Suspect in murder of anti-Russian politician detained in Ukraine
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Ukraine has detained an 18-year-old man over the killing of a prominent former nationalist lawmaker who was shot and killed this month, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.
Iryna Farion, 60, who served as an MP for ultra-nationalist Svoboda party, was shot in the head near her flat in the western city of Lviv on July 19.
A divisive but admired figure, she regularly chided officials and military personnel for speaking Russian instead of Ukrainian.
“An 18-year-old boy has been detained,” Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram, saying Igor Klymenko, the interior minister, had just informed him of the development.
Farion was a professor at Lviv’s Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences, specialising in the Ukrainian language, and taught online classes.
She was also a YouTube blogger and frequently appeared on television.
She was fired from her academic post last year after students protested comments Farion made in a television interview, when she had insulted some military brigades, including the revered Azov unit, where soldiers speak Russian.
A court later ordered her reinstatement.
Suspect detained in Dnipro
Farion’s funeral was held in Lviv on Monday, with mourners filling the streets.
Supporters also heaped flowers at the spot where she was shot, where a blood stain was still visible.
The suspected killer was detained in the eastern city of Dnipro, Mr Klymenko wrote on Telegram, posting a picture of a camouflaged officer handcuffing a bare-chested man face-down on the floor next to a sofa bed.
“There is sufficient evidence to claim that it was the detainee who shot the linguist,” Mr Klymenko said.
He said that investigators traced the suspect’s escape route and “searched about 100 hectares of forest”, or 250 acres.
“Eventually, the suspect was tracked down. We identified him. Having his photo, it was only a matter of time: smart surveillance cameras caught him everywhere,” Mr Klymenko said.
“In preparation for the crime, he rented at least three apartments in Lviv,” he added.
“Currently, the investigation is inclined to believe that the shooter is only the perpetrator” and acted on orders, Mr Klymenko said, promising to release more information.
The Ukrainska Pravda news site reported on Sunday that Farion was shot while waiting for a taxi to go to her daughter’s home for dinner.
Mr Klymenko said after her murder that the main motives being considered were her “public or political activity, and also personal dislike”.
04:01 PM BST
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03:28 PM BST
Watch: Russian and Chinese bombers intercepted
03:26 PM BST
Russian and Chinese bombers intercepted for first time during Alaska patrol
Russian and Chinese nuclear-capable strategic bombers were intercepted patrolling near Alaska on Thursday, prompting the US and Canada to scramble fighter jets.
Russian Tu-95MS “Bear” strategic bombers and Chinese Xi’an H-6 strategic bombers took part in patrols over the Chukchi and Bering seas and the North Pacific, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
“During the flight, Russian and Chinese crews cooperated in the new area of joint operations during all stages of the air patrol,” the Russian ministry said in a statement.
“At some stages of the route, the air group was accompanied by fighters from foreign countries.”
The bomber planes were intercepted by a US F-16 jet and a F-35 fighter jet, as well as Canadian CF-18 fighter jets, according to the US military’s North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad).
A US defence official said the incident was the first time the two countries have been intercepted during a joint patrol.
None of the bomber plans entered US or Canadian sovereign airspace and were “not seen as a threat”, according to Norad.
A spokesman for China’s defence ministry said that the patrols had “nothing to do with the current international situation”.
03:21 PM BST
Pictured: Putin and Lukashenko visit Valaam Monastery
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president and Alexander Lukashenko, his Belarusian counterpart, visited the Valaam Monastery in the Republic of Karelia in Russia on Thursday.
02:36 PM BST
Russia to punish soldiers using phones on frontline
Russia’s parliament has approved an amendment that would allow commanders to punish soldiers on the front line who use their mobile phones.
The decision was passed to prevent the exposure of force locations, which can be revealed by the use of phones.
Russian troops are also forbidden from sending any information that could be used to identify them or their location. Ukraine has been able to use past videos shared to locate forces across occupied territory.
02:09 PM BST
Ukrainian foreign minister warns of Russia using Hong Kong to bypass sanctions
Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, has warned Hong Kong about Russia using the city to bypass sanctions levied by the West over its invasion of Ukraine.
The unprecedented economic penalties were imposed on Moscow after the Kremlin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Kuleba also called on the Hong Kong Administration to take measures to prevent Russia and Russian companies from using Hong Kong to circumvent the restrictive measures imposed for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” his ministry said.
“These restrictive measures are necessary to weaken Russia’s capacity to wage war and kill people in Ukraine,” he said.
Mr Kuleba is on the final day of his first visit to China, a close ally of Russia, since the beginning of the war.
01:28 PM BST
Oleksandr Usyk thanks Britain as he sees off donated vehicle convoy
Ukrainian heavyweight world champion boxer Oleksandr Usyk declared he is “really grateful to the British” as a convoy of UK vehicles donated to his home country began its journey across Europe.
