Ukraine is seeking to equip a million soldiers with Western weapons as it seeks to recapture economically vital southern territory seized by Russia, the country’s defense minister said. In an interview with The Times, Oleksii Reznikov urged allies to provide Ukraine with more weapons, warning: “Every day we expect shells and we could lose a hundred soldiers.” Meanwhile, the UK Ministry of Defense has claimed that Vladimir Putin’s army is facing a number of damaging personnel-related issues, with soldiers unable to take scheduled breaks from intense combat conditions. Citing a Russian report, the ministry said the video showed soldiers’ wives appealing directly to a local politician to let their husbands return home from fighting in Ukraine, claiming they were “mentally and physically exhausted” as they were in active combat since the beginning of the invasion. . And at least 18 civilians were killed and others trapped under rubble when Russian rockets destroyed a five-story apartment building in Chasiv Yar, a town in the Donetsk region, emergency services said.
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The death toll from the strike in an apartment in Chasiv Yar rose to 18
The death toll from a Russian rocket attack on a block of flats in the eastern city of Chasiv Yar on Saturday rose to 18 after three more bodies were recovered, as rescuers continued to struggle to reach survivors in the rubble, emergency services said. . Rescuers were in voice contact with two people trapped in the rubble of the five-story building complex in the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region that was hit late Saturday, the agency said. Six people were rescued from the rubble of the building and about 137 tons of debris were cleared, he added. Andy Gregory 11 July 2022 08:49 1657524521
Russian parliament considers calling ’emergency session’
The organizational council of the Russian parliament was due to meet on Monday to decide on calling an emergency session of parliament on July 15, but it was not immediately clear what was to be discussed. The lower house of parliament said the council was due to meet on Monday because of “issues that require urgent solutions” and the need to consider “government initiatives”. He did not provide further details. At the scheduled start of the council meeting, there was no public live translation of the meeting and no agenda was published, Reuters reporters said. Reuters11 July 2022 08:28 1657522963
Ukraine is amassing forces of millions to retake the southern regions, the defense minister said
Ukraine is mustering a million troops armed with Western weapons to retake southern territory captured by Russia, Kiev’s defense minister told The Times. Oleksii Reznikov said Volodymr Zelensky had told Ukraine’s military to retake coastal areas vital to the country’s economy, saying: “We understand that, politically, it is very necessary for our country. “The president has instructed the supreme military leader to draw up plans. After that the general staff does its homework and says to achieve this goal we need XYZ … This is my job. I write letters to counterparts in partner countries, the generals talk about why we need this kind of weapons, and then we make the political decisions.” Warning that “every day we expect shells, we can lose a hundred soldiers”, he suggested that Western countries were stepping up arms supplies now because the Ukrainians had proved they could fight, adding that NATO had underestimated Kiev’s resolve and overestimated Russia’s strength . “I tried to explain that after eight years of hybrid warfare we have more than 400,000 veterans plus their relatives in different parts of the world,” he told the paper. “Workers from Poland to Portugal decided to return to Ukraine to defend their country.” Andy Gregory 11 July 2022 08:02 1657522488
‘It was all chaos’: Residents describe deadly rocket attack in Chasiv Yar
Survivors spoke to Reuters after a rocket attack on a five-storey apartment building in the eastern city of Chasiv Yar on Saturday night killed 15 people and left a dozen people feared trapped in the rubble. On Sunday, rescuers used a crane to lift a concrete slab and their hands to dig through the debris, while dazed residents who survived the attack retrieved personal belongings and told stories of their escape. A woman was seen walking out of the damaged building carrying an ironing board under her arm, an umbrella and a plastic shopping bag. Others simply watched the rescue efforts, fearing the worst as the dead were carried away. “We ran into the basement, there were three knocks, the first somewhere in the kitchen,” said a resident who gave her name as Ludmila. “The second one, I don’t even remember, there was lightning, we ran to the second entrance and then straight into the basement. We sat there all night until this morning.” Another survivor, who gave her name as Venus, said she wanted to save her two kittens. “They threw me in the bathroom, it was a mess, I was in shock, covered in blood,” she said, crying. “By the time I left the bathroom, the room was full of rubble, three floors had fallen. I never found the kittens under the rubble.” Rescuers clear the scene Sunday after the bombing in Chasiv Yar (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images) Andy Gregory 11 July 2022 07:54 1657521009
