Latest news with #RussianMinistryOfDefence
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,221
Here is how things stand on Sunday, June 29: A Russian drone attack killed a teacher and her husband in Ukraine's Odesa, and wounded 14 others, according to Ukrainian officials. Three of the victims, including a child, were in critical condition. At least two others were killed in another Russian attack on the villages of Kostiantynivka and Ivanopillia in the eastern region of Donetsk on Friday, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin. Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Saturday night, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko warning residents to take shelter from Russian drones 'heading for the city', according to the official Ukrinform news agency. Russia's Ministry of Defence said Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Chervona Zirka in Donetsk. The ministry later said it had also seized the area between the Vovcha and Mokri Yaly rivers. Top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskii also said on Telegram that Russia's military was 'surging towards' the key city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk, but that 'apart from sustaining numerous losses, [it] has achieved nothing'. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack caused several injuries to a 43-year-old man, including a traumatic brain injury, in the village of Glushkovo in the Kursk region, the TASS news agency reported, citing a local official. Ukraine's SBU security service said Ukrainian forces using special drones attacked the Kirovske military airfield in Russian-occupied Crimea, destroying three attack helicopters and an anti-aircraft missile system. Russia's military said it destroyed 64 Ukrainian drones over western Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight and into Saturday. Politics and diplomacy Poland's outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, during a visit to Kyiv, asked Ukraine to 'please be patient' during the handover to his nationalist successor, Karol Nawrocki. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters he would 'of course' invite Nawrocki to Ukraine after he assumed office. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker and chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament, told Ukraine's ongoing marathon television broadcast that a bill is being drafted to hold elections after the war, Ukrinform reported.
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia, Ukraine confirm prisoner swap after Turkiye talks
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war as the two countries continue to trade attacks, despite diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Officials in Moscow and Kyiv confirmed the swap on Thursday but did not disclose the number of prisoners released. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X that the 'warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service' were returning home. 'Most of them had been in captivity since 2022. We are doing everything possible to find each person, to verify the information on every name,' he said. 'We must bring all our people home. I thank everyone who is helping us in this effort.' At the same time, Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Telegram that another group of Russian soldiers had returned from Ukraine. 'Currently, Russian servicemen are on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are receiving the necessary psychological and medical assistance,' the ministry said. The soldiers will then be taken to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation, the ministry added. During their direct meeting in Turkiye on June 2, Russia and Ukraine pledged to swap at least 1,000 soldiers in one of the few points that both sides have agreed upon and shown cooperation since the war began in 2022. But future talks to discuss a path to end the war have stalled as the gulf between Moscow and Kyiv has remained unchanged. Russia has repeatedly said any territory it has taken during the war must be retained to achieve a ceasefire. However, Kyiv has rejected giving up its land. Amid the latest prisoner exchange, Russian air strikes on Ukraine killed at least one person and wounded two others in the southern region of Kherson, according to the regional mayor. Moreover, Russia announced that its forces had captured two Ukrainian villages in the Donetsk region as Ukraine's army chief, Oleksandr Syrskii, ordered defensive lines to be built faster as Russian forces take more ground towards the Dnipropetrovsk region. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy signed an accord on Thursday with the Council of Europe to put top Russian officials on trial for the invasion of Ukraine.