Addressing a crowd of around 100 people from the steps of Ukraine’s embassy in London, the 37-year-old quoted Sir Winston Churchill as 15 vehicles set off on the near-2,000 mile trip.
With a raised fist, he declared “blood, toil, tears and sweat”, adding: “Glory to Ukraine!”
A total of 50 donated UK vehicles embarked on the near-2,000 mile journey to Ukraine.
Many were part of London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) scrappage scheme. The convoy also features a red London bus and two ambulances recently taken out of service as part of fleet renewals.
01:04 PM BST
Romania finds Russian drone debris on its territory
Russian drone debris has been found near the town of Plauru, across the Danube River from the Ukrainian city of Izmail, according to Romania’s defense ministry.
The discovery came after Russia carried out overnight attacks on “civilian targets and port infrastructure” in Ukraine, the ministry said.
The ministry called the attacks “unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law”.
12:46 PM BST
Russia will be forced to scale down attacks in month and a half
Russia won’t be able to maintain the scale of its attacks Gen Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of Ukraine’s National Guard, said in an interview with Ukrinform.
He said: “The enemy’s offensive capabilities are not unlimited, considering the losses they suffer.”
“In another month and a half, they will not be able to conduct active assaults in many directions at once and will switch to defense.”
Russia currently has around 520,000 troops in Ukraine and plans to raise this number to 690,000 by the end of the year, according to Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces .
12:34 PM BST
Pictured: Russian and Chinese bombers and US fighter jets
12:08 PM BST
Nearly third of Ukrainian families only have enough money for food
Around 32% of Ukrainian families only have enough income to buy food, according to a survey published by the ZN.ua media outlet.
Over 48% of respondents said their families “have enough finance for food and clothes but have to save for something more expensive,” while 9% said they “do not have enough money even for food”.
According to the survey, Ukrainians spend the most on food and the least on recreation and entertainment.
11:48 AM BST
Watch: Ukraine repels massive Russian assault including tanks and motorbikes
11:48 AM BST
Ukraine repels Russian assault
A Ukrainian brigade has claimed to have smashed one of Russia’s single-largest armoured assaults, featuring 11 tanks, 45 armoured vehicles and 12 motorcycles.
The 79th Air Assault Brigade uploaded a video on social media purporting to show artillery fire and first-person view drones smashing into the advancing column of Russian armour, while mines also help thwart the thrust.
“As a result of the battle, our paratroopers knocked out six tanks and seven BBM [armoured personnel carriers] with infantry. All 12 motorbikes were burnt,” the brigade wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“The Russians suffered tremendous losses in manpower: 40 occupiers were killed, another 37 were wounded.”
Moscow’s forces were making a push towards the vital garrison town of Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region, writes Joe Barnes.
11:26 AM BST
Head of Russian military company arrested on corruption charges
Andrei Belkov, the head of the military construction company linked to Russia’s defense ministry, was arrested on suspicion of corruption, the state-controlled media outlet Kommersant reported.
The charges relate to the alleged purchase of equipment at inflated prices and subsequent pocketing of the difference.
Belkov’s contracts, personal earnings and other connections during his time as head of the military construction company are being looked at by investigators.
Mr Belkov was head of the defense ministry’s chief military construction authority for special facilities until 2021.
11:04 AM BST
Ukraine forces Russian navy to retreat from Sea of Azov
Russia has pulled all of its ships out of the Sea of Azov, a body of water connected to the Black Sea, Ukraine’s navy has claimed.
“There are no longer any Russian naval vessels in the Sea of Azov,” declared Dmytro Pletenchuk, a Ukrainian navy spokesman.
Kyiv’s near-relentless attacks on Russian targets in the Black Sea and annexed Crimea have forced Moscow’s navy to retreat and rebase elsewhere in a major victory for a country with no real navy of its own.
Ukraine has used uncrewed naval boats packed with explosives to target Russian vessels, while pounding the Black Sea fleet’s facilities and other military targets with Storm Shadow and Atacms missiles.
On Wednesday, Ukraine said it had destroyed Russia’s last railway ferry being used to transport military equipment to its forces on Crimea, while earlier this month it said Russia’s last naval patrol ship had left the peninsula following the rest of its combat-ready warships.
10:43 AM BST
Putin meets Syrian president
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, met with Bashar al-Assad, his Syrian counterpart, in Moscow on Wednesday, according to state media.
The meeting was to discuss what Putin described as continued “escalation” in the Middle East as Russia seeks to mediate tensions between Syria and Turkey.
“Of course, I am very interested in your opinion on how the situation in the region as a whole is developing,” Putin told Mr Assad.
10:21 AM BST
US and Canadian warplanes intercept two Russian and two Chinese bombers
The North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted two Russian Tu-95 and two Chinese H-6 military bomber aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on Wednesday.