Germans fear for natural gas pipeline as it shuts down for scheduled maintenance
A major natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is being shut down today for annual maintenance, amid concerns in Berlin that Russia may not resume the flow of natural gas as planned. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Germany’s main source of Russian natural gas, is scheduled to be out of service until July 21 for routine work that the operator says includes “tests of mechanical components and automation systems.” But German officials are suspicious of Russia’s intentions, particularly after Russia’s Gazprom last month cut the flow of natural gas through Nord Stream 1 by 60 percent, citing technical problems involving a gas turbine that was shut down after maintenance due to sanctions. German politicians rejected Russia’s technical explanation for cutting gas flows last month through Nord Stream 1, saying the decision was a political game to sow uncertainty and push up prices. German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said he suspected Russia might cite “some small technical details” as a reason not to resume gas deliveries through the pipeline after the maintenance. Andy Gregory 11 July 2022 07:30 1657519270
Russia targets Kharkiv with heavy munitions – official
Russia stepped up its assault on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, as artillery, multiple rocket launchers and tanks opened fire, officials said Monday. A Russian missile hit an apartment building in Kharkiv overnight, but no casualties were reported, officials said. Russian warplanes bombed towns in the east as well as Donetsk, killing at least 15 people, Ukraine’s general staff said on Monday. Arpan RaiJuly 11, 2022 07:01 am 1657517496
Russian fighter jets face a lack of scheduled breaks, UK claims
The British Ministry of Defense said the Russian military is facing one of its most damaging issues as its soldiers are unable to take scheduled breaks from intense combat conditions. Citing a Russian report, the British Ministry of Defense said: “In late June, a Russian-language media agency based in Russia’s eastern Lake Baikal region uploaded a video in which female soldiers from the 36th Combined Arms Army of the Eastern Military District ( EMD’s) appealed directly to a local politician for their husbands to return home from service in Ukraine.” “A woman claimed that personnel of the EMD’s 5th Separate Guard Tank Brigade are ‘mentally and physically exhausted’ because they have been in active combat since the start of the ‘special military operation’ on February 24, 2022,” the latest intelligence update read. He added: “The lack of scheduled breaks from intense combat conditions is very likely one of the most damaging of the many personnel issues that the Russian Foreign Ministry is struggling to correct among the deploying force.” On the Ukrainian border, the ministry said Russian artillery shelling continued in the northern sector of Donbass “but probably without significant territorial advances. Ukrainian forces continued to exert localized pressure on the Russian defensive line in the northeastern Kherson region, also likely without achieving territorial gain.” Arpan RaiJuly 11, 2022 06:31 1657515003
Rescue operations underway in Donetsk apartment building, Ukraine says
Ukrainian officials said rescue crews were digging through the rubble of an apartment building in search of missing people in eastern Ukraine after a Russian missile hit it on Sunday. Searches are underway for at least a dozen people, including a child, trapped in the rubble of the five-story building. At least 15 people have been killed, Volodymyr Zelensky said, indicating the death toll could rise. Rescuers use a crane to lift concrete slabs and their hands to dig through the debris as dazed residents who survived the attack on Saturday afternoon. The missile strike was described as “another terrorist attack”, said Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff. He added that Russia should be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. Lamiat Sabin has the full report here:
Russian missile attack kills 15 in Donetsk apartment building, Ukraine says
Six people have so far been pulled from the rubble, but dozens are feared to remain trapped Arpan Rai11 July 2022 05:50 1657513338
Public support for Ukrainian refugees is already falling in the UK, poll shows
Polls in Britain suggest that public support for Ukrainian refugees is waning even as the war has raged for more than four and a half months. About three quarters…
