Latest news with #TerritorialDefenceForces
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine approves use of private jets for air defence
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved a resolution at a meeting on 11 June allowing private aircraft to be used in the country's air defence system. Source: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine Details: For the first time, a legal framework has been established to regulate the involvement of private aircraft in air defence operations. The resolution simplifies the temporary registration process for such aircraft, reducing the timeline to 10 days. Previously, registration for state aviation vessels took between 2 and 6 months. Quote from Ukraine's Defence Minister Umierov: "Until now, there had been no legal grounds for involving private aircraft in air defence tasks, despite offers from concerned citizens to use their equipment and assist in repelling enemy aerial attacks. This step will bolster air defence capabilities in response to the enemy's growing use of strike UAVs." Background: On 11 June, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers also adopted a resolution to engage Territorial Defence Forces volunteers in protecting Ukraine from Russian attack drones. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Transgender American who joined Ukrainian army and said Kyiv should 'hunt down' Russian journalists is given 20-year jail term
An American trans woman who volunteered for Ukraine's Territorial Defence Forces (TDF) as a combat medic and briefly served as their spokesperson has been sentenced to a 20-year prison term by Russian authorities. Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, 47, was yesterday found guilty by the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic in occupied Ukraine of being a mercenary for Kyiv 's forces and spreading fake news about the Russian military. A former journalist and author, US citizen Ashton-Cirillo travelled to Ukraine shortly after Russia 's full-scale invasion in February 2022 to cover the conflict as a war correspondent for the US publication LGBTQ Nation. Within a matter of months, she resigned her post and volunteered to join the Ukrainian army, fighting as part of Kharkiv 's 113th Territorial Defence Brigade, and was made a junior sergeant. In 2023 she withdrew from the frontline, having suffered injuries amid a Russian artillery attack on her unit's position, and was appointed as an English-language spokesperson for the TDF. In this role, she launched a YouTube show entitled 'Russia Hates the Truth' which she reviewed and debunked Moscow 's disinformation campaigns, catching the eye of Russian media controllers. Russian authorities added Ashton-Cirillo to a 'register of extremists and terrorists' and opened a criminal case against her in 2024, months after she said Russian journalists affiliated with state media would be 'hunted down'. She was sentenced yesterday in absentia by the court in Donetsk, meaning that she would be liable to face the full jail term if captured by Russian forces. Ashton-Cirillo courted controversy in August 2023 after her work with the Ukrainian TDF was brought to the attention of US Vice President JD Vance, who at the time was a Republican senator. Vance penned a letter to then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines in which he accused the junior sergeant of threatening 'physical violence to anyone who circulates Russian propaganda' during a video message she had made while in post. He also wanted to know whether Ashton-Cirillo was being 'compensated using American resources' and questioned whether US officials had 'reason to believe Ukrainian forces or intelligence services are planning to commit acts of violence against those who engage in 'Russian propaganda'.' But Ashton-Cirillo went on to release a follow-up video amid Vance's speculation in which she told viewers that 'Russian devils' would 'pay for their crimes', with Ukrainian TDF branding in the background. The release of the clip coincided with a visit to Washington by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and was not approved by the Ukrainian TDF, leading to her suspension. Speaking to in 2023, Ashton-Cirillo admitted she had not sought approval from her superiors before posting her response to Vance. 'Russia Hates The Truth doesn't require anything to be vetted - I and the TDF team have editorial control over that. It's meant to be as over the top as possible. 'It was my response to Senator Vance in uniform in front of the TDF logo without approval which was the reason for my suspension. 'I told my team that I was going to do it, but given that it was something as sensitive as a response to a US Senator in a public setting, it needed to be approved. 'I couldn't believe it that there was a US Senator trying to unmask me. It wasn't my message to him that was a problem, it was that President Zelensky was on a trip to the US at the time and I probably should have held back in responding.' She was later cleared of wrongdoing and reinstated, but quickly moved into another unspecified role in Ukraine's Armed Forces. Ashton-Cirillo remains in Ukraine as of May 2025 and is engaged in promoting fundraising and crowdfunding campaigns to help Ukrainian soldiers wounded on the frontlines. The Russian-controlled court took umbrage with Ashton-Cirillo's vow to 'hunt down' Russian state-affiliated journalists and allegations that Russian forces had used biological weapons in operations in Ukraine and Syria. A court statement on the ruling against Ashton-Cirillo was published yesterday. It reads: 'The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic has issued a verdict in absentia in the criminal case against 47-year-old US citizen Sarah Ashton-Cirillo. 'She was found guilty under paragraph 'd' of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation), Part 3 of Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict). 'The court established that... the mercenary arrived in Ukraine, voluntarily joined the International Legion, and was then assigned to the 113th Territorial Defense Brigade of Ukraine. She underwent military training at training bases and was provided with firearms, ammunition, uniforms, and special equipment. Ashton-Cirillo took part in combat operations on the side of the Ukrainian security forces against servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. 'In August 2023, she prepared a video story, which she posted on the Internet, about the alleged stockpiles of biological weapons created in Russia and the use of chemical weapons by the Russian Armed Forces in the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as on the territory of Ukraine during a special military operation. 'The mercenary has been placed on an international wanted list, and the court has chosen a preventive measure in the form of detention in absentia against her. 'Taking into account the position of the state prosecutor, the court sentenced Ashton-Cirillo in absentia to 20 years of imprisonment to be served in a general regime penal colony.'
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine releases film showing military commandant's office operating in Russia's Kursk Oblast
The media team of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces has unveiled a documentary about the work of the military commandant's office in Russia's Kursk Oblast. Source: Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Quote: "Ukrainian soldiers are rescuing civilians... in Russia's Kursk Oblast. The military commandant's office on the territory of the Russian Federation helps residents of frontline villages attacked by their own state. The film presents events without embellishment or fiction – only facts, real faces, voices, and the unvarnished truth." Details: Ukrainian forces emphasise that the film contains testimonies that should be brought to the attention of the international community. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Yahoo
Ukrainian forces hit Russian armoured vehicles and kill infantrymen near Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast
Operators of FPV drones of the 113th Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces have destroyed two Russian combat vehicles, hit one more vehicle and struck the Russians' shelters near the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast. It has also been reported that the Ukrainian unit killed some of the Russian soldiers who were near the scenes of the strikes. Source: Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group on Telegram Quote: "The occupation army keeps trying to conduct assault operations with the use of armoured vehicles and attack our fortifications on the Kharkiv front, near Vovchansk." Details: It was reported that the soldiers of the 113th Territorial Defence Forces Brigade, together with other units, stopped the Russian assault in Kharkiv Oblast. FPV drone operators destroyed Russian armoured vehicles and later hit shelters and killed those Russian infantrymen that had survived previous attacks. Background: On 5 September 2024, the Separate Presidential Brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi released a photo showing the almost completely destroyed Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast. On 15 January 2025, Russian troops attacked Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, injuring a 57-year-old man. Support UP or become our patron!
