Shocked Ukrainians leave apartment block after Russian bomb hits Kharkiv
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Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
Russian missile hits Ukrainian training unit in third attack of its kind
A Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian training ground killed three soldiers and injured 18 deep behind the front line. It marks the third lethal Russian strike on Ukrainian training units in just over two months and has sparked fury that troops may have been left exposed by their commanders. Moscow released footage of what it claimed was a Iskander ballistic missile strike on a wooded area that involved at least 20 cluster-like munitions exploding in a deadly synchronisation. Ukraine's ground forces confirmed the attack on Tuesday, in a rare statement acknowledging casualties within its ranks, and said that it was 'not possible to completely avoid losses'. The statement did not specify where the training camp was located, however Russia's defence ministry said it was in Ukraine's Chernihiv region, north of Kyiv, which borders Russia and Belarus. In June, a missile strike on a Ukrainian training ground left 12 troops dead and 60 injured, triggering the resignation of one of Kyiv's most senior military commanders. Mykhailo Drapatyi, head of Ukraine's ground forces, said he felt a 'personal sense of responsibility' for the victims who were 'young guys from a training battalion' and that most of them had been in shelters at the time. A month before, an Iskander missile strike hit a camp in the northern border region of Sumy killing six soldiers and injuring 10. Russia's defence ministry claimed as many as 70 personnel were killed, which Ukraine denied. The attacks have drawn sharp criticism in Ukraine, with political leaders accusing the military command of endangering troops by grouping them together and leaving them exposed, creating easy targets. 'Despite the security measures taken, unfortunately it was not possible to completely avoid losses among the personnel. As of 21:30, it is known that there are three dead and 18 wounded servicemen,' Ukraine's ground forces said in a statement on Tuesday night. 'Sincere condolences' 'We express our sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased,' it added, stating that an investigation had been opened. 'If it is established that the actions or inaction of officials led to the death and injury of servicemen, the perpetrators will be held accountable,' the statement continued. Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine's military chief, earlier this month banned troops from amassing in large groups that can easily be spotted by enemy drones. 'Gathering personnel and equipment, and placing servicemen in field camps is prohibited', he said as he called for the construction of better fortified structures to protect personnel at training sites. Ukrainian reports suggest a Russian reconnaissance drone was spotted over the training area ahead of Tuesday's strike. Serhiy Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian military analyst, said the casualties were mostly 'among those who ignored safety protocols'. 'Everyone knew a spotting UAV was overhead. Everyone heard the alarm. There were not hundreds or even dozens of deaths – but sadly, there were losses,' he said. The unit has not responded to those claims directly.
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
Brit PoW freed from Putin's torturers becomes citizen of Ukraine and says ‘my blood is British but spirit is Ukrainian'
A BRITISH PoW who was brutally tortured by his Russian captors has become a citizen of Ukraine. Brave Aiden Aslin, 31, was beaten, stabbed and forced to sing the Russian national anthem after being told: "Yours will be a beautiful death." 6 6 6 His terrifying five-month ordeal only came to an end after ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich brokered a prisoner swap. Aiden returned to Ukraine in the wake of his release and was awarded the Order of Courage. He was granted citizenship earlier this month and pledged his future to the country. He said: "Some people may wonder why. "But for me, the answer is simple: I love Ukraine. "Everything that life has thrown at me, beating, stabbing, death sentence, psychological of it has made me retreat. "Maybe I'm British by blood, but I'm Ukrainian by spirit and will. "My future is here in Ukraine." In an exclusive interview after his release in September 2022, Aiden told The Sun: "I never thought I'd get out alive." He built a new life in Ukraine in 2018 as a marine and was on the frontline when Russia launched its illegal invasion in February 2022. He was among 500 marines who eventually surrendered to Russian troops after his cornered Battalion ran out of food and ammunition during the Azovstal steelworks siege in early April. He was driven into the countryside and told he would be shot before he was paraded in front of the cameras during a sham trial in the Donetsk People's Republic and sentenced to death. Aiden, of Newark, Nottinghamshire, revealed: "I genuinely thought my days were numbered. "As soon as we surrendered they flicked through my passport and quickly realised it wasn't Ukrainian. "The soldier processing me asked in Russian: 'Where are you from?' "I told him I was from Great Britain and as soon as I said that he punched me in the face." Aiden was freed alongside fellow Brit PoWs, Shaun Pinner, 51, John Harding, 59, Dylan Healy, 25, and Andrew Hill, 39. British aid worker Paul Urey, 45, died in captivity before their release. Who is Aiden Aslin? Born in Newark, Nottinghamshire, Aiden Aslin has built a new life for himself in Ukraine. As a marine, he fought on the frontlines when the Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He was captured by Russian forces during the brutal battle for the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol that April. Aiden had been sentenced to death by firing squad after a sham trial. But he was later freed in a prisoner exchange deal in September. He has since returned to the frontlines, saying: "I'll stay until the war is won." 6 6 6
