Ukraine updates: Russia seizes more territory in Donetsk – DW – 07/13/2025
Russia has captured another village in Ukraine's Donetsk region as it continues to intensify its offensive.
Meanwhile, North Korea's Kim Jong Un has offered his "unconditional support."
Elsewhere, Ukraine has "eliminated" a man and a woman said to be responsible for the killing of an SBU secret service officer in Kyiv.Ukraine has "eliminated" a man and a woman said to be responsible for the killing of an SBU secret service officer in Kyiv.
The two suspects were working on behalf of Russia. Their hideout was found as part of investigations, Vasyl Malyuk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said in a video clip on Telegram.
"They resisted arrest, a firefight ensued, and the criminals were eliminated," Malyuk said. At the end of the video, two dead bodies are seen behind the officer.
The development comes after an SBU officer was shot dead in Kyiv on Thursday. He is said to have been behind acts of sabotage in Russia.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the port city of Wonsan, offering Moscow "unconditional support."
The meeting came as analysts suggest North Korea will send more troops to fight alongside Russia amid its offensive against Ukraine.
Read here for more details.
Russia said Sunday that it had seized another village in Ukraine's Donetsk region.
Moscow's offensive on Ukraine has lasted for more than three years, with the attacks being ramped up of late, while US-led peace negotiations have yet to yield any results.
Russia's defense ministry said Moscow troops had captured Myrne, calling the village by its Soviet name "Karl Marx."
The defense ministry claimed forces had moved "deep into the enemy's defense" as it seized the village.
Russia has so far rejected a ceasefire proposed by the United States and Ukraine. Donald Trump has regularly boasted about being the one who can bring about peace in Ukraine.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Welcome to DW's coverage of the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine. Russia says it has taken another village in Ukraine's Donetsk region.
Meanwhile, North Korea's Kim Jong Un has hailed his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, saying that Pyongyang offers its "unconditional support" to Moscow as it continues its offensive against Ukraine.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
an hour ago
- Int'l Business Times
Rome, Navalny Widow Blast Italy Invite For Pro-Kremlin Maestro
Italy's culture minister joined the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday in condemning an invitation for maestro Valery Gergiev to perform near Naples, saying it risked being propaganda for Moscow. Russian conductor Gergiev, a personal friend of President Vladimir Putin who has since December 2023 led Moscow's world famous Bolshoi Theatre, has been shunned by the West since the start of the Ukraine war for failing to denounce Russia's invasion. But he has been invited to conduct what organisers described as an "unforgettable symphony concert" on July 27 at the former royal palace of Reggia di Caserta, near Naples in southern Italy. Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation has called for the concert to be cancelled and his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, pressed the case in an editorial on Tuesday in Italian daily La Repubblica. "Any attempt to turn a blind eye to who Valery Gergiev is when he's not conducting and to pretend that this is merely a cultural event with no political dimension... is pure hypocrisy," she wrote. Just hours later, Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli issued a statement warning the concert "risks sending the wrong message". "Ukraine is an invaded nation and Gergiev's concert could transform a high-level... musical event into a platform for Russian propaganda," he said. "For me, this would be deplorable." Giuli is a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government, which has strongly backed Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022. He noted the concert was part of a programme of events promoted and paid for by the region of Campania. Campania regional leader Vincenzo De Luca, from the centre-left Democratic Party, has defended the concert, saying that "culture is a tool to keep dialogue open". On social media on Friday, he noted an Israeli conductor was also on the programme, adding: "We don't ask those men of culture to answer for the political choices of those who lead their respective countries." He repeated his position on Tuesday, condemning Putin's actions in Ukraine but saying that refusing to engage in dialogue "only serves to fuel the rivers of hatred". But Navalnaya, whose husband died in an Artic penal colony last year in what she and his supporters say was a killing on Putin's orders, was scathing. "As Putin's cultural ambassador, Valery Gergiev implements Russia's soft power policy. One of his current goals is to normalise the war and Putin's regime," she wrote. She described the Caserta concert as a "test balloon" for boosting Putin's image in Europe and noted it was being praised by Russian authorities. "Forgive me, but if the Kremlin is happy with you in 2025, then you are definitely doing something wrong," she wrote. Other members of the Democratic Party have called for the concert to be cancelled, as have other cultural figures outside Italy. Peter Gelb, general manager of New York's Metropolitan Opera and a staunch supporter of Ukraine, told AFP that Gergiev "is no less than an artistic stand-in for Putin". He added: "There can be no 'cultural exchange' with mass murderers and kidnappers of children, which is the current modus operandi of the Russian regime." Gergiev has stood by Putin's policies for more than two decades and performed propaganda concerts in honour of Russian military victories in the past. In one of his most criticised moves, Gergiev conducted a concert in the ruins of Syria's Palmyra after Moscow's intervention in the country on the side of dictator Bashar al-Assad. He also conducted a triumphant concert in Georgia's Tskhinvali region after the Russian invasion in 2008, just a few metres (feet) from a detention centre where Georgian civilians were being held.
