RUSKA LOZOVA, Ukraine: The front lines in Ukraine had shifted on Sunday as Russia made advances in the fiercely contested eastern Donbas region and Ukraine’s military waged a counteroffensive near the strategic Russian-held city of Izium.
Near the northeastern city of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces have been on the attack since early this month, commanders said they believed Russia had been withdrawing troops to reinforce positions around Izium to the south.
Ukraine has scored a series of successes since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, forcing Russia’s commanders to abandon an advance on the capital Kyiv and then making rapid gains to drive them from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city.
Moscow’s invasion, which it calls a “special operation” to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists, has jolted European security. Kyiv and its Western allies say the fascism assertion is a baseless pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression.
The president of Finland, which shares a 1,300 km (800 mile) border with Russia, confirmed on Sunday that his country would apply to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a major policy shift prompted by Russia’s invasion.
NATO’s deputy secretary-general said he was confident Finland and Sweden, which is also expected to confirm its intention to join, could be swiftly admitted to the alliance, and that concerns raised by Turkey could be overcome.
Since mid-April, Russian forces have focused much of their firepower on trying to capture two provinces known as the Donbas after failing to take Kyiv.
An assessment by British military intelligence issued on Sunday said Russia had lost about a third of the ground combat force deployed in February. Its Donbas offensive had fallen “significantly behind schedule” and was unlikely to make rapid advances during the coming 30 days, the assessment said.
On Saturday night, Ukraine received a morale boost with victory in the Eurovision Song Contest, a triumph seen as sign of the strength of popular support for Ukraine across Europe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the win, but said the situation in Donbas remained very difficult and Russian forces were still trying to salvage some kind of victory in a region riven by conflict since 2014.
“They are not stopping their efforts,” he said.
“Nowhere to bury anyone”
Keeping up pressure on Izium and Russian supply lines will make it harder for Moscow to encircle battle-hardened Ukrainian troops on the eastern front in the Donbas.
Izium straddles the Donets river, about 120 km (75 miles) from Kharkiv on the main highway heading southeast.
“The hottest spot remains the Izium direction,” regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said in comments aired on social media.
“Our armed forces have switched to a counteroffensive there. The enemy is retreating on some fronts.”
In Ruska Lozova, a village set in sweeping fields between Kharkiv and Ukraine’s border with Russia, Ukrainian commanders said they believed Moscow was redeploying troops to defend Izium while keeping their opponents pinned down with artillery fire.
“The Russian attack on Kharkiv has been destroyed and they understand this,” said Ihor Obolensky, who commands the National Guard and volunteer force that captured Ruska Lozova eight days ago. “They need to try for a new victory and want to hold Izium.”
Both sides claimed success in military strikes in Donbas.
Russia said on Sunday it had pummelled Ukrainian positions in the east with missiles, targeting command centers and arsenals as its forces seek to encircle Ukrainian units in the battle for Donbas.
But Ukraine’s military also acknowledged setbacks in an update on Sunday morning: “Despite losses, Russian forces continue to advance in the Lyman, Sievierodonetsk, Avdiivka and Kurakhiv areas in the broader Donbas region.”
In western Ukraine near Poland, missiles destroyed military infrastructure overnight and were fired at the Lviv region from the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials said.
There was also no let-up on Sunday in Russia’s bombardment of the steel works in the southern port of Mariupol, where a few hundred Ukrainian fighters are holding out weeks after the city fell into Russian hands, the Ukrainian military said.
Talks were under way to evacuate wounded soldiers from Mariupol in return for the release of Russian prisoners of war, Zelensky said.
A large convoy of cars and vans carrying refugees from the ruins of Mariupol arrived in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia after nightfall on Saturday after waiting days for Russian troops to allow them to leave.
Iryna Petrenko, a 63-year-old in the convoy, said she had stayed initially to take care of her 92-year-old mother, who subsequently died.
“We buried her next to her house, because there was nowhere to bury anyone,” she said.
More weapons
Finland and Sweden have both said they see NATO membership as a way of bolstering their security, though Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Finnish President Sauli Niinisto that it would be a mistake for Helsinki to abandon its neutrality.
Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats were poised on Sunday to come out in favor of the country joining NATO, paving the way for an application and abandoning decades of military non-alignment.
Germany said on Sunday that it had made preparations for a quick ratification process.
“We must make sure that we will give them security guarantees, there must not be a transition period, a grey zone, where their status is unclear,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto said he had been “a bit confused” by the stance of Turkey, which has raised objections to Nordic countries joining and as a NATO member could veto their applications.
“What we need now is a very clear answer, I am prepared to have a new discussion with (Turkish President Tayyip) Erdogan about the problems he has raised,” Niinisto said.
As well as losing large numbers of men and much military equipment, Russia has been hit by economic sanctions, while Western states have provided Ukraine with military aid.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Berlin on Sunday and that “more weapons and other aid is on the way to Ukraine.”
