al jazeeraBy Edna Mohamed Russia’s defence ministry says Moscow’s forces have repelled attacks by Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions.
Ukraine says it has liberated a fourth village as part of what military experts have cast as the start of Kyiv’s long-promised
counteroffensive.
The leaders of seven
African countries could visit Ukraine and Russia this week to discuss a peace initiative, Russia’s TASS news agency reports.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
says the first shipment of discounted Russian crude oil has arrived in Karachi and was paid for in Chinese currency.
Dam flood death roll rises to 10, with 41 missing: Kyiv
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klymenko has said 41 people were still missing in the floods caused by the
Nova Kakhovka dam breach that it blamed on Russia, and which killed 10 people in the southern Kherson region.
“Currently, we know about 10 dead in Kherson and the region,” Klymenko said on Telegram. “We are also reporting 41 people as missing.”
The governor of the Kherson region, the most affected by the flooding, said two bodies were found on Monday in the regional capital, also called Kherson.
“Today, an unidentified woman and a 50-year-old man were found drowned in one of the city’s districts,” the head of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram.
A day earlier, Prokudin said three people were killed as Russia shelled a rescue boat evacuating people after the devastating floods.
Ukraine says it has liberated three more settlements in southeast
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar says the country’s forces have made further advances in a counter-offensive launched last week.
In a Telegram post on Monday, she said seven settlements had been liberated, including three not previously claimed – Lobkove, Levadne and Novodarivka in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.
US working to get consular access to detained citizen, Blinken says
Speaking about Travis Leake, an American citizen detained by Russia, Blinken said the US was working to get in touch with him and his family.
“My number one priority as Secretary of State is the safety and security of Americans abroad. And this is no exception. So we’re working to gather information to understand exactly what happened.”
Leake, a former musician was detained the Khamovniki District Court of Moscow on Saturday, and was accused by Russia of “engaging in the narcotics business through attracting young people.”
Blinken hopes Ukraine offensive a ‘success’ to force talks
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said it was too soon to say exactly where Ukraine’s counteroffensive was going, but Washington was confident that Kyiv will continue to have success in trying to take back its land seized by Russia.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, Blinken said the United States was determined to maximise its support for Ukraine so it can succeed on the battlefield.
“Success in the counteroffensive would do two things – it would strengthen its position at any negotiating table that emerges, and it may have the effect as well of actually causing Putin to finally focus on negotiating an end to the war that he started,” Blinken told reporters.
A “robust” package of political and practical support for Ukraine, Blinken added, can also be expected at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius.
Putin visits wounded Russian troops at military hospital
Putin has visited Russian soldiers wounded in Ukraine in a rare face-to-face meeting with ordinary troops at the Central Vishnevsky Military Clinic outside Moscow on “Russia Day”.
The Kremlin aired images of Putin wearing a dark suit and accompanied by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in military attire.
The officials stood in front of a row of men in blue hospital outfits, some of them in wheelchairs.
As he pinned a medal on one of the men, the 70-year-old Russian leader said: “I congratulate you.”
“I serve Russia,” the soldier replied, shaking Putin’s hand.
The meeting appeared to take place under heavy security.
The TASS news agency said Putin presented the commander of a rifle platoon the “Hero of Russia Star” — a Soviet-era medal that is the highest award in Russia.
Mr.BadGuy
Publisher
These soldiers are from a country whose president is a Jew Zelensky. Orthodox churches are also being destroyed in this country. Synagogues are not touched. Surprisingly, it turns out that Jews get along well with the Bandera Nazis.