Ukraine-Russia war – live: New explosions at Sevastopol as Ukraine launches fresh drone strikes on Crimea
New explosions struck Sevastopol and smoke was seen rising from a prominent landmark just kilometres away from the Crimean city as Ukrainian forces announced they were carrying out a joint intelligence operation in the region illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukraine has claimed the recapture of the eastern village of Klishchiivka on the southern flank of Bakhmut after a period of reported heavy fighting. It follows the recapture of Andriivka, another village in the region, Kyiv forces are said to be gaining ground. On Sunday they sent drones to disrupt air traffic in Moscow and caused a fire at an oil depot, according to Russian reports. "Klishchiivka was cleared of the Russians and liberated," Alexander Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. The news comes as two unconfirmed fatalities have been reported in Southern Ukraine after overnight drone attacks struck Kherson, say Kyiv officials. The region’s governor Oleh Kiper said a 72-year-old man and an elderly man had been killed and three others have been injured. Ukraine‘s air force said 18 out of 24 Russian drones were shot down, and that 17 cruise missiles were downed overnight over the Dnipropetrovs’k, Poltava and Khmelnytskyi regions. Reuters have not been able to immediately verify the reports. Read More Nato chief warns Putin eyes ‘long war’ as Ukraine claims eastern village Ukraine is the spotlight at UN leaders' gathering, but is there room for other global priorities? First cargo grain ships arrive in Ukraine through Black Sea using new route North Korea’s Kim Jong-un heads home after six-day Russian state visit
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Ukraine says recapture of key village near Bakhmut a ‘springboard’ for more gains against Russia
Ukraine’s military claims its latest recapture of a key village in Bakhmut will act as a “springboard” for further offensive actions against Russia’s continuing invasion. Ukraine scored another victory recently when it recently recaptured village Klishchiivka that lies in the southern flank of Bakhmut, as its forces fought off Russian attempts to get back into the area. The war-torn country’s forces had last week also recaptured Andriivka, another village a few kilometres to the south of Klishchiivka, after earlier criticism alleged Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces had slowed. Both settlements have been reduced to ghost towns and destroyed in the months of fighting for Bakhmut that had fallen into Russian hands in May this year. “Now we have gained a springboard for ourselves, which in the future will allow us to continue to develop offensive operations and liberate our land from the invaders,” Illia Yevlash, spokesperson for Ukraine’s troops in the east, said in a national telecast after they retook Klishchiivka. The battle inflicted “powerful damage” on many Russian-led units, he said. These included airborne units, the “Akhmat” battalion of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Storm-Z military units comprising Russian criminals, the Russian General Staff’s military intelligence and motorised rifle units. Mr Yevlash said the recapture of Klishchiivka will help Ukraine fire deeper and precise strikes on Russian targets in the Donetsk region, several kilometres south of Bakhmut. “In addition, this exposure of the flanks, in particular the southern flank, will allow us to further move more conveniently into the depths of the enemy’s positions and deliver more accurate and deeper strikes using various artillery systems, FPV drones and other available weapons,” the official said. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday lauded his troops. “Today I would like to particularly commend the soldiers who, step by step, are returning to Ukraine what belongs to it, namely in the area of Bakhmut,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address. He thanked the successful units – the 80th airborne assault brigade, the 5th assault brigade, the “glorious 95th” and a national police assault brigade – in the address. Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said, “Ukraine always gets its own back”. Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar confirmed the recapture on Sunday and posted a video of Ukrainian forces displaying the national flag on ruined buildings even as the fighting could be heard in the background. She said Russian forces were still trying to regain lost positions in the region despite losing out on the territorial fight over the control of the village. “Today we had to fight off enemy’s attacks all day,” she said. Klishchiivka had a pre-war population of around 400 and falls 9km south of Bakhmut. The country’s military analysts said liberation of settlements near Bakhmut will propel Ukraine’s forces to advance from the southern flank in the Bakhmut, and give them control of the heights in the region. The Institute for the Study of War cited geolocated footage shared by Ukrainian officials and said the recapture was of “strategic significance”. “The liberation of Klishchiivka, as well as continued Ukrainian tactical gains northwest of Bakhmut, are tactical gains of strategic significance because they are allowing Ukrainian forces to fix a considerable portion of Russian airborne (VDV) elements in the Bakhmut area,” the US based think-tank said. Meanwhile, explosions were heard in Sevastopol and smoke was seen rising from a prominent landmark just kilometres away from the Crimean city as Ukrainian forces announced they were carrying out a joint intelligence operation in the region illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Read More New explosions at Sevastopol as Ukraine launches fresh drone strikes on Crimea Ukraine liberates village near Bakhmut amid Russian losses in east and south China's foreign minister Wang Yi heads to Moscow after meeting US national security adviser
2023-09-18 14:28
New explosions at Sevastopol as Ukraine launches fresh drone strikes on Crimea
Fresh explosions struck Sevastopol and smoke was seen rising from a prominent landmark just kilometres away from the Crimean city as Ukrainian forces announced they were carrying out a joint intelligence operation in the region illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Pro-Russian Telegram channel ChP Sevastopol reported explosions in the area of Cape Fiolent late on Sunday night, while another Telegram channel reporting on Crimea shared visuals of an explosion and smoke arising from the same area. This comes as Russia launched its own airstrikes on Ukraine, with the Ukrainian air force saying it downed 18 cruise missiles and 17 drones across the country overnight. The location, on the Crimean peninsula’s southern coast about 16km away from Sevastopol, has a marine radio engineering unit and a radio engineering station with a dozen radar antennas, an unnamed intelligence source told Ukraine’s Suspilne public broadcaster. The war-hit nation’s intelligence agency said it carried out a joint operation of its Defence Intelligence (DIU) and the Ukrainian navy. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russia-installed governor of Sevastopol, however, claimed everything was calm in the city which houses Russia’s Black Sea fleet. He said three Ukrainian drones were seen in the area, but were brought down by Russia’s air defences. The official said no damage was done. He said that if people saw smoke in the South Bay area, it was due to a standard harmless aerosol camouflage being used by the Black Sea fleet. “Yes, the smell is unpleasant, but it is absolutely safe. Everything is calm in the city,” the Russia-installed official said. “Our enemies today will try with all their might to pass it off as a ‘victory’,” he said on his Telegram channel. At least three Ukrainian drones were downed over southwestern Crimea on Sunday evening, according to the Russian defence ministry. It claimed Russian air defence systems destroyed one drone at about 9.30pm Moscow time, an hour after it said its forces downed another two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the same area. Debris from the downed third drone fell over farmland and no damage was done, their governor Razvozhayev said. This comes just five days after Ukraine carried out what was said to be its largest attack yet on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion. The attack on the Sevastopol shipyard in Russian-annexed Crimea wounded 24 people and set ablaze two ships that were under repair, according to Russian authorities. The Sevastopol shipyard attack is one of the biggest in recent weeks, even though the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target in the 18-month old war. Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine launched 10 cruise missiles at the shipyard and three sea drones at Russian ships in the Black Sea. Seven missiles were shot down and all the sea drones have been destroyed, the military said, but some of the missiles damaged two ships that were being repaired in the shipyard. While Ukrainian officials have not confirmed the means of the strike, military sources said the attack used Storm Shadow missiles, which were delivered to Kyiv by the UK earlier this year. Read More Nato chief warns Putin eyes ‘long war’ as Ukraine claims eastern village Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kyiv says its retaken Klishchiivka as drones target Crimea and Moscow Ukraine is the spotlight at UN leaders' gathering, but is there room for other global priorities? Ukrainian troops move through destroyed Donetsk settlement as Kyiv announces recapture UK’s top agenda at UN General Assembly: Ukraine, AI and sustainable development
2023-09-18 14:21
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As Slovakia's trust in democracy fades, its election frontrunner campaigns against aid to Ukraine
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