Ukraine urged its allies to send more weapons to the country as its chief negotiator said a turning point in the war was taking shape. Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukrainian forces were close to attacking storage facilities and command centers as Moscow’s forces went into an “operational pause due to losses and resupply”. Meanwhile, the Pentagon said the US would send Kyiv an additional $400 million (£332.5 million) in military aid, with weapons largely focused on long-range, high-precision weapons. Earlier, the Kremlin warned that Ukraine must strike a peace deal with Russia or face “sliding down that hill” to destruction. Andrei Kelin, Russia’s ambassador to London, issued the threat in an interview with Reuters at his London residence, where Winston Churchill used to discuss World War II strategy with his ambassador Joseph Stalin.
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The only way out: volunteers saving Ukrainians from hell on the front lines
To escape the areas hardest hit by the war, the most vulnerable Ukrainians rely on volunteers who use buses to ferry people to safety. Bel True joined such a convoy in the Donbass.
The only way out: volunteers saving Ukrainians from hell on the front lines
To escape the areas hardest hit by the war, the most vulnerable Ukrainians rely on volunteers who use buses to ferry people to safety. Bel True joined such a convoy in the Donbass Joe Middleton July 8, 2022 7:57 p.m 1657350739
Recruits in the Ukrainian army in the UK for training
The first batch of Ukrainian soldiers landed in the UK for training this week. Here are some images of the recruits at a location in Manchester: Ben Wallance, the UK Defense Secretary, talks to Ukrainian army recruits (PA) The first batch of new recruits landed in the UK this week for training (PA) Recruits to the Ukrainian army are being trained by UK armed forces personnel, here at a site near Manchester (PA) Zoe TidmanJuly 9, 2022 08:12 1657348800
‘Devastation’ in an occupied Ukrainian city as bodies decompose
Russian-held Sievierodonetsk “is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster,” the governor said, as he sounded the alarm over corpses decomposing in hot apartments. Serhiy Haidai Sievierodonetsk is without water, electricity or a functioning sewage system as enemy forces unleashed indiscriminate artillery barrages in an attempt to secure their gains in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk province. Moscow this week took full control of Luhansk, but the governor and other Ukrainian officials said their troops held a small part of the province. “Luhansk has not been fully captured, even though the Russians have committed their entire arsenal to achieving that goal,” Mr. Heidai told The Associated Press. “Fierce fighting is taking place in many villages on the borders of the region. The Russians are relying on tanks and artillery to advance, leaving scorched earth.” He said the Russians were “hitting any building they think could be a fortified position.” “They are not hindered by the fact that citizens live there and die in their homes and yards. They keep shooting.” From a pre-war population of 100,000 only 8,000 residents remain in the city, he said. Shweta Sharma July 9, 2022 7:40 am 1657347681
Russia sends reserves to Ukrainian border, UK says
British military intelligence says Russia is moving its reserve forces and positioning them near the Ukrainian border for “future offensive operations”. Its latest assessment of the situation adds: “Many of its reinforcements are ad hoc teams, deployed with outdated or inadequate equipment.” Zoe TidmanJuly 9, 2022 07:21 1657346400
UN says Ukraine ‘bears great, and perhaps equal’ responsibility for nursing home bombing
A new UN report found that Ukrainian forces took up positions inside the nursing home just days before Russian forces attacked a nursing home in March, an attack that killed nearly 50 civilians. Placing the troops in the healthcare facility in Stara Krasnianka with vulnerable civilians effectively made it a target for Russian forces. The report said that the armed forces of Ukraine “large, and perhaps equal”, share of responsibility for the attack. The report does not conclude that Ukrainian soldiers or Moscow-backed separatist fighters committed a war crime. But he said the battle at the Stara Krasnyanka nursing home is emblematic of the human rights office’s concerns about the possible use of “human shields” to prevent military operations in some areas. Shweta Sharma July 9, 2022 7:00 am 1657343700
Ukrainian soldiers arrive in UK for training
The first group of Ukrainian soldiers have arrived in the UK to receive training from British forces to help them in their fight against Russia. Up to 10,000 Ukrainians will be trained in the coming months in the UK-led military programme. The troops met with Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who said: “This ambitious new training program is the next phase in the UK’s support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in their fight against Russian aggression. “Using the world-class expertise of the British military we will help Ukraine rebuild its forces and scale up its resistance as it defends its country’s sovereignty and its right to choose its future.” Around 1,050 members of the British forces have been deployed to run the program which will take place at Ministry of Defense sites across the North West, South West and South East of the UK. Training will be provided to volunteer recruits with little or no military experience and with the skills to be effective in front-line combat. Shweta Sharma July 9, 2022 6:15 am 1657341000
Putin threatens ‘catastrophic consequences’ for energy prices
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if Western powers continued to impose further sanctions it would risk “catastrophic consequences” for global energy markets. “All of this reveals, once again, that sanctions on Russia end up doing far more damage to those countries that impose them,” he said in a televised address on Friday. He acknowledged that sanctions were hurting Russia’s economy, but said Western powers would do more damage. “Further use of sanctions could lead to even more serious consequences, even, without exaggeration, catastrophic consequences on the global energy market,” he said. Shweta Sharma July 9, 2022 5:30 am 1657338012
Ukraine is urging allies to send more weapons as a turning point in the war
Ukraine yesterday urged its allies to send more weapons as Ukraine’s chief negotiator said a turning point in the war was beginning to take shape as Moscow’s forces went into an “operational pause due to casualties and resupply”. “It is clear that they need to rearrange things, bring in new troops and weapons, and that is very good. A certain tipping point is starting to take shape because we are proving that we are going to attack storage facilities and command centers,” Mykhailo Podolyak told Ukraine’s 24 TV channel. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited areas on and near the front and said he spent the day visiting a hospital in Dnipro treating wounded soldiers and touring areas on the front lines of defense in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kryvyi Rih regions. Shweta Sharma July 9, 2022 4:40 am 1657335000
ICYMI: Hummus supplies are threatened by the war in Ukraine and climate change
A decline in global chickpea production due to the war in Ukraine and a changing climate threatens the supply of hummus, according to industry experts. Global chickpea supply could drop by as much as 20% this year, according to the Global Pulse Confederation. Farmers in the United States – the fourth-largest exporter of chickpeas – planted nearly five percent fewer chickpea acres this year because of bad weather, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports.
Hummus supplies will suffer due to the war in Ukraine and climate change
The global supply of chickpeas is forecast to fall by 20 percent this year Joe Middleton 9 July 2022 03:50 1657332000
ICYMI: Jacinda Ardern says UN failed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Jacinda Ardern says UN failed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Joe Middleton July 9, 2022 03:00
