Cincunri Sakia

Kamis, 15 September 2022

Ukraine war: Dam burst causes flooding after missile strike as President Zelenskyy involved in car crash - Sky News

More than 100 homes were flooded after cruise missiles hit a dam in central Ukraine - as its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was involved in a car crash.

The city of Kryvyi Rih was targeted by eight cruise missiles that destroyed a water pumping station and caused the Inhulets River to break through, officials said.

It came during a night in which Mr Zelenskyy's office said his car had collided with a private vehicle in the capital.

"The president was examined by a doctor, no serious injuries were found," presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov said in a Facebook post early on Thursday.

The driver of the other vehicle was treated by the president's medical team and was taken to hospital, he said.

The Ukrainian president, who has been key to the Ukrainian fight against the Russian invasion, spent the day on Wednesday in the Kharkiv region but had returned to Kyiv.

No more details about the crash were released, but he put out his nightly statement later than normal.

In his address, he referred to the airstrikes that hit the dam, 93 miles southwest of Dnipro.

The strikes hit the Karachunov reservoir dam, Mr Zelenskyy said, and the water system had "no military value" other than providing hundreds of thousands of civilians with water.

Head of the Kryvyi Rih military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, said in a post on Telegram that 112 homes were flooded but that work was under way to repair the dam and "flooding was receding".

On Wednesday, Mr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to Izyum - one of the many towns or villages the Ukrainians have retaken in recent days - where he watched the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag raised in front of the charred city council building.

After his return, Mr Zelenskyy said on Telegram: "History is written by people, never by savages.

"Events show that the only way out for Russian soldiers is to surrender to Ukrainian forces. This is the only option that guarantees them life and attitude in accordance with all conventions.

"Striking targets that have no military value at all, in fact hitting hundreds of thousands of ordinary civilians, is another reason why Russia will lose. And not just this war, but history itself."

He added in his nightly video address that towns and villages recaptured from Russian forces he visited had been devastated.

He said overnight: "They only destroyed, only deprived, only took away. They left behind devastated villages, and in some of them, there is not a single undamaged house.

"The occupiers left schools turned into garbage dumps, and churches - broken, literally turned into toilets."

Later, in his first post of the morning, he said he had had a virtual meeting with British actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Marvel star told Sky News in April he was waiting for a Ukrainian family to arrive in the UK to live at his property after joining the scheme to rehouse refugees.

Mr Zelenskyy posted on his Telegram feed after the meeting: "I've had a conversation with the British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. I am sincerely grateful to him for solidarity with our state and our people.

"It is important that the topic of Ukraine remains the key one. And such famous people help us get through to those nations whose government does not support Ukraine."

Meanwhile, Ukraine's military claimed it killed a number of Russian troops and destroyed equipment in the Bakhmut area in the eastern Donetsk region. It added that Russian troops were trying to bolster their defensive positions in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss Ukraine and Taiwan at a meeting in Uzbekistan which the Kremlin said would hold "special significance" given the geopolitical situation.

As they do so, at a summit that involves a number of Asian and Arab countries, Ukraine has asked the United Nations General Assembly to allow Mr Zelenskyy to address world leaders via video.

In the US, Democratic and Republican senators introduced legislation that would designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, a label opposed by the administration of President Joe Biden.

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2022-09-15 08:00:43Z
1568067664

Ukraine war: Behind Russia's abandoned lines, ammunition, scattered clothes and wrecked vehicles found - Sky News

The Ukrainian soldier stooped over an ammunition box and picked up what looked like a giant, metal cork. "Russian landmine," he said.

He walked to another discarded crate inside a large warehouse.

"This is a mortar," the serviceman, 39, said, holding up the deadly weapon, which was the shape of a stretched, grey-coloured balloon.

The haul was part of a stockpile of ammunition found at a sprawling, mud-splattered repair yard, which Russian soldiers had apparently used as a base on the edge of the Ukrainian city of Izyum.

