Zelenskiy announces criminal inquiry after Ukrainian soldiers die in missile strike, reportedly during medal ceremony; Ukraine hits Russian warship

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The Ukrainian army has confirmed soldiers from its 128th Mountain Assault Brigade were killed in a Russian missile strike during what media described as a medal awarding ceremony. A Ukrainian soldier said on social media that 22 people were killed and criticised commanders for having held the event in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region. Local media reported 20 deaths – figures that could not be independently verified.

“This is a tragedy that could have been avoided,” the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said of the soldiers’ deaths. “A criminal investigation has been registered into the tragedy. The main thing is to establish the full truth about what happened and to prevent this from happening again.”

Ukrainian cruise missiles damaged a warship docked at the occupied Crimean peninsula, Russia admitted on Sunday, a day after Ukraine announced the strike. Ukraine launched 15 cruise missiles at the BE Butoma shipyard based in the east coast city of Kerch on Saturday, with air defences shooting down 13, Russia’s defence ministry said. Ukrainian attacks have progressively been making Crimea untenable for Russia’s Black Sea fleet to use. Ukraine said the damaged warship was one of Russia’s most advanced, able to fire Kalibr cruise missiles. Online observers named the ship as the Askold.

Zelenskiy said the cost of letting Russia win the war would be further conflict involving ground troops from Nato countries, as he urged US lawmakers on NBC’s Meet the Press to increase war funding. Zelenskiy also said he was “not ready” for talks with Russia unless its invading troops withdraw. The United States “know I am not ready to speak with the terrorists, because their word is nothing”, he said. “They have to go out from our territory, only after that the world can switch on diplomacy.”

Zelenskiy also urged Donald Trump to visit Ukraine, where he said it would take minutes to show the war-sceptic former US president his errors about the conflict.

Tensions simmered between the civilian and military wings of Ukraine’s leadership as the president’s office publicly rebuked top military commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi for his comments that the war was at a stalemate. The office of Zelenskiy said Zaluzhnyi’s words were helpful to Russia and stirred panic.

Zelenskiy said the war in Gaza was distracting focus from Ukraine’s war against Russia as humanitarian, diplomatic and media attention shifts to the Middle East.

Russian casualties climbed to more than 305,000 dead or injured, Ukraine said, with the US estimating 120,000 Russian deaths and 180,000 injured in the invasion.

Ukraine’s Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun said Russian forces were following “cannon fodder” tactics, referring to fighting in the Tavria region.

Fake Russian propaganda linking the Gaza and Ukraine wars is spreading online, with a fabricated Israeli promotional video claiming to show Ukrainians fighting in Israel exposed by the news organisation Ukrinform.

Russia and Saudi Arabia confirmed they would be restricting the supply of crude oil until the end of this year, in efforts to raise the price of oil worldwide.

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Saturday that Ukraine had “made excellent progress” towards EU accession, as she visited Kyiv and affirmed EU support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes”.

Ukraine president says it would take 24 minutes to explain to former US president that he cannot manage the war

The war’s death toll continues to climb, with the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces saying on Sunday there had been 990 casualties among Russian forces in the past 24 hours, taking Moscow’s total casualties – of dead and injured – in the war to 305,090.

According to US estimates, Russia has seen around 120,000 deaths and 180,000 injured.

Beachhead established on occupied side of river could allow Kyiv forces to reclaim more of Kherson region

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A handful of Ukrainian troops who have reached the occupied side of the Dnipro River are clinging to a foothold in Russian-controlled territory in the south of the country despite a fierce bombardment.

The marines have secured a beachhead that could allow Ukraine to reclaim more of the Kherson region that lies between Ukrainian territory and Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014, a fillip for a counter-offensive showing few gains elsewhere, but only if they can find a way to bring armoured vehicles and heavy weapons across the wide river separating the two militaries.

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In response to the evacuations of Ukrainian civilians from Kupiansk were announced, Igor Bodnia, the Internation Rescue Committee’s field manager in Kharkiv, said:

“The situation in Kupiansk is dire, and the impact on children is particularly devastating. Many of them have seen violence and displacement more than once, and they are in urgent need of protection and support. The IRC is working in a reception hub and dormitories in Kharkiv, focusing on providing primary health care to evacuated families, as well as psychological first aid to children to help them cope with the trauma they have experienced.”

Ukraine’s commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Gen Valery Zaluzhny, has said that the war in Ukraine in “at a stalemate”, warning that there is likely to be “no deep and beautiful breakthrough” soon in the counteroffensive against Russia.

Ukraine’s army should have been able to push back at a pace of 18 miles a day as it breached Russian defensive lines, the general said.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) has issued its latest defence intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine as of today, that Russian air defence has suffered significant loses.

Russia is preparing to attack Ukraine’s critical infrastructure once the temperatures drop, according to Ukraine’s national security and defence council secretary, Oleksiy Danilov.

War moving into new attritional stage that will benefit Russia, says Ukraine commander-in-chief; Russia shells highest number of cities and settlements this year

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Lloyd Austin ‘guarantees Putin will be successful’ if US support for Kyiv ends during Senate hearing on Joe Biden’s request for funding

• What we know on day 615 of the invasion

Russian president Vladimir Putin and top government and security officials on Monday discussed strengthening measures to counter external interference after a weekend riot in Dagestan that targeted airline passengers from Israel, the Kremlin said.

In a statement at the start of Monday’s meeting of members of his Security Council, the government and the heads of law enforcement agencies, Putin accused the west and Ukraine of stirring up unrest inside Russia after rioters in the predominantly Muslim Dagestan region stormed an airport to “catch” Jewish passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv.

Russia makes first known arrests of its own soldiers after 2022 invasion on suspicion of killing Ukrainian civilians

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Two Russian soldiers have been arrested on suspicion of killing a family of nine, including two young children, in their home in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha.

Russian media reported that the killings took place last Friday night and the suspects had used machine guns with silencers to kill the family at night in their sleep.