Front lines shift in Donbas as Ukraine mounts counteroffensive
https://arab.news/99eqr
Front lines shift in Donbas as Ukraine mounts counteroffensive
- Commanders believe Russia had been withdrawing troops to reinforce positions around Izium to the south
- Assessment by UK military intelligence said Russia had lost about a third of ground combat force deployed in February
Russia says it downed hundreds of Ukrainian drones, briefly halts Moscow airports
Most were over Russia’s western regions bordering Ukraine and central Russia
MOSCOW: Russia said on Wednesday that its air defenses shot down more than 260 Ukrainian drones including some approaching Moscow, and the capital’s airports were briefly shut down to ensure the safety of flights.
There were no reports of casualties.
As Russia, Ukraine, the United States and European powers discuss ways to end the more than three-year-old conflict in Ukraine, fighting has intensified on some parts of the front and drone warfare has continued.
In a series of announcements, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram that at least 262 Ukrainian drones were intercepted or destroyed on Wednesday. Most were over Russia’s western regions bordering Ukraine and central Russia.
But some approached the Moscow region where 21 million people live. The three major airports in the region halted flights briefly then resumed operations.
Ukraine’s military said its drones hit the Bolkhovsky Semiconductor Devices Plant, a supplier in the Oryol region to Russian fighter jet and missile makers.
The war in Ukraine, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, has become a crucible of drone innovation as both sides send the unmanned vehicles far behind the front lines.
Moscow and Kyiv have sought to buy and develop new drones, deploy them innovatively and devise new methods to disable and destroy them, from farmers’ shotguns to electronic jamming.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces were advancing at key points along the front, and pro-Russian war bloggers said Russia had pierced the Ukrainian lines between Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address the heaviest frontline battles were around Pokrovsk and made no reference to any Russian advances.
Zelensky said Ukrainian forces remained active in two Russian regions along the border — Kursk and Belgorod.
Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.
Irish rapper charged over Hezbollah flag at London concert: police
- Liam O’Hanna, 27, known by his stage name Mo Chara, is accused of showing support for a proscribed group
LONDON: A member of Irish rap group Kneecap has been charged with a terror offense for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert, police said on Wednesday.
Liam O’Hanna, 27, known by his stage name Mo Chara, is accused of showing support for a proscribed group during a performance on November 21.
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers from its Counter Terrorism Command launched an investigation after a video of the event surfaced online in April.
Early in May, the British counter-terrorism police launched an investigation into online videos of Irish rappers Kneecap after the band denied supporting Hamas and Hezbollah or inciting violence against UK politicians.
The announcement came as nearly 40 other groups and artists, among them Pulp, Paul Weller and Primal Scream, rallied around the band amid an escalating row about political messaging at its concerts.
Japan flexes defense ambitions at arms show
- Japan has been gradually stepping back from the pacifism that was the cornerstone of decades of defense planning after the country’s defeat in World War Two
TOKYO: Japan opened one of its largest-ever arms shows on Wednesday in a display that Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said marked the pacifist nation’s deepening push for overseas defence cooperation and weapons exports.
The DSEI Japan exhibition near Tokyo showcased Japanese missiles, warships and research into lasers and electromagnetic railguns.
The event, double the size of the 2023 show, drew 471 firms from 33 countries, including 169 from Japan — twice as many as two years ago, according to organizer Clarion Defense & Security.
“I sincerely hope that this exhibition will provide a new opportunity for cooperation and exchange between national delegations and companies, help sustain defense industry development, drive innovation and promote peace and stability,” Nakatani said during a speech at the event.
Japan has been gradually stepping back from the pacifism that was the cornerstone of decades of defense planning after the country’s defeat in World War Two.
It lifted a military export ban in 2014, and is taking its first steps into global defense cooperation encouraged by the United States and European partners eager to share development costs and tap Japan’s industrial base.
“Strength comes from expanding and elevating the alliance’s capabilities and capacity, which means leveraging our respective skills and our specialties in co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment,” US Ambassador to Japan George Glass said as he opened the DSEI US pavilion.
Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region for first time since Moscow said it drove out Ukrainian forces
- Putin’s unannounced visit appeared to be an effort to show Russia is in control of the conflict
- Video broadcast by Russian state media showed that Putin visited Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region for the first time since Moscow claimed that it drove Ukrainian forces out of the area last month, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
Putin visited the region bordering Ukraine the previous day, according to the Kremlin.
Ukrainian forces made a surprise incursion into Kursk in August 2024 in one of their biggest battlefield successes in the more than three-year war. The incursion was the first time Russian territory was occupied by an invader since World War II and dealt a humiliating blow to the Kremlin.
Since the end of 2023, Russia has mostly had the advantage on the battlefield, with the exception of Kursk.
Putin has effectively rejected recent US and European proposals for a ceasefire. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday accused Kyiv’s allies of seeking a truce “so that they can calmly arm Ukraine, so that Ukraine can strengthen its defensive positions.”