It had been left behind, along with shabby-looking bits of body armour, boots and jars of food - signs of a hasty Russian retreat in the face of a Ukrainian offensive to take the city back.

Ukraine war latest updates: President Zelenskyy accuses Russia of turning occupied areas 'into toilets'

The soldier - who went by the name Granitsya, the call-sign he said he used for the war - was part of the operation.

"They just ran away," he said, describing the advance, launched last week. "There was small arms fire but not the big combat that we saw in the first days or months of the invasion."

Sky News met the volunteer soldier as he stood next to an abandoned Russian tank on a street leading further into Izyum.

Asked how he felt before the operation to attack Russian positions across the Kharkiv region started, he said: "I wasn't scared because of what they did to our country. They killed our women, our children, there is no fear. It is only hatred and a desire to tear them apart.

"We are a special unit - Kraken - everyone knows us. We are working to defend our country."

Abandoned Russian equipment

The Kraken Regiment is a relatively well-known group of military volunteers within the Ukrainian armed forces.

Behind him, members of his unit were climbing over the top of the discarded tank, making sure it was safe. The vehicle will be given a wartime makeover, effectively switching sides.

Granitsya took Sky News to the nearby repair yard.

Inside one enormous hanger, were two Russian military trucks. At least one had the tell-tale letter 'Z' daubed in white paint on a door.

Russian troops used the place to repair their military vehicles, the Ukrainian soldier said.

His side appeared to have been aware. A giant hole in the roof marked the point where a projectile looked to have struck the site, presumably as part of Ukraine's offensive.

Pock marks caused by shrapnel dented the walls and twisted pieces of metal littered the floor.

On another part of the compound, inside a dingy, unlit cluster of makeshift rooms, was where the Russians slept and ate, according to Granitsya. "Russian, Russian, Russian," he said, pointing to a heap of shabby green body armour and dirty boots.

There was also a long box containing jars of what could have been pickles.

'There is no one to fear them'

Stepping back outside, he exclaimed again: "Russian", picking up parts of a rusty gun that he said had been fitted to a vehicle.

Granitsya had been a full-time soldier fighting in eastern Ukraine between 2017 and 2020, following Russia's first invasion in 2014.

He had decided to leave the armed forces but joined the Kraken unit on 24 February after President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale war.

The soldier was scathing about the quality of the Russian military. "Their army is not big and powerful," he said.

"It is a big fake. They create this fake [impression of strength] to make other countries afraid. But in reality there is no one to fear them."

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2022-09-15 05:28:41Z
1560875820

Ukraine war: Behind Russia's abandoned lines, ammunition, scattered clothes and wrecked vehicles found - Sky News

The Ukrainian soldier stooped over an ammunition box and picked up what looked like a giant, metal cork. "Russian landmine," he said.

He walked to another discarded crate inside a large warehouse.

"This is a mortar," the serviceman, 39, said, holding up the deadly weapon, which was the shape of a stretched, grey-coloured balloon.

The haul was part of a stockpile of ammunition found at a sprawling, mud-splattered repair yard, which Russian soldiers had apparently used as a base on the edge of the Ukrainian city of Izyum.

It had been left behind, along with shabby-looking bits of body armour, boots and jars of food - signs of a hasty Russian retreat in the face of a Ukrainian offensive to take the city back.

Ukraine war latest updates: President Zelenskyy accuses Russia of turning occupied areas 'into toilets'

The soldier - who went by the name Granitsya, the call-sign he said he used for the war - was part of the operation.

"They just ran away," he said, describing the advance, launched last week. "There was small arms fire but not the big combat that we saw in the first days or months of the invasion."

Sky News met the volunteer soldier as he stood next to an abandoned Russian tank on a street leading further into Izyum.

"We are a special unit - Kraken - everyone knows us. We are working to defend our country."

