Russian forces open fire on boat carrying flood evacuees, killing three; Ukraine claims to have liberated three frontline villages in western Donetsk
Ukraine’s armed forces have claimed to have liberated three frontline villages in western Donetsk, almost a week after the launch of counteroffensive operations. Soldiers were shown in video footage raising the Ukrainian flag over the village of Blahodatne, south of the town of Velyka Novosilka, one of the main axes of the counteroffensive so far. Troops from another brigade filmed themselves with their unit’s banner in Neskuchne. Later on Sunday, Kyiv said a third village, Makarivka, had been taken.
Three civilians were killed and 10 others wounded after Russian forces opened fire on a boat carrying flood evacuees to the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson. A 74-year-old man used his body to shield a woman from Russian fire and was hit in the back, Reuters reported. Two of the 10 people wounded were law enforcement officers.
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his fighters will not sign contracts with the Russian defence ministry, hours after the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, sought to bring volunteer detachments under its control. “Wagner will not sign any contracts with Shoigu,” Prigozhin said on Sunday, adding that the minister “cannot properly manage military formations”. Wagner was completely subordinated to the interests of Russia, Prigozhin said, but its command structure would be damaged by reporting to Shoigu.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet in Kherson region, where the breach of the Kakhovka dam has led to major flooding. Russia also repelled three Ukrainian attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region, the ministry said, while the Tass news agency reported Russian air defence systems shot down a Ukrainian missile near the Russian-controlled port city of Berdiansk on the Sea of Azov.
Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine had made an unsuccessful attempt to attack a vessel of its Black Sea fleet which was protecting natural gas pipelines. The ship was monitoring the situation along the TurkStream and Blue Stream pipelines route in the Black Sea, it said.
Russian forces blew up the Khakhovka dam to prevent Ukrainian troops from launching an offensive and advancing in the southern Kherson region, according to Kyiv’s deputy defence minister. Hanna Maliar said the action was also intended to help Russia deploy reserves to the Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut areas.
Russia and Ukraine have simultaneously swapped nearly 100 prisoners each. The Ukrainian prisoners included members of the national guard and border guards who had been in action in several places, including near the city of Mariupol and the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.
Russia’s defence minister has awarded medals to soldiers after Moscow said its forces had destroyed four German-made Leopard tanks and five US-made Bradley fighting vehicles while repelling a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Sergei Shoigu was shown on state television awarding the Hero of Russia gold star, Russia’s highest military honour, on Sunday to soldiers who said they had destroyed enemy tanks and armoured vehicles.
Two drones crashed early on Sunday in Russia’s Kaluga region – one near the village of Strelkovka, another in the woods in the Medynsky municipal district, according to the governor of the region, Vladislav Shapsha. There were no casualties and only minimal damage, he said on Telegram.
A US citizen arrested in Russia on drugs charges this week is a military veteran and musician who has lived in Moscow for nearly a decade. Travis Michael Leake and a friend, Valeria Grobanyuk, were arrested in a drug raid that has the potential to further ignite tensions between Washington and Moscow. “I don’t understand why I’m here,” said a man shown on camera and identified by Russian state media as Leake. “I do not admit my guilt.”
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