Int'l Business Times
2 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
UN Demands Justice In Any Ukraine Peace Talks, As Civilian Deaths Spike
The United Nations insisted on Tuesday that any peace talks on Russia's war in Ukraine must include full accountability for the conflict's litany of violations, following the deadliest month for civilians since May 2022. The call from UN rights chief Volker Turk came the day after US President Donald Trump told Moscow to end the war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions. Trump also laid out plans for infusions of weaponry for Kyiv via NATO. In recent weeks, Trump has shown increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Moscow stepping up attacks rather than stopping them. "An immediate ceasefire is needed now to end this unbearable suffering," Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for Turk's office, told a media briefing. "Work on a lasting peace, in line with international law, must intensify -- a peace that ensures accountability for gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law." Rather than being sidelined or overlooked, "any move towards ceasefire, towards peace -- accountability must be at its heart", she added. Throssell said Turk wanted any negotiations to focus in the immediate term on ending attacks that affect civilians and protecting the rights of people in occupied territory. They should also seek to return forcibly transferred or deported children, establish humanitarian corridors across the line of control and an bring end to the torture and ill treatment of prisoners of war and other detainees, she said. Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022. Moscow has unleashed record waves of drone and missile attacks over the past few weeks, with the number of Ukrainian civilians killed or wounded in June hitting a three-year high, according to UN figures, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured. "July has brought no respite for civilians in Ukraine," said Throssell. So far this month at least 139 civilians have reportedly been killed and 791 wounded, she said, citing the "intense and successive waves of missile and drone strikes" launched by Russian forces. "Intense and sustained attacks using explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas are likely to have indiscriminate impacts and as such raise serious concerns as to their compliance with international humanitarian law," said Throssell. The UN human rights office has so far been able to verify and document at least 13,580 civilians killed and 34,115 wounded since the Russian invasion began but acknowledges that the full figures will be far higher. Meanwhile Jarno Habicht, the World Health Organization's representative in Ukraine, said civilian casualties "almost doubled" in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the first. He said the WHO had recorded 2,504 attacks on healthcare since the start of the war, involving 212 deaths and 768 injuries. The WHO records attacks but does not attribute blame as it is not a criminal investigations body. "That means that healthcare is not a safe place for the patients and healthcare workers -- and it's a violation of humanitarian law," said Habicht. He also sounded an alarm on "problem" behaviours growing during the war -- heavy drinking among adults, and new tobacco products used by youths. A Russian drone is shot down during overnight attacks on Kyiv AFP
Int'l Business Times
3 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Russia Suggests Trump Is Emboldening Ukraine, Delaying Peace
The Kremlin warned Tuesday that US President Donald Trump's pledge of more weapons for Kyiv and threat of sanctions targeting Russian trading partners could embolden Ukraine and further delay already stalled peace efforts. Trump a day earlier gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal with Ukraine, voicing fresh frustration with Moscow as he laid out an arrangement with NATO to supply Kyiv with new military aid sponsored by the alliance's members. The Republican forced Moscow and Kyiv to open peace talks to end the conflict, now in its fourth year, but Russia has rejected calls for a ceasefire and launched a record number of drones and missiles at Ukraine in recent months. Moscow said it needed more time to respond fully to Trump's statement, but hinted it did not appear conducive to successful negotiations. "It seems that such a decision made in Washington and in NATO countries and directly in Brussels will be perceived by Kyiv not as a signal for peace but for the continuation of the war," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "President Trump's statement is very serious. We certainly need time to analyse what was said in Washington," he told reporters in Moscow's first reaction to the comments. Trump warned that if no deal was concluded, he would slap severe tariffs on Russia's remaining trade partners in a bid to impede Moscow's ability to finance its military offensive. Pumped up by huge state spending on soldiers and weapons, as well as by redirecting vital energy exports to the likes of China and India, Russia's economy has so far defied Western hopes sanctions would push it into a deep recession. Two rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine, held in Turkey in recent months, have made no progress towards ending the fighting and yielded only large-scale prisoner exchanges. Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia launched its offensive, with millions forced to flee their homes in eastern and southern Ukraine, which has been decimated by aerial attacks and ground assaults. Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire and his negotiators have demanded Ukraine shun all Western military support, and pull out of four regions in its east and south that Moscow claims to have annexed. Kyiv and the West have rejected them as a call for Ukraine's de-facto capitulation. Peskov said Russia was open to another round of talks and was "waiting for proposals from the Ukrainian side on the timing." Kyiv has called it "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation. Denmark and the Netherlands on Tuesday said they were looking to participate in Trump's plan for Europe to buy American weapons for Ukraine. Under the scheme, some of NATO's European members would pay Washington for the weapons, including vital Patriot air defence systems, which would then be shipped to Ukraine. The United States has been Kyiv's most important military backer since Russia launched its offensive in 2022, but Trump's erratic policy on whether to support Ukraine and his attempts to engage Putin have spooked Europe and Kyiv. In Moscow, residents dismissed Trump's statement as little more than politics. "It's a game of chess," Svetlana, an aviation engineer said. "There will still be negotiations... (Trump) gave 50 days, and then there will be more... We are waiting for the next move of our president," the 47-year-old said. Russia has pummelled Ukrainian cities with regular aerial attacks in recent weeks as its troops advance slowly across the battlefield in the east and south. Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the east were hopeful but cautious following Trump's promise of air defences and weapons. "I don't believe him. There have been too many promises that haven't been kept," said one soldier with the call-sign "Shah." Others were worried it might be too little too late. "Of course it's good, but at the same time, time has been lost. Those Patriots could have been sent sooner and could have helped a lot," another fighter called "Master" told AFP. "If there is even the slightest chance to improve the situation for us and worsen it for them, then that's already positive," Ruslan, a 29-year-old soldier, said. Russia is demanding Ukraine pull out of four regions in its east and south AFP Moscow said it needed more time to respond fully to Trump's statement AFP Russia has pummelled Ukrainian cities with daily aerial attacks AFP