Abandoned Russian equipment

The Kraken Regiment is a relatively well-known group of military volunteers within the Ukrainian armed forces.

Behind him, members of his unit were climbing over the top of the discarded tank, making sure it was safe. The vehicle will be given a wartime makeover, effectively switching sides.

Granitsya took Sky News to the nearby repair yard.

Inside one enormous hanger, were two Russian military trucks. At least one had the tell-tale letter 'Z' daubed in white paint on a door.

Russian troops used the place to repair their military vehicles, the Ukrainian soldier said.

His side appeared to have been aware. A giant hole in the roof marked the point where a projectile looked to have struck the site, presumably as part of Ukraine's offensive.

Pock marks caused by shrapnel dented the walls and twisted pieces of metal littered the floor.

There was also a long box containing jars of what could have been pickles.

'There is no one to fear them'

Stepping back outside, he exclaimed again: "Russian", picking up parts of a rusty gun that he said had been fitted to a vehicle.

Granitsya had been a full-time soldier fighting in eastern Ukraine between 2017 and 2020, following Russia's first invasion in 2014.

He had decided to leave the armed forces but joined the Kraken unit on 24 February after President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale war.

The soldier was scathing about the quality of the Russian military. "Their army is not big and powerful," he said.

"It is a big fake. They create this fake [impression of strength] to make other countries afraid. But in reality there is no one to fear them."

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Rabu, 14 September 2022

Ukraine war: President Zelensky visits city recaptured in rapid counter-offensive - BBC

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President Volodymyr Zelensky has been to the recaptured city of Izyum, a key logistics hub in north-eastern Ukraine.

During his visit, Mr Zelensky thanked troops who took part in the counter-attack against Russian occupiers.

He oversaw a flag-raising ceremony and said the Ukrainian flag would return to every city and village in the country.

Ukrainian officials say they are targeting towns in the eastern Donbas region after making a series of gains in a rapid counter-offensive.

In recent days, Ukraine's army has reclaimed swathes of occupied territory, forcing Russian troops to retreat.

In a late evening address on Tuesday, Mr Zelensky said his forces were fortifying their hold over 8,000 sq km (3,088 sq miles) of retaken territory in the Kharkiv region.

Last Thursday, President Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had retaken 1,000 sq km. By Sunday, Ukraine's figure had tripled to 3,000 sq km, before rising again to 6,000 sq km.

The precise scale of Ukraine's gains has not been verified by the BBC.

Mr Zelensky vowed to take back all Ukrainian territory still occupied by Russian forces - he said he did not know when this would happen, but that "truth is on our side".

Meanwhile, the Russian military is deploying so-called barrier troops in Ukraine to prevent its own units from fleeing, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.

Ukrainian defence officials said that according to intercepted conversations, "panic" and "refusals to fight" are setting in among Russian troops.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, officials accused Russian forces of targeting civilian infrastructure in the southern city of Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday.

Cruise missiles fired at the city's "hydraulic structures" caused water levels in a nearby river to rise and threatened local drinking supplies, Ukrainian authorities said.

Responding to the attack, Mr Zelensky described Russia as a "terrorist state" that was trying to "flood Kryvyi Rih".

"All the occupiers can do is to sow panic, create an emergency situation, try to leave people without light, heat, water and food. Can it break us? Not at all. Will they face a fair response and retribution? Definitely yes," the Ukrainian president said.

Putin does not see Ukraine war as mistake - Scholz

In the US, President Biden said Ukraine had made "significant" gains.

He said it was "clear" that the advance had enjoyed success, but cautioned that the offensive "could be a long haul".

While Russia still controls around a fifth of Ukraine's territory, towns in the Donbas that fell early in the war are now the focus of Kyiv's advancing forces.

After failing to capture cities across the country, including the capital, Kyiv, Russia is focusing on the Donbas - parts of which were already under the control of Russian-backed rebels before Russia launched its invasion this year.

