Ukrainian and British officials warned on Saturday that Russian forces were relying on weapons capable of inflicting heavy casualties as they tried to make progress in occupying eastern Ukraine and fierce, prolonged fighting was depleting resources on both sides. Russian bombers may have fired heavy missiles at 1960s ships in Ukraine, the UK Department of Defense has said. The Kh-22 missiles were primarily designed to destroy aircraft carriers using nuclear warheads. When used in land attacks with conventional warheads, “they are extremely inaccurate and therefore can cause serious collateral damage and casualties,” the ministry said. Both sides have spent large quantities of weapons on what has turned into a war of attrition for the eastern area of the coal mines and factories known as the Donbas, overwhelming their resources and reserves. Russia is likely to use the 5.5-ton (6.1-ton) anti-ship missiles because it does not have more accurate modern missiles, the British ministry said. He did not provide details on where exactly such missiles are believed to have been deployed. As Russia also sought to consolidate its sovereignty over territories so far occupied in the 108-day war, the Pentagon said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine “occurs when the oppressors violate the rules that protect us all.” “This is what happens when the great powers decide that their imperial appetites are more important than the rights of their peaceful neighbors,” Austin said during a visit to Asia. “And it is a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil in which none of us would want to live.” ——
GOVERNOR: FLOVES USED IN LUHANSK
A Ukrainian governor has accused Russia of using incendiary weapons in a village in Ukraine’s eastern province of Luhansk, southwest of the disputed cities of Sivierodonetsk and Lysyhansk. While the use of flamethrowers on the battlefield is legal, Serhii Haidai, governor of Luhansk province, claimed that the attacks on Vrubivka overnight caused extensive damage to civilian facilities and an unknown number of casualties. “At night, the enemy used a system of flamethrower missiles – many houses were burned,” Haidai wrote in the Telegram on Saturday. The accuracy of his claim could not be immediately verified. Sievierodonetsk and neighboring Lysychansk are the last large areas of Luhansk Oblast to remain under Ukrainian control. Haidai said the Russians had destroyed railway depots, a brick factory and a glass factory. The Ukrainian military said on Saturday that Russian forces were also planning to launch an attack on the city of Slovyansk in Donetsk Oblast. Donetsk and Luhansk together form Donbass, Moscow-backed rebels have controlled the self-proclaimed democracies in both provinces since 2014, and Russia is trying to seize territory still in Ukrainian hands. ——
ZELENSKYY SEEKS MORE EU SANCTIONS IN RUSSIA
During a visit by a senior European Union official to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a new round of “even stronger” EU sanctions against Russia. Zelensky called for the new sanctions to target more Russian officials, including judges, and to block the activities of all Russian banks, including gas giant Gazprom, as well as all Russian companies that help Moscow “in any way.” He spoke during a brief press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the heavily guarded presidential office in the Ukrainian capital. Von der Leyen was on her second visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded her neighbor. The couple discussed Ukraine’s aspirations for EU membership. Zelensky, speaking through a translator, said Ukraine would “do everything” to join the bloc. “Russia wants to divide Europe, it wants to weaken Europe,” he said. Von der Leyen said the EU executive arm “works day and night” to assess Ukraine’s eligibility as an EU candidate. next week. Zelensky and some EU supporters want Ukraine to join soon. Von der Leyen described the accession process as “a value-based process” and called on Ukraine to strengthen the rule of law, fight corruption and modernize its institutions. He praised Ukraine’s “strength and resilience” in the face of Russia’s “horrible and horrible” invasion and said the EU would help rebuild the country. ——
RUSSIA ESTABLISHES COMPANY FOR THE SALE OF GRAINS OF UKRAINE
Officials based in Russia in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region have set up a company to buy local cereals and resell them on behalf of Moscow, a local spokesman told the Interfax news agency on Saturday. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of stealing Ukraine’s grain and causing a global food crisis that could lead to millions of starvation deaths. Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the pro-Russian interim administration in Zaporizhzhia, said the new state-owned grain company had taken control of several facilities. He said “the wheat will be Russian” and “we do not care who the buyer will be”. It was not clear whether farmers whose grains were sold by Russia were paid. Balicki said his government would not seize power by force or force grain producers to sell it. The head of Ukraine’s presidential office accused the Russian army of bombing and burning grain fields before the harvest. Andriy Yermak claimed that Moscow was “trying to repeat” a Soviet-era famine that claimed the lives of more than 3 million Ukrainians in 1932-33. “Our soldiers are putting out the fires, but (food) terrorism (of Russia) must stop,” Germak wrote in the Telegram on Saturday. The accuracy of his and Balicki’s claims could not be independently verified. ——
RUSSIAN PASSPORTS FOR RESIDENTS OF UKRAINE
Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine began issuing Russian passports to locals on Saturday. In the Kherson region, 23 residents received Russian passports, including the new governor who had settled in Moscow, the Russian state news agency based in Moscow, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. “For me, this is a truly historic moment. I have always believed that we are one country and one people,” the news agency quoted Governor Volodymyr Saldo as saying. Russian forces also began issuing passports in the occupied city of Melitopol, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. A post in the TASS Telegram cited a local official based in Russia as the original source of the information. He did not specify how many residents had applied for or obtained Russian citizenship. Melitopol is located outside the Donbas in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is still partly occupied by Ukraine. ——
APOLOGY OF DEATH BETWEEN CHILDREN
Nearly 800 children have been killed or injured in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, at least 287 children died as a result of military activity, while at least 492 others were injured. The statement said the figures were not conclusive and that they were based on investigations by juvenile prosecutors. The agency said children in Ukraine’s Donetsk region suffered the most, with 217 dead or injured, compared with 132 and 116 in Kharkiv and Kyiv, respectively. —–
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