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Ukraine war: Russian submarine launches deadly Kalibr missile strike on civilians

Three children are among at least 22 civilians killed in a Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, far from the frontline.

Residential buildings, administrative and office premises had suffered "significant damage and destruction" in the attack by three missiles on Thursday, Ukrainian prosecutors said, with a baby killed and dozens more wounded.

Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from a Russian submarine in the Black Sea and Ukrainian forces shot down two others, officials said. The city of around 370,000 people hosts the command HQ of the Ukrainian Air Force.

"There are wounded and dead, among them a small child," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "What is this, if not an open act of terrorism?"

The Russian defence ministry has not yet commented. The city had a pre-war population of 370,000.

Follow the latest updates below.


05:40 PM

That's all for today

Thanks for following our live updates. That's it until the morning, so here's a summary of the latest developments:

  • At least 22 people have been killed, including three children, one of whom was a baby, in an attack on the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, far from the frontline.

  • More than 40 US and European judicial authorities have agreed to coordinate investigations into suspected war crimes in Ukraine.

  • Russian-installed officials in a region of Ukraine partly under Moscow's control are aiming to stage a referendum on joining Russia in September.

  • Ukraine, the United Nations and Turkey hailed progress at talks aiming to resume Black Sea grain exports blocked by Russia and ease the risk of starvation faced by millions.

  • Russia's foreign ministry attacked the United States and Britain for helping train Ukraine's armed forces, calling it part of "hybrid warfare" being waged by Nato countries against Russia.

  • According to the UK Ministry of Defence, Russian forces have made no “no significant territorial advances” over the last 72 hours in Donbas.

  • Ukraine hit a landing pad and two military checkpoints, the country's military has claimed. The strikes hit a Russian-controlled area in the south of Ukraine.


05:27 PM

Schools and hotel in Mykolaiv attacked as Russia steps up shelling on city


05:22 PM

Separatist leader says two killed in Ukrainian strike on bus station

Two people were killed when Ukrainian forces shelled a bus station in the separatist-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a separatist leader said on Thursday.

In a post on Telegram, Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed, Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said that two civilians had been killed and three wounded when the bus station was struck by a howitzer.

Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko accused Russian forces on social media of striking the centre of Donetsk but pinning the blame on Ukraine.

Reuters video from the scene showed a bus driver dead at the wheel and another body covered by a sheet on the ground. It is unclear who was responsible.

Donetsk city has been held by DPR forces since 2014 but Ukraine still controls part of wider Donetsk province, which Russia is trying to capture with the help of its proxies in east Ukraine.


05:03 PM

Western arms disrupt Russian supply lines

Ukraine is using Western-supplied long-range weapons and 155mm "smart" shells to hit Russian ammo dumps and supply lines, a Ukrainian general has said.

Ukraine said earlier its forces struck two military checkpoints and a landing point in a town in deep-held Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine.

General Oleksiy Gromov said Western-supplies of weapons were critical to Ukrainian strikes and singled out US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that Kyiv began receiving last month.

HIMARS have a longer range and are more precise than the Soviet-era artillery that Ukraine had in its arsenal.

"We are decreasing the enemy's potential, hitting his logistics supply, hitting his ammunition... The enemy is being forced to change its system for supplying ammunition and fuel," Gromov said.

"Right now the enemy is looking at placing brigade-level ammunition dumps no closer than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the front line, and depots at corps-level at distances of over 150 km."


04:45 PM

Ukraine warns Nicola Sturgeon: Don’t leave war refugees languishing on a cruise ship

Ukraine’s consul general in Scotland has warned Nicola Sturgeon that war refugees must not be left to languish on a cruise ship in rooms smaller than a prison cell.

The Scottish Government has rented MS Victoria to house those fleeing Russia’s invasion after shelving their flagship “super sponsor scheme” earlier this week.

The ship, currently docked in Leith, has 739 rooms measuring 86 sq ft, with each one accommodating up to four people - leaving just 21 sq ft per person at full capacity.

But Yevhen Mankovskyi, Ukraine’s consul general in Edinburgh, told The Telegraph: “I don’t want people to live for six months on the ship, no one wants this."


04:21 PM

France nods to Ukraine in Bastille Day military parade

The war in Ukraine made its mark on Paris's traditional Bastille Day military parade on Thursday as France honoured its eastern European Nato allies.

