudden desire to enhance relations between the two nations.
On Friday, Mr Lukashenko said he was ready to improve Belarusian-Polish relations, saying: “We are neighbours, and we don’t choose our neighbours, they are from God.”
In response, Paweł Jabłoński, deputy foreign minister of Poland, said: “If Belarus genuinely seeks positive relations with Poland, the solution is straightforward,” the publication Ukrainska Pravda reported.
“Cease border provocations, release Andrzej Poczobut and other detainees from Belarusian prisons.”
He added that these decisions rest solely with the Belarusian government.
Mr Jabłoński said that Poland has never harboured hostile intentions toward Belarus and desires amicable relations.
Nonetheless, he attributed the current strained relationship to Belarusian authorities’ conduct, adding: “The responsibility for our strained relations lies squarely with the Belarusian authorities, who have exhibited hostile behaviour towards Poland.”
For context, Mr Lukashenko has previously accused Poland of preparing aggression against Belarus.
A Russian Su-30 fighter jet has crashed in the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, killing the two pilots on board.
“The Su-30 aircraft crashed in a deserted area. The flight was carried out without ammunition. The crew died,” local military authorities said.
A technical malfunction was the likely cause, according to officials.
Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea, positioned between NATO member states Poland and Lithuania.
The Su-30 fighter jet has been used extensively during Russia’s action in Ukraine. The Russian air force has suffered a string of crashes that some observers have attributed to a higher number of flights amid the fighting in Ukraine.
Last month, two Russian fighter jets crashed while on training missions — one into the Pacific and one into the Sea of Azov.
People gathered to pay their last respects at a coffin of military medic Dariya Filipova during a farewell ceremony in Independence Square in Kyiv, today.
Ms Filipova was killed during a battle with Russian troops, Associated Press reported.
The Russian-installed governor of Crimea has announced that Russian forces had downed another rocket over the Kerch Strait, Interfax news agency reported.
It comes after an earlier attack that Russia’s defence ministry said had involved two Su-200 rockets.
“Another enemy rocket shot down over the Kerch Strait,”
Sergei Aksyonov said on the Telegram messaging app, quoted by
Interfax.
“Thank you to our air defence forces for a high level
of professionalism and vigilance.”
Germans took part in an overnight rally to stand with the people of Ukraine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne.
Participants were pictured standing in front of a cathedral at the event called “Unbreakable Ukraine – Night Rally for the Future of Europe”, organised by the initiative Blau-Gelbes Kreuz eV.
Candles were also lit in memory of victims of the war in Ukraine.
The event ran right throughout the night, ending this morning at 8am.
Ukraine’s intelligence personnel successfully neutralised a Russian Terminator vehicle, known for its intimidating features, according to its state security agency.
The agency, known as the SBU, said their team effectively disabled a heavily armed and armoured Russian vehicle, the Terminator or BMPT, utilising another T-80 main battle tank, in the Donetsk region.
“This rare model of enemy weaponry burned down after only a few hits from kamikaze drones,” the SBU said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “They tried to pull out the downed Terminator with a T-80 tank, but it was also hit!”
The Terminator, a recent addition to Russia’s frontline arsenal, suffered its second confirmed loss.
The Terminator is a contemporary Russian heavy tank support combat vehicle specifically designed for urban warfare. It is equipped with two 30mm 2A42 guns, carrying 900 rounds.
Additionally, the vehicle boasts an Ataka anti-tank missile system, automated 30mm grenade launchers, and a high-calibre machine gun. The crew of three is safeguarded from biological threats through an enclosed defence mechanism.
By Emily Mee, live reporter
Vladimir Putin is the man who brought war back to Europe, sending his tanks into Ukraine on 24 February last year. Little is known about the murky workings of the Kremlin and of Putin’s state of mind – but what we do know can help shine a light on why the war came about and where it might be headed.
In this eight-part series, we’ll be posing questions to experts about what Putin’s motivations are, and what we know about the Russian president.
The “myth of [Putin’s] power has been tarnished” over more than 500 days of war, says recent British defence attaché to Moscow John Foreman – but that doesn’t mean he will back down.
“I still think he’s all into his mission. I think he thinks his mission is very historic… it’s part of his personal legacy,” he says.
Mr Foreman says Vladimir Putin will be acutely aware of the consequences for him personally if he fails in Ukraine, and therefore there is “no price [Russia] won’t pay”.
“There’s no cost in either national wealth or people they won’t pay. Nobody’s spoken in public against it, he’s got no opposition at home.”
Putin views the West as “utterly weak”, Mr Foreman says, so it will take Russia being defeated on the battlefield for Moscow’s troops to be pulled out.
“I think the only hope for Russia is the Ukrainians manage to kick the Russians out,” he says, although this is “looking less likely this year”.
Dr Alan Mendoza, founder and executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, says Putin will also be aware of the historical context.
The last Soviet leader to gamble with such high stakes was Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban missile crisis – a 13-day showdown between the US and Russia widely considered to be the closest the world has come to nuclear armageddon.
Dr Mendoza says the same question was posed during that crisis: “Can Khrushchev back down?”
“And it turns out that he could back down but the parole was up and, of course, he was removed from power afterwards.”
Therefore it’s possible Putin may back down, but Dr Mendoza says: “He’ll be fully aware of the Khrushchev comparison.”
He adds: “Having basically staked his whole life’s work on winning this war, it’s very difficult to see how [Putin] could back down and then survive the repercussions.”
Pop back again tomorrow at 8.30am for the final part of the series, focusing on what could happen to Mr Putin if he loses the war in Ukraine
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