Latest news with #Chernigiv
Al Arabiya
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
UK distances new spy chief from ‘Nazi' grandfather
The British government has distanced the incoming head of its foreign intelligence service from her grandfather following reports he was a Nazi spy known as 'the butcher.' Blaise Metreweli will in the autumn become the first woman to lead MI6 in its 116-year-old history, the British government announced earlier this month. The Daily Mail newspaper reported this week that her grandfather Constantine Dobrowolski defected from the Soviet Union's Red Army to become a Nazi informant in the Chernigiv region of modern-day Ukraine. The newspaper said German archives showed Dobrowolski was known as 'the Butcher' or 'Agent No 30' by Wehrmacht commanders. 'Blaise Metreweli neither knew nor met her paternal grandfather,' a Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement. 'Blaise's ancestry is characterized by conflict and division and, as is the case for many with eastern European heritage, only partially understood. 'It is precisely this complex heritage which has contributed to her commitment to prevent conflict and protect the British public from modern threats from today's hostile states, as the next chief of MI6.' The Daily Mail said Dobrowolski had a 50,000 ruble bounty placed on him by Soviet leaders, and was dubbed the 'worst enemy of the Ukrainian people.' He also sent letters to superiors saying he 'personally' took part 'in the extermination of the Jews,' the newspaper added. The head of MI6 is the only publicly named member of the organization and reports directly to the foreign minister. Metreweli, 47, will be the 18th head of MI6. Like her predecessors she will be referred to as 'C', not 'M' as the chief is called in the James Bond film franchise.
Arab News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of POWs
CHERNIGIV REGION, Ukraine: Ukraine and Russia exchanged a new group of captured soldiers on Thursday, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Neither side said how many prisoners were released in the latest exchange. The two countries pledged to swap at least 1,000 soldiers each during their direct meeting in Istanbul on June 2 but no follow-up talks have been scheduled. The return of prisoners of war and the repatriation of war dead have been among the few areas of cooperation between the warring sides since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. 'Today, warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service are returning home,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. He shared images of Ukrainian soldiers draped in blue-and-yellow national flags, smiling and tearfully embracing. AFP reporters in Ukraine's northern Chernigiv region saw relatives awaiting the prisoner release. Some family members waved posters of missing or captured soldiers in the hope someone would recognize their loved ones and bring them news. Svitlana Nosal learned her husband Viktor had been freed. 'It's such a joy, I don't know how to describe it, how to put it into words,' she said, laughing and crying in the late afternoon sun. The majority of those released on Thursday were held captive for more than three years, according to Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Many of them were taken prisoner in Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city that fell to Russian forces in 2022 following a nearly three-month siege, it said. Russia said its soldiers had been transferred to Belarus and were receiving 'psychological and medical care.' 'Another group of Russian servicemen has been returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,' the defense ministry said in a statement. It posted a video showing freed Russian soldiers draped in their national flag, chanting 'Russia, Russia, Russia!'
CNA
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNA
Ukraine, Russia exchange another group of prisoners of war
CHERNIGIV, UKRAINE: Ukraine and Russia exchanged a new group of captured soldiers on Thursday (Jun 26), the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed during peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Neither side disclosed how many individuals were released in the latest exchange. The two countries had pledged to swap at least 1,000 soldiers each during their direct meeting in Istanbul on Jun 2. No follow-up talks have been scheduled. The return of prisoners of war and repatriation of war dead have remained among the few areas of cooperation between the warring sides since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. 'Today, warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service are returning home,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. He shared images of Ukrainian soldiers draped in blue-and-yellow national flags, smiling and tearfully embracing. An AFP team in Ukraine's northern Chernigiv region saw relatives awaiting the return of prisoners, some holding posters of missing or captured soldiers in the hope that someone would recognise their loved ones and share news. Svitlana Nosal learned that her husband Viktor had been freed. 'It's such a joy, I don't know how to describe it, how to put it into words,' she said, laughing and crying in the late afternoon sun. The majority of those released on Thursday had been held captive for more than three years, according to Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Many were taken prisoner in Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city that fell to Russian forces in 2022 following a nearly three-month siege. Russia said its soldiers had been transferred to Belarus and were receiving psychological and medical care. 'Another group of Russian servicemen has been returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,' the defence ministry said in a statement.