French troops deployed close to Ukraine since the Russian assault in February had a special place at the event on the Champs-Elysees, attended by President Emmanuel Macron, his government and French and foreign dignitaries.

"The parade is marked by, and takes account of, the strategic context," an official in Macron's office said.

"The idea is to highlight the strategic solidarity with our allies."


03:57 PM

What do we know about the Vinnytsia attack?

If you're just joining us, here's the latest on the deadly Russian strike on the city of Vinnytsia this morning.

  • At least 21 people have been killed, including three children, one of whom was a baby.

  • Three Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from a Russian submarine in the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials say.

  • More than 90 people were wounded, 50 seriously, while 42 others are missing.

  • Vinnytsia is a central Ukrainian city with a pre-war population of 370,000, some 125 miles (200km) southwest of the capital Kyiv and far from the frontline.

  • The city hosts the command headquarters of the Ukrainian Air Force, according to an official Ukrainian military website, a target which Russia used cruise missiles to try to hit in March.

  • Following the attack, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told an international conference aimed at prosecuting war crimes that the attack had been mounted on "an ordinary, peaceful city".

  • He said "cruise missiles hit two community facilities, houses were destroyed, a medical centre was destroyed, cars and trams were on fire" and that it was an "open act of terrorism".


03:39 PM

Latest pictures: Vinnytsia missile attack

Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, right, reacts at a scene of damaged by shelling building in Vinnytsia - Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, right, reacts at a scene of damaged by shelling building in Vinnytsia - Efrem Lukatsky/AP
A pram lies by a road after shelling in Vinnytsia, Ukraine - Efrem Lukatsk/AP
A pram lies by a road after shelling in Vinnytsia, Ukraine - Efrem Lukatsk/AP
Damaged cars stand next to a Soviet fighter jet MiG-21, a monument in honour of the Air Forces of Ukraine, after shelling in Vinnytsia - Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Damaged cars stand next to a Soviet fighter jet MiG-21, a monument in honour of the Air Forces of Ukraine, after shelling in Vinnytsia - Efrem Lukatsky/AP

03:08 PM

Dozens of nations pledge crackdown on war crimes in Ukraine

More than 40 US and European judicial authorities have agreed to coordinate investigations into suspected war crimes in Ukraine, shortly after a Russian missile strike that killed civilians far from the frontline.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the international conference that Russian missiles had struck two community centres in the west of Ukraine, killing 20 people, including three children, and wounding many more.

"Today in the morning, Russian missiles hit our city of Vinnytsia, an ordinary, peaceful city. Cruise missiles hit two community facilities, houses were destroyed, a medical centre was destroyed, cars and trams were (set) on fire," Zelenskiy said by video link. "This is the act of Russian terror."

On Thursday, 45 countries at the conference in The Hague - headquarters of the International Criminal Court (ICC) - signed a political declaration to work together on investigations into war crimes in Ukraine.

They also pledged 20 million euros (£16.9m) to assist the ICC, as well as the prosecutor general's office in Ukraine and United Nations support efforts.

With more than 20,000 war crimes investigations now open and different countries heading teams, evidence needs to be credible and organised, officials said.


02:40 PM

Special tribunal for war crimes in Ukraine 'needs to be considered'

Western countries need to consider establishing a special tribunal to try war crimes committed in Ukraine to prevent them from going unpunished, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Thursday.

"There are merits to look into this, the way I understand it, we have to fill the vacuum. The International Criminal Court doesn't have the jurisdiction," Hoekstra said following a global summit discussing war crimes.

"So I can imagine we do look into coming up with such a tribunal. It will probably not be easy, but we will seek to help Ukraine where we can."

Ukraine's chief prosecutor Iryna Venediktova said prosecutions of 127 war crimes suspects had already begun.


02:07 PM

Zelensky calls for 'special tribunal' into Russian invasion

President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a "special tribunal" to investigate Russia's invasion of Ukraine, addressing a conference at The Hague focused on war crimes in Ukraine.

"Existing judicial institutions cannot bring all the guilty parties to justice. Therefore, a special tribunal is needed to address the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine," Zelensky told the gathering via video link.

"A tribunal that will ensure the fair and lawful punishment of those who started this series of disasters," he added.