North Korea sent up to 12,000 troops to help the Russian army take back control of Kursk, according to Ukraine, the US and South Korea. Russia announced on April 26 that its forces had pushed out the Ukrainian army. Kyiv officials denied the claim.
Ukraine says it stopped Russian attacks in Kursk
The Ukrainian Army General Staff said Wednesday that its forces repelled 13 Russian assaults in Kursk. Its map of military activity showed Ukrainian troops holding a thin line of land hard against the border but still inside Russia.
Putin’s unannounced visit appeared to be an effort to show Russia is in control of the conflict, even though its full-scale invasion of its neighbor has been slow and costly in terms of casualties and equipment.
Video broadcast by Russian state media showed that Putin visited Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2, which is still under construction, and met with selected volunteers.
Many of the volunteers wore clothes emblazoned with the Russian flag, some had the Latin letters “V” on them, one of the symbols of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“What you are doing now during this difficult situation for this region, for this area, and for the country, will remain with you for the rest of your life as, perhaps, the most meaningful thing with which you were ever involved,” Putin said as he drank tea with the volunteers.
Ukraine’s surprise thrust into Kursk and its ability to hold land there was a logistical feat, carried out in secrecy, that countered months of gloomy news from the front about Ukrainian forces being pushed backward by the bigger Russian army.
Kyiv’s strategy aimed to show that Russia has weaknesses and that the war isn’t lost. It also sought to distract Russian forces from their onslaught in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.
The move was fraught with risk. Analysts noted that it could backfire and open a door for Russian advances in Ukraine by further stretching Ukrainian forces that are short-handed along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
The incursion didn’t significantly change the dynamics of the war.
Putin told acting Kursk Gov. Alexander Khinshtein that the Kremlin supported the idea of continuing monthly payments to displaced families that still couldn’t return to their homes.
Putin said that he would back a proposal to build a museum in the region to celebrate what acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein described as “the heroism of our defenders and the heroism of the region’s residents.”
Disgruntled residents had previously shown their disapproval over a lack of compensation in rare organized protests.
Putin last visited the Kursk region in March, when Ukrainian troops still controlled some parts of the area. He wore military fatigues – a rarely seen sight for the Russian leader, who usually wears a suit – and visited the area’s military headquarters where he was filmed with top generals.
Russia and Ukraine continue deep strikes with drones
Russia’s Ministry of Defense on Wednesday repeatedly reported its air defenses shot down dozens of drones over multiple Russian regions. In total, between 8 p.m. on Tuesday and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the ministry said 262 drones were shot down.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported a total of 16 drones downed on their way toward Moscow, and during the day flights were briefly halted in and out of Moscow’s Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukosky airports, according to Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya. Flights were also temporarily grounded in the cities of Ivanovo, Kaluga, Kostroma, Vladimir and Yaroslavl.
Local authorities in the regions of Tula, Lipetsk and Vladimir also announced blocking cell phone Internet in the wake of the drone attacks.
In Ukraine, Russian drone attacks killed two people and wounded five others in the northern Sumy region, the regional administration said.
In the Kyiv region, four members of a family were injured when debris from a downed drone hit their home, according to the regional administration.
Russia launched 76 Shahed and decoy drones overnight at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said.
The Ukrainian army said that its drones struck a semiconductor plant overnight in Russia’s Oryol region, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of Ukraine. According to the General Staff, 10 drones hit the Bolkhov Semiconductor Devices Plant, one of Russia’s key producers of microelectronics for the military-industrial complex.
It wasn’t possible to independently verify the claim.
Trump plays video in Ramaphosa meeting to back ‘genocide’ claims
- Julius Malema was shown singing ‘Kill the Boer, kill the farmer’ — an infamous chant dating back to the apartheid-era fight against white-minority rule
- Another clip showed former South African president Jacob Zuma singing an anti-apartheid song that threatens white people
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump surprised his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa during an White House meeting Wednesday by playing him a video designed to back baseless claims of a white “genocide.”
Trump asked staff members to play a video on a screen set up in the Oval Office showing Ramaphosa — and the gathered global media — what he said were clips of Black South Africans talking about the issue, including images of what the US president called “burial sites.”
In the video, firebrand far-left opposition lawmaker Julius Malema was shown singing “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” — an infamous chant dating back to the apartheid-era fight against white-minority rule.
Malema has been a loud and radical voice in South African politics for several years, but his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party came only fourth in last year’s elections with less than 10 percent of the vote.
The 4:30-minute video showed clips of Malema telling dancing supporters that “we are cutting the throat of whiteness,” and “to shoot to kill.”
“We have not called for the killing of white people, at least for now,” Malema said in one archive clip.
Another clip showed former South African president Jacob Zuma singing an anti-apartheid song that threatens white people with being shot by machine gun.
The video finished with images of a protest in South Africa where white crosses were placed along a rural roadside to represent murdered farmers.