Al Jazeera
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia, Ukraine conduct another round of POWs exchange
Ukraine and Russia have swapped prisoners of war (POWs), the warring sides said, after Moscow also handed over the bodies of 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv. 'We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity. This is the fourth exchange in a week,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media on Saturday. The Russian Ministry of Defence posted on Telegram that another group of Russian servicemen was returned 'from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime' in accordance with the agreements reached by the two sides in Istanbul earlier this month. Photos published by Zelenskyy on Telegram showed men of various ages, mostly with shaved heads, wearing camouflage and draped in Ukrainian flags. Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling. Moscow's Defence Ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting 'Russia, Russia', 'Glory to Russia' and 'Hooray', some raising their fists in the air. The Russian soldiers are in Belarus, where they are receiving medical treatment before being transferred back to Russia, the Defence Ministry said. The ministry did not say how many POWs were involved in the latest swap. However, Russian state media reported, citing sources, that Moscow had not received any of its war dead back from Kyiv, echoing a statement Russia made on Friday when it said it had returned the bodies of 1,200 slain Ukrainian soldiers and received none of its own. Ukraine earlier on Saturday confirmed it had received the bodies of its soldiers killed in action. The latest POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine came after Moscow alleged that Kyiv had indefinitely postponed the swap of wounded and seriously ill POWs and those under the age of 25, as well as the return of the bodies of thousands of soldiers on each side. The swap came as Russia intensified its offensive along the front line, especially in the northeastern Sumy region, where it seeks to establish a 'buffer zone'. Zelenskyy claimed Russia's advance on Sumy was stopped, adding that Kyiv's forces have managed to retake one village. Meanwhile, the two sides are no closer to any temporary ceasefire agreement as a concrete step towards ending the war despite some initial momentum from the United States President Donald Trump who now appears to be losing patience in his campaign for a truce, even suggesting the two be left to fight longer, like 'children in a park', before they are pulled apart.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian defence plant on fire after attack
A drone attack has caused a fire at the VNDIR-Progres plant, which manufactures Kometa receivers for the Russians that protect Russian drones from Ukrainian electronic warfare systems, in the city of Cheboksary, the Chuvash Republic of the Russian Federation. The plant has suspended operations. Source: Oleg Nikolayev, head of the Chuvash Republic; Russian Ministry of Defence on Telegram; Russian Telegram channel Astra Quote from Nikolayev: "Two UAVs fell on the territory of VNDIR, which led to the decision to temporarily suspend production to ensure the safety of employees. Another two drones fell in the fields of the Cheboksary and Krasnoarmeyskoye municipal districts – there is no threat to people." Details: Nikolayev did not mention the consequences of the attack on the plant, only noting that there were no casualties or injuries and that "all services are working in enhanced mode". However, the Telegram channel Astra has published many photos and videos of the fire at the plant. For reference: VNDIR-Progres is part of the ABS Elektro production association. According to the company's website, it develops and manufactures "scientific and technical products, software and hardware systems, automation and control systems, electrical products, electronic components, electronic modules and radio-electronic products". Astra reports that this plant manufactures Kometa/Kometa M satellite signal receivers for the Russians, which help them bypass Ukrainian electronic warfare systems. This plant is located over 1,000 km from Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that air defence forces had intercepted and destroyed 49 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles overnight. In particular, 13 UAVs were supposedly shot down over Russia's Kursk and Nizhny Novgorod oblasts each, nine over Voronezh and Oryol oblasts each, two over Bryansk Oblast, two over the Chuvash Republic and one over Belgorod Oblast. Background: Russian authorities imposed temporary restrictions at four Russian airports on the night of 8-9 June and explosions rocked the city of Cheboksary in the Chuvash Republic. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia claims entry into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian General Staff denies it
Russia's Ministry of Defence reported that its forces entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the morning of 8 June, but the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has refuted the claim. Source: Major Andrii Kovalov, spokesperson for Ukraine's General Staff, in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda; Defence Forces of Ukraine's South; Russian Ministry of Defence Details: In the morning, Russian forces claimed that they had "reached the western border of the 'DPR' [Russian-backed "Donetsk People's Republic" terrorist organisation – ed.] and were continuing to advance in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast". Quote from Kovalov: "This information does not reflect reality. Fighting continues in Donetsk Oblast. The enemy has not entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast." Details: Meanwhile, Defence Forces of Ukraine's South issued a statement that Russian troops do not abandon intentions to enter Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, but Ukrainian forces "courageously and professionally hold their sector of the front, breaking the plans of the occupiers". OSINT analysts, particularly DeepState, have confirmed battles taking place just hundreds of metres from the border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