"There must be a mandatory and principled punishment for all Russian criminals," he said.

Zelensky's speech at the Hague comes hours after a Russian strike killed at least 20 civilians, including children, in the city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine.


01:38 PM

Ukraine war: soldiers begin training in Britain as part of UK-led military programme


01:30 PM

Macron says France to do without Russian gas

President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France aims to manage without Russian gas as soon as possible with no early end to the war in Ukraine in sight.

Accusing Moscow of using energy deliveries to the West as "a weapon of war", Macron said in a TV interview that France was already diversifying the sources of its energy supplies, and building stocks ahead of next winter.

"Russia has already started to cut off gas supplies" by closing the Nordstream 1 pipeline, he told the TF1 channel, referring to Russia's interruption of supplies which it said was for maintenance reasons.

"That's a very clear message: It will use gas as a weapon of war," he said. "We will need do without Russian gas completely."

France is estimated to receive less than 20 percent of its total gas imports from Russia.


12:54 PM

Millions more for war crime probes

Britain is to provide a further £2.5 million support package to Ukrainian prosecutors investigating alleged war crimes committed by invading Russia forces, the Foreign Office has announced.

The package will include the deployment of mobile justice teams to the scene of potential war crimes, the training of up to 90 judges and forensic evidence gathering and support from UK experts in sexual violence in conflict.

It will be delivered through the Atrocity Crimes Advisory group (ACA), which was established in May in conjunction with the EU and US to support the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine (OPG).

Details will be set out by the Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad at the Ukraine Accountability Conference in The Hague. In his speech, he will say: "In Ukraine there is mounting evidence of atrocities, including of sexual violence, committed by Russian forces."

It is thought that more than 21,900 alleged war crimes have been reported and are under investigation by the Ukrainian authorities, along with 11,800 other crimes including theft and looting.


12:24 PM

Moscow proxies in southern Ukraine aim for September vote on joining Russia

Russian-installed officials in a region of Ukraine partly under Moscow's control are aiming to stage a referendum on joining Russia in September, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The head of the civil-military administration in occupied Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine said on Thursday an accession vote would be staged in early autumn. "The estimated date is in the first half of September," RIA Novosti quoted Vladimir Rogov, a local official, as saying.

"We will finally announce when it will be once we understand the level of readiness and involvement of the people," Rogov said.

Russian-backed forces have seized the majority of the Zaporizhzhia region along Ukraine's southern coast, but Ukraine's military still controls the northern chunk of the region, including the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Rogov previously he would press ahead with a referendum even if Russia could not gain control over the entire region.

Zaporizhzhia is not in the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine where Russia says it is fighting to support the self-proclaimed "people's republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk - breakaway entities that are recognised by only Russia, Syria and North Korea.


12:03 PM

Nord Stream 1 future 'will depend on gas demand and sanctions'

The future of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany would depend on gas demand in Europe and Western sanctions against Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has said.

The pipeline from Russia to Germany is undergoing annual maintenance until July 21 but European governments are worried that Moscow could extend that to restrict European gas supply, disrupting winter storage plans.

The Kremlin-controlled energy giant Gazprom said on Wednesday it could not guarantee the safe operation of a critical part of Nord Stream 1 because of doubt over the return of a turbine from Canada, which had imposed sanctions against the company

"As far as the gas pipeline's work in future is concerned, a lot will depend on our partners in terms of gas demand and illegitimate sanctions, as happened with the turbines in Canada," the Russian spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.


11:53 AM

Ukraine says grain deal is 'step closer' after talks in Turkey

Ukraine is "definitely a step closer" to clinching a deal to export grain through its Black Sea ports after Wednesday's talks with Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, the Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister has said.

"We are definitely a step closer to a result," Oleksandr Kubrakov told reporters.

It comes after a breakthrough in talks between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock Ukrainian grain exports.

Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations are due to sign a deal next week aimed at resuming Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports, the Turkish defence minister Hulusi Akar said after the talks.


11:31 AM

In pictures: Vinnytsia attack

Rescuers work on a scene of damaged by shelling building in Vinnytsia, Ukraine - Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP
Rescuers work on a scene of damaged by shelling building in Vinnytsia, Ukraine - Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP
The deadly attack was condemned as 'terrorism' on Thursday - Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP
The deadly attack was condemned as 'terrorism' on Thursday - Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP

11:16 AM

Ukraine war 'greatest challenge' to global economy

Russia's war in Ukraine poses the greatest threat to the global economy, the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday as G20 ministers prepare to start talks in Indonesia.