The bomber planes were intercepted by a US F-16 jet and a F-35 fighter jet, as well as Canadian CF-18 fighter jets.
Support aircraft were also involved in the operation, according to CNN.
None of the bomber planes entered US or Canadian sovereign airspace and were “not seen as a threat”, according to the command.
10:06 AM BST
Russian drone attack on Ukraine province kills one
On Thursday morning, the Russian military attacked Kindiika, in the Kherson Oblast region of Ukraine, with a drone, which killed a 51-year-old resident.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Oblast military administration, said on Telegram: “A local citizen has been killed as a result of a Russian drone strike in Kindiika.
“In the morning, occupying forces dropped explosives from a drone on a 51-year-old man who was outside.”
09:46 AM BST
Spain to give Ukraine Hawk air defense battery
Spain is going to give Ukraine an additional battery of Hawk air defense systems in September, Margarita Robles, the Spanish defense minister, told Rustem Umerov, her Ukrainian counterpart, on a video call on Wednesday.
Robles also said that Spain has already trained 5,000 Ukrainian military service members and hosted Ukrainian orphans and relatives of soldiers.
The Hawk is a medium-range, surface-to-air guided missile that provides air defense coverage against low-to-medium-altitude aircraft.
Spain gave Ukraine the first battery of six Hawk launchers in 2022.
09:13 AM BST
Pictured: Aftermath of Russian missile attack in Kharkiv
A Russian missile attack in Kharkiv on Tuesday destroyed the building where the FSD humanitarian demining fund was based.
08:59 AM BST
Netherlands announces delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine
The Netherlands and Denmark are set to send 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine this summer.
Ruben Brekelmans, the Dutch defense minister, said that the tanks, which have undergone rigorous testing over the past month, will bolster Ukraine’s armed forces.
Two of the tanks are undergoing final test but the first 12 are ready to be shipped to Ukraine. All of the tanks are expected to arrive by the end of summer.
Mr Brekelmans said: “Ukraine urgently needs additional military support due to intense fighting. These tanks can play a crucial role in defending the Ukrainian army against Russian forces.”
08:33 AM BST
Kremlin attack helicopter crashes in western Russia
A Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter crashed in Kaluga Oblast in western Russia, Vladislav Shapsha, the governor, reported on Wednesday.
Preliminary evidence suggests that the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction. The Russian defence ministry has reported that the helicopter’s crew were killed in the crash.
The helicopter reportedly fell into a deserted area near the village of Klenki, which is around 60 miles east of the Ukrainian border. No damage on the ground was reported.
Mr Shapsha said on his Telegram channel: “A task force and rescuers are working on the crash site.”
07:59 AM BST
Russia launches huge overnight drone strike on Ukraine
Russia launched at least 38 drones at Ukrainian cities overnight, with Kyiv’s air force claiming to have down 25 of them.
“Last night, the enemy used 38 Shahed-131/136 attack drones, attacking Ukrainian infrastructure in several areas, including the south of Odesa region and central Ukraine,” Mykola Oleshchiuk, Ukraine’s air force chief, said.
Three other drones “were lost after crossing the state border with Romania”, he added, without giving any more details.
Romanian territory is just a few hundred metres from the Ukrainian port of Izmail, in the Odesa region, which was attacked by drones for the second night in a row.
Oleh Kiper, the Odesa governor, said two people were wounded when drone debris hit a private house in the Izmail district. Authorities in the capital Kyiv and in the Zhytomyr region said those regions had also been targeted.
07:56 AM BST
Gunfight between Ukrainian troops kills three
A shooting incident among Ukrainian soldiers stationed in the Kharkiv region left three soldiers dead and four others seriously wounded, the Ukrainian army said on Wednesday.
No further details were provided and the army did not say who was responsible, saying only that weaponry had been used for “personal” rather than military reasons.
“In one of the units, soldiers used firearms on the basis of personal relationships. As a result of the shooting, three soldiers were killed and four others were injured,” said the ‘Khortytsia’ regional grouping of the Ukrainian army.
The wounded suffered “serious” injuries and law enforcement officials were at the scene, it said. “Management is taking all necessary measures to prevent such incidents in the future.”
07:54 AM BST
Russian missile attack hits Swiss NGO
Russia launched a series of attacks on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Wednesday, killing three people, wounding six and heavily damaging the office of a Swiss mine-clearing NGO, local officials said.
The overnight strike destroyed the façade of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) office and the ceilings of several of its floors, Oleh Syniehubov, the region’s governor, said.
Six cars used by the group’s medics were damaged, he said, noting the importance of demining initiatives in his region, one of the most densely strewn with landmines and other potentially harmful war detritus.
Ukraine’s second-largest city and the surrounding region, which borders Russia, have been battered by drone, missile and guided-bomb attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
07:44 AM BST
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