Free Malaysia Today
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Russian strikes kill 14, wound dozens in Kyiv
Ukrainian interior minister Igor Klymenko said 27 different locations in Kyiv came under Russian fire. (AP pic) KYIV : A Russian attack on Ukraine killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens in the capital, authorities said today, with more wounded reported in the Odesa and Chernigiv regions. Interior minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram: '27 locations in different districts of the capital came under enemy fire tonight'. He added that 'residential buildings, educational institutions and critical infrastructure facilities' had all been hit. 'The death toll has risen to 14 people. As of now, 44 people have been injured in Kyiv,' Klymenko said. He added that six others had been injured in Odesa and another in Chernigiv. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko had earlier reported the death of a US citizen in a Russian attack on the capital's Solomyansky district. 'During the attack on Kyiv… a 62-year-old US citizen died in a house opposite to the place where medics were providing assistance to the injured,' Klitschko said on Telegram. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, slammed the new Russian strikes on 'residential buildings in Kyiv,' saying on Telegram that Moscow was 'continuing its war against civilians'. Moscow has kept up its attacks on Ukraine despite efforts by the US to broker a ceasefire. Talks have stalled. Moscow has rejected the 'unconditional' truce demanded by Kyiv and its European allies, while Ukraine has dismissed Russia's demands as 'ultimatums'. Yesterday, Zelensky had said he hoped to speak with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit. But the Ukrainian leader was expected to arrive at the G7 after the departure of the American president, who cut short his stay in the Canadian Rockies as Israel pounded Iran.
News24
05-06-2025
- Business
- News24
Russia kills 5 in Ukraine attack as Putin vows revenge for airbase strikes
Russian attacks killed five in Ukraine. Russia President Vladimir Putin vowed revenge for Ukraine's attack on military airbases. Ukraine and the US have discussed how to make a minerals fund operational. Russian drone strikes killed five people and wounded six others in the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky, a Ukrainian official said on Thursday. 'Five people have been reported dead, including two women and a one-year-old child, who were found under the rubble,' Vyacheslav Chaus, a Chernigiv regional official, wrote on Telegram, adding six people were wounded and hospitalised. 'The explosions damaged houses in a residential area,' he said. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, tens of thousands of people have been killed, swaths of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed, and millions forced to flee their homes. Ukraine has retaliated on Russian soil, conducting a dramatic drone attack on Russian military airbases over the weekend, destroying billions of dollars' worth of nuclear-capable bombers. READ | Hope for Ukraine peace fades as Russia rejects 'immediate solutions and breakthroughs' Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said he will seek revenge for Kyiv's attack, and has appeared to rule out a ceasefire or direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Shelling in the partially Russian-occupied Kherson region of southern Ukraine late on Wednesday caused a substation to lose power, leaving thousands without electricity. 'The Novotroitskoye 150kV substation lost power as a result of shelling... Over 120 000 people were left without light and water', Vladimir Saldo, governor of the Russian-occupied part of Kherson, wrote on Telegram. Reuters reported that Russian aircraft were damaged but not destroyed in the 1 June attack by Ukraine, and they would be restored, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the state news agency TASS. The equipment in question, as was also stated by representatives of the Ministry of Defence, was not destroyed but damaged. It will be restored. Sergei Ryabkov The US assesses that Ukraine's drone attack over the weekend hit as many as 20 Russian warplanes, destroying around 10 of them, two US officials told Reuters, a figure that is about half the number estimated by Zelensky. The Ukrainian military said it struck Russian missile systems in Bryansk region which were preparing to attack the country on Thursday. 'One Russian missile launcher detonated, and two others were most likely damaged,' Ukraine's general staff said via the Telegram messaging app. The general staff said that Ukraine's capital Kyiv was likely the target of the attack getting prepared by the unit in Bryansk region. Ukraine and the US have discussed how to make a minerals fund operational by the end of the year and the fund's first meeting is expected in July, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said in Washington on Wednesday. The agreement on developing Ukraine's mineral resources, heavily promoted by US President Donald Trump, was signed by Svyrydenko in Washington in April after weeks of tough negotiations made the terms more favourable to Kyiv. Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images Ukraine's parliament then ratified the deal. On Wednesday, Svyrydenko held meetings with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Development Finance Corporation, which would be a partner of the minerals fund, 'and we discussed very concrete steps how to make this fund operational during this year', she told reporters. 'So we plan to have the first board meeting of this fund in July and we will discuss what will be the seed capital to start operating this fund. And actually, too, we should adopt the investment strategy for this fund for the next few years.' The negotiations leading to the clinching of the minerals fund deal followed a heated exchange at the White House between Trump and Zelensky over how to work toward ending Ukraine's three-year-old war with Russia.