Moscow's invasion has sent inflation soaring at a time when the world is struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, endangering the gains of the past two years and threatening widespread hunger and poverty.

"Our greatest challenge today comes from Russia's illegal and unprovoked war against Ukraine," she said on the resort island of Bali ahead of a meeting between finance ministers from the world's top economies.

"We are seeing negative spillover effects from that war in every corner of the world, particularly with respect to higher energy prices, and rising food insecurity," she added.

"The international community must be clear-eyed about holding Putin accountable for the global economic and humanitarian consequences of his war."


11:03 AM

Russia says attempts to cap oil prices may cause them to rise

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that attempts by the Group of Seven leading western nations to cap oil prices may in fact cause them to rise.

"Those plans are anti-market and risky," she told a weekly briefing.


10:43 AM

At least 12 dead in Russian strikes on central Ukraine town, say emergency services

Kyiv said Thursday that Russian shelling on the central Ukraine city of Vinnytsia had left at least 12 people dead including one child and sparked a large blaze being fought by dozens of rescue workers.

The Ukrainian emergency services said there are "12 dead, including one baby, and 25 wounded," following the strikes in Vinnytsia, adding that 90 emergency service personnel were on the scene working to put out a fire sparked by the attacks.


10:29 AM

Russian officials have no place at G20 meeting, says US

The US Treasury Secretary has said Russian officials have no place at this week's meeting of the Group of 20 major economies.

Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of a G20 meeting of finance officials, Janet Yellen called on the global community to hold Russia accountable for the war and its dramatic impact on energy prices.

Yellen dodged a question about whether she would walk out when Russian officials spoke, as she and other Western leaders did during the last such meeting in Washington in April.

"I think I've made clear that it cannot be business as usual with respect to Russia's participation at these meetings," she said, adding that she looked forward to welcoming Ukraine's finance minister.

Yellen said she would continue to push hard for a cap on the price of Russian oil to avoid driving global oil prices even higher.


10:22 AM

Russian forces hit Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, two dead - police

Russian missiles struck the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on Thursday, killing at least two civilians, police said.

"There are dead and wounded," Serhiy Borzov, governor of the Vinnytsia region, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Police later put the initial toll at two dead and six wounded and said about 50 vehicles were on fire.


10:03 AM

New: 'Two civilians dead' as Russian missiles strike central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia


09:45 AM

Russia attacks West for giving Ukrainian forces weapons training

Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday attacked the United States and Britain for helping train Ukraine's armed forces, calling it part of "hybrid warfare" being waged by Nato countries against Russia.

Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman, said Washington had provided Ukraine with instructors who were helping Kyiv's forces use advanced US-made high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) against Russian positions.

She noted the rockets, which have a longer range and are more precise than other artillery weapons, were being used "widely" by Ukrainian forces.

Ms Zakharova also criticised Britain's decision to bring Ukrainian service personnel to the UK for weapons training.


09:28 AM

Ukraine claims successful attack in Kherson area

Ukraine has hit a landing pad and two military checkpoints, the country's military has claimed. The strikes hit a Russian-controlled area in the south of Ukraine.

Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa regional administration, said the attack in the Kherson region killed 13 "occupiers".

The incident has not been independently confirmed.


09:13 AM

Russia achieved 'no significant territorial advances' in 72 hours

According to the UK Ministry of Defence, Russian forces have made no “no significant territorial advances” over the last 72 hours in Donbas. They said:

"In the Donbas, Russian forces continue to conduct artillery strikes across a broad front followed by, in some areas, probing assaults by small company and platoon-sized units.

However, they have achieved no significant territorial advances over the last 72 hours and are in danger of losing any momentum built up following the capture of Lysychansk.

The ageing vehicles, weapons, and Soviet-era tactics used by Russian forces do not lend themselves to quickly regaining or building momentum unless used in overwhelming mass – which Russia is currently unable to bring to bear.

Despite 13 July 2022 talks between delegations from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN on grain exports and recent successfully negotiated prisoner exchanges, the prospects for wider talks to end the conflict remain low.”