Andrey Marochko, military commander of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic - one of two regions that make up the Donbas - told Russian state media that fighting had reached the borders of the territory.

And Serhiy Haidai, the exiled Ukrainian head of the Luhansk region, said Ukrainian forces were engaging Russian troops on the outskirts of Lyman.

"There are fierce battles in Lyman now, which I think will last a few more days," Mr Haidai said in a Telegram post.

Lyman fell to Russian forces after a protracted battle at the end of May. It sits less than 150 km (93 miles) away from the city of Donetsk, the capital of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic.

Its capture was a coup for Russian troops, giving Moscow control over a key east-west highway.

In other areas, Ukrainian forces are said to have reached the Russian border, and Mr Hayday said their capture of two towns - Izyum and Kupiansk - could see supply lines to the Russian-held cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk severed.

As Kyiv's forces move into previously occupied areas, allegations of Russian war crimes have started to emerge.

Locals in the town of Balakliya told the BBC that Russian troops had tortured civilians at the town's police station during their occupation, while others recounted being electrocuted while in detention.

The Kremlin has admitted that its forces have left some eastern towns, but refused to call it a retreat, instead insisting that its forces were regrouping.

On Monday, Moscow insisted that it would press on with its invasion "until all the goals that were originally set are achieved".

But the pace of the Ukrainian advance appears to have taken Russian forces by surprise, with reports of some of Moscow's forces abandoning their uniforms to blend in with civilians.

In some areas, Russian teachers who moved to Ukrainian towns and cities after Moscow seized control were left behind by the retreating troops.

An unspecified number have now been detained by Ukrainian forces and Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has warned that they will face charges.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to re-enter negotiations with Ukraine as soon as possible during a 90-minute phone call on Tuesday.

A German government read-out of the call said Mr Scholz urged Mr Putin "to find a diplomatic solution as soon as possible, based on a ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Russian troops and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine".

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2022-09-14 22:02:11Z
1565471774

Armenia-Azerbaijan fighting flares again after deadly exchanges - Reuters

Summary

Armenia and Azerbaijan trade blame over fighting
Deadliest violence since 2020
Russia, U.S. deploy diplomatic efforts
Azerbaijan says two civilians injured

TBILISI, Sept 14 (Reuters) - New clashes erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Wednesday as international peace efforts intensified a day after nearly 100 soldiers were killed in the worst fighting between the ex-Soviet republics since 2020.

The Armenian defence ministry accused Azerbaijan, which is backed politically and militarily by Turkey, of firing artillery and small arms in a fresh attack.

At least 49 Armenian and 50 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed on Tuesday along their common border, prompting an appeal for calm from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both sides blamed each other for the fighting. read more

The clashes have raised fears of another major armed conflict in the former Soviet Union while Russia's military is focused on the invasion of Ukraine.

A full-fledged conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan would risk dragging in Russia and Turkey, and destabilise an important corridor for pipelines carrying oil and gas just as war in Ukraine disrupts energy supplies. read more

Azerbaijan accused Armenia, which is in a military alliance with Moscow and home to a Russian military base, of firing mortars and artillery at its army units. It said two civilians had been injured since the clashes erupted.

"Our positions are periodically being fired on at the moment," Azerbaijan's defence ministry said. "Our units are taking the necessary response measures."

On Tuesday, Armenia said its neighbour struck deep inside its territory, hitting Jermuk, a resort town known for its hot springs. Its defence ministry, which denied shelling Azerbaijani positions, said Wednesday's fighting had largely subsided by midday (0800 GMT).

Reuters was unable immediately to verify battlefield accounts from either side.

DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS

The flare-up in violence has triggered international concern, with Russia, the United States, France and the European Union calling for restraint and stepping up diplomatic efforts.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Russia could either "stir the pot" or use its influence to help "calm the waters".

He held separate calls with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijaini President Ilham Aliyev to urge a ceasefire, and in particular expressed concern about shelling deep in Armenia.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, in a call with her counterparts from both countries, also called for the "end of strikes against Armenian territory".