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine parliament to vote on law to restore powers of anti-corruption bodies
Ukraine's parliament will vote on a new law on Thursday that would restore independence to two anti-corruption bodies, backtracking on a controversial law passed last week that curtailed their powers and led to a political crisis. Last week's legal changes prompted rare wartime street protests against the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and accusations that the presidential office was trying to protect powerful associates from anti-corruption investigations. Thousands of people took to the streets of Kyiv and other cities, while European leaders spoke with Zelenskyy and made it clear that funding for Kyiv could be affected if he was seen to be hampering anti-corruption efforts. Surprised and alarmed by the strength of the reaction, Zelenskyy announced late last week that he had listened to the criticism and would table a new law. 'It seems they really miscalculated, they completely underestimated the strength of the reaction,' said a western diplomat based in Kyiv. The institutions in question are the national anti-corruption bureau, known as Nabu, and the specialised anti-corruption prosecutor's office, Sapo. Both work independently of other law-enforcement bodies specifically to target high-level corruption. Oleksandr Klymenko, the head of Sapo, told a small group of journalists in a briefing at his office in Kyiv on Wednesday that his office received a tipoff that measures were being prepared against them two weeks ago, but had not expected the 'blitzkrieg' assault that followed, with the law being rushed through parliament with little discussion. He said he hoped the parliament would now pass the new law, and that it would be ratified and enacted 'immediately'. Explaining the hastily passed law last week, Zelenskyy said he feared Nabu and Sapo had been infiltrated by Russian agents, and also said he wanted to ensure closer cooperation between different law enforcement bodies, but this has been brushed off by many Ukrainians as excuses. Klymenko declined to blame Zelenskyy personally for the move against the two institutions but suggested it was 'revenge' for taking on certain sensitive cases and defended the track record of the two bodies. 'To say in 2025 that these bodies are ineffective is just absurd. It's a narrative that is being spread to discredit us, we have information that they are looking for information to dump it in the media and just such a narrative that is now being spread in the media in order to somehow discredit us,' he said. Klymenko said Nabu and Sapo currently had open investigations into 31 sitting MPs, and that the prospect of being caught meant fewer top officials risked engaging in corrupt activities. 'The main thing about our work is the enormous preventive effect it has,' he said. He said last week's law, as well as the arrest of two Nabu detectives, had left the agencies 'confused and frightened', and might cause 'lasting damage' even if the bill was reversed. Already, he said, government whistleblowers who were in communication with the agencies had gone dark, fearing their identities could be compromised. Several European leaders spoke last week with Zelenskyy about the law, urging him to find a way out of the crisis. 'It was important for him to hear it from his peers,' said the diplomat. European officials have also cautiously criticised the bill in public. 'The dismantling of key safeguards protecting [anti-corruption bureau] Nabu's independence is a serious step back,' the European commissioner for enlargement, Marta Kos, wrote on social media. She added that the two bodies were 'essential' to keep Ukraine on the path to EU accession. A new protest is planned for Kyiv on Wednesday evening, with the goal of 'reminding MPs to do the right thing', said Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a former combat medic who was the first to call people to protest last week. 'This is not something I went to war for … and others on the frontline are not there so the government can do crazy stuff like this,' he said, explaining the source of the frustration that led him to demand protests. He added, however, that there was no chance of the protest turning revolutionary, with everyone in attendance acutely aware of the dangers of political destabilisation in wartime. He praised the government for being 'ready for dialogue' and backtracking on the moves, and said the protests showed that Ukrainian democracy was still strong even though the war makes elections impossible.