08:54 AM

Swiss attorney general warns trading looted commodities could be war crime

Switzerland's attorney general has warned Swiss-based commodities trading firms that dealing with stolen raw materials, notably from Ukraine, could trigger war crime charges.

"Commercialising looted raw materials could constitute a war crime," Stefan Blaettler, who took over as attorney general on January 1, said in a column he contributed to the newspaper Le Temps that was published on Wednesday.

He said he did not know of any convictions in this area, but Switzerland's prosecutors were already conducting criminal investigations in this context. He did not give any details.

The Swiss government said last month it wanted to take a closer look at the country's flourishing commodities traders to gain more insight on a rather opaque sector employing more than 10,000 people.

The issue has come to the fore amid allegations from Ukraine that Russian invading forces have stolen grain. The Kremlin has denied such allegations.


08:31 AM

Breakthrough at Ukraine grain export talks as heavy shelling continues

Ukraine, the United Nations and Turkey hailed progress at talks aiming to resume Black Sea grain exports blocked by Russia and ease the risk of starvation faced by millions.

Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday an agreement would be signed next week. Ankara will ensure the safety of shipments in transit and the parties will jointly check grain cargoes in ports, he added.

But UN chief Antonio Guterres said more work was needed before a deal was finalised.

"We have seen a critical step forward," Mr Guterres told reporters in New York. "We still need a lot of goodwill and commitments by all parties," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared optimistic in late-night comments: "The Ukrainian delegation has reported to me that there is progress. In the coming days we will agree on the details with the UN secretary-general."

Turkey and Ukraine said a joint coordination centre with Russia and the United Nations would be set up.

"Its task will be to carry out general monitoring and coordination of safe navigation in the Black Sea," Mr Zelensky's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said on Twitter.


08:09 AM

Nations discuss coordinating Ukraine war crimes probes

Government officials from dozens of nations are meeting Thursday in the Netherlands to discuss with the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor how best to coordinate efforts to bring perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine to justice.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, his military forces have been accused of abuses ranging from killings in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha to deadly attacks on civilian facilities, including the March 16 bombing of a theater in Mariupol that an Associated Press investigation established likely killed close to 600 people.

A cemetery worker takes a rest from working on the graves of civilians killed in Bucha - AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File
A cemetery worker takes a rest from working on the graves of civilians killed in Bucha - AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File

The AP and FRONTLINE, which are tracking incidents in Ukraine, have so far tallied 338 potential war crimes.

Some 40 nations from the European Union and around the world will be represented at Thursday's conference.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to address the government representatives in recorded video messages before they meet behind closed doors.


07:47 AM

Ukraine cuts ties with North Korea

Kyiv is severing relations with North Korea after Pyongyang confirmed it would formally recognise the pro-Russian separatist regions in Ukraine's east as independent countries.

The North Korean government sent letters on Wednesday to the so-called People's Republic of Donetsk and the People's Republic of Lugansk, state media KCNA reported on Thursday morning.

The letters stated Pyongyang had "decided to recognise the independence of the People's Republic of Donetsk and the People's Republic of Lugansk and expressed the will to develop the state-to-state relations with those countries in the idea of independence, peace and friendship."

North Korea's recognition of the regions as independent comes after another Russian ally, Syria, made the same move last month.

Ukraine's foreign ministry in a statement condemned North Korea's decision to recognise territories Kyiv had described as "temporarily occupied by Russia".

"In response... Ukraine announces it is cutting diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the statement said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia "no longer has any allies in the world", aside from countries that depend on it financially and politically.

North Korea is the third country to acknowledge the independent countries.


07:18 AM

UK must 'hold our position on Ukraine' - Penny Mordaunt

Penny Mordaunt has vowed to make defence the "first duty" of government should she emerge victorious in the Conservative leadership race.

The trade minister and former defence secretary surged ahead of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss after the first round of voting by Tory MPs, despite being seen as a relative outlier before the race began.

Writing for the Daily Mail, Ms Mordaunt promised to honour the UK's Nato commitment of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030, as she said Britain needs to "hold fast" to the nation's shared values of "strength, fairness and decency, (and) a willingness to stand up for what is right".

She wrote: "The defence of the realm is the first duty of any government.

"We will stand with Nato in defence of our common values and we will not flinch from the hard graft and putting boots on the ground on the alliance's borders."