EU Special Representative Toivo Klaar was due in the south Caucasus on Wednesday to facilitate dialogue.

The Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), to which Armenia appealed after the clashes erupted, dispatched a delegation to assess the situation on the border.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting for decades over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but which until 2020 was entirely populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians, with backing from Yerevan.

Azerbaijan made significant territorial gains in and around Nagorno-Karabakh in a six-week war that year.

Since then, skirmishes have erupted periodically despite a Russian-brokered ceasefire and tentative steps on both sides towards implementation of a peace settlement.

Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku, Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Tbilisi and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Kevin Liffey

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2022-09-14 10:15:00Z
1557189743

Fresh clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan after deadly fighting - Reuters

Summary

Armenia, Azerbaijan trade blame over fighting
Deadliest violence since 2020
Russia, U.S. deploy diplomatic efforts
Azerbaijan says two civilians injured

TBILISI, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Fresh clashes erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Wednesday as international efforts intensified to end violence that killed nearly 100 soldiers in the deadliest fighting between the ex-Soviet republics since 2020.

The Armenian defence ministry accused Azerbaijan, which is backed politically and militarily by Turkey, of firing artillery, mortar and small arms in a fresh attack.

"The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border remained tense," the defence ministry said.

At least 49 Armenian and 50 Azerbaijani military were killed on Tuesday in clashes along the countries' border, prompting an appeal for calm from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both sides blamed each other for the fighting . read more

The clashes have raised fears of another major armed conflict in the former Soviet Union while Russia's military is tied up with the invasion of Ukraine.

Azerbaijan accused Armenia, which is in a military alliance with Moscow and home to a Russian military base, of firing mortars and artillery against its military units. It said that two civilians had been injured since the clashes erupted.

"Our positions are periodically being fired against at the moment," Azerbaijan's defence ministry said. "Our units are taking the necessary response measures."

On Tuesday, Armenia said its neighbour struck well inside its territory, including Jermuk, a resort town known for its hot springs.

Reuters was unable to immediately verify battlefield accounts from either side.

DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS

The flare-up in violence has triggered international concern, with Russia, United States, France and the European Union calling for restraint and stepping up diplomatic efforts to end the fighting.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Russia could either "stir the pot" or use its influence in the region to help "calm the waters". He held separate calls with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijaini President Ilham Alyiev to urge them to end military action.

EU Special Representative Toivo Klaar was set to arrive in the south Caucasus on Wednesday to facilitate dialogue between Baku and Yerevan.

The Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), to which Armenia had appealed after the clashes erupted, dispatched a delegation to assess the situation on the border.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting for decades over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but which until 2020 was populated and fully controlled by ethnic Armenians.

Azerbaijan won significant territorial gains in and around Nagorno-Karabakh in a six-week war that year. Skirmishes have erupted periodically despite a Russian-brokered ceasefire.

Reporting in Nailia Bagirova in Baku, Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Tbilisi and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Frank Jack Daniel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Shadow of war darkens von der Leyen's big speech - POLITICO Europe

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Europe has swapped one existential crisis for another since Ursula von der Leyen last took the stage to deliver her annual State of the Union address.

The coronavirus pandemic that dominated the first half of her mandate has faded. Now, Russia is waging war on the EU’s doorstep.

More than six months on, Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine is set to dominate von der Leyen’s speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday — a fixture on the EU calendar that sets out her legislative and political priorities for the year ahead each fall.

Attending as the guest of honor will be Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, a reminder of how the war now permeates every part of policymaking in Brussels. The conflict has upended geopolitical alliances and destabilized European economies, sending energy costs soaring, fueling runaway inflation, and pushing EU governments to sanction Moscow and arm Ukraine.

Kamis, 15 September 2022

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Rabu, 14 September 2022

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DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS

DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS

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