Ms Mordaunt said she would hold firm to the UK's position on the war in Ukraine, stressing Russia "must lose the war".

"We must hold our position in Ukraine. There cannot be any territory ceded to Russia," she said.

"Although that will be difficult, we have to be honest with our people that we need to do that for our own safety and security."


06:34 AM

Artillery strikes continue to bombard the Donbas

Russia continues to launch artillery strikes in the Donbas, as well as assaults by small company and platoon-sized units in some areas, the UK's Ministry of Defence said.

However, they have failed to achieve significant territorial advances over the past 72 hours.


04:35 AM

Execution site being prepared for captured British fighters

An execution site for two British men and a Moroccan captured when they surrendered with Ukrainian forces has been prepared, Russia-backed rebels claimed on Wednesday night in a likely negotiating strategy.

Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said that Sean Pinner, 48, Aiden Aslin, 28, and 21-year-old Moroccan Brahim Saadoune would be shot by a firing squad.

The men were sentenced to death on June 9 by a court in the DPR for fighting as mercenaries, but observers say they are more likely to be exchanged in a prisoner swap with Ukraine.

The soldiers have denied they are mercenaries and said that they were contract soldiers fighting for Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade and should be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.

Read the full story here

British citizens Aiden Aslin (L) and Shaun Pinner (R) and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim (C) were sentenced to death on June 9 - Shutterstock
British citizens Aiden Aslin (L) and Shaun Pinner (R) and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim (C) were sentenced to death on June 9 - Shutterstock

03:09 AM

Ukraine’s Florence Nightingales risk life and limb to save troops

The soldier’s legs had been shredded by Russian artillery fire raining down on the Donbas front line, leaving him in danger of bleeding to death. Yet as the ambulance arrived to evacuate him, he refused to move until one last request had been granted.

A message to his family, perhaps? No. A final cigarette, or some extra morphine, maybe?

“He said: ‘I’m not going anywhere without my sunglasses’,” recalls Dr Pavlo Petelskyi, the volunteer medic whose team picked him up. “He was just a very cool guy.”

Somehow, in between loosening the soldier’s tourniquets, stabilising his blood loss and strapping him into an ambulance stretcher, Dr Petelskyi’s team found the missing shades. And thus their patient got to hospital, both safely and stylishly – marking another life saved by Ukraine’s Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital.

Read the full story here by Colin Freeman

Dr Andrew Kostyuk and Dr Pavlo Petelskyi both have regular jobs at hospitals in Kyiv, but devote time to helping Ukraine's soldiers on the front line
Dr Andrew Kostyuk and Dr Pavlo Petelskyi both have regular jobs at hospitals in Kyiv, but devote time to helping Ukraine's soldiers on the front line

02:24 AM

Chasiv Yar death toll continues to climb

The death toll in the devastated Donetsk town of Chasiv Yar has grown to 48, including one child, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The number of people who have been rescued following Russia's strike remains unchanged, with nine lives saved so far.

"It was one of the most brutal Russian strikes during the entire war - so many victims," Mr Zelensky said.

"My condolences to the relatives and friends of the victims.

"Rescuers will work on site until all debris is cleared."

Apartment block building is destroyed by Russian attack - Shutterstock
Apartment block building is destroyed by Russian attack - Shutterstock

01:23 AM

Today's top stories

  • Russia and Ukraine hold their first direct negotiations since March in a bid to break an impasse over grain exports, without any immediate signs of a breakthrough

  • North Korea has formally recognised the pro-Russian separatist regions in Ukraine's east as independent countries, state media said

  • At least five people were killed in Russian shelling in the region surrounding the embattled Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv near the Black Sea, the Ukrainian presidency says

  • The death toll in the Donetsk town of Chasiv Yar has grown to 48, including one child, after Russia's strike

  • The European Union says Baltic member Lithuania has an obligation to allow the passage of sanctioned goods, with the exception of weapons, between Russia and its exclave of Kaliningrad

  • Russian energy giant Gazprom says it cannot guarantee the good functioning of Nord Stream and does not know if a "critical" turbine engine will be returned from repair in Canada

  • A Moscow court orders one of the last opposition figures still in Russia, Ilya Yashin, to be detained for two months before trial for having denounced Moscow's Ukraine offensive