Police have charged a 56-year-old woman with human trafficking
Photo shows Ukraine Drone Strike: Screengrab shows a small drone hovering above a truck's trailer with a plume of smoke in the background.
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News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Ukrainians beg for news of missing soldiers as prisoners return
Amid the screaming sirens of ambulances bringing Ukrainian prisoners back from Russia on Thursday, Yana Nepotribna struggled to make her voice heard as she yelled out to her husband. Denys Nepotribna could not hear his tearful 26-year-old wife in the din. And he was among the soldiers surprised to see the woman climb onto a two metre (6.5 feet) high wall to get a better view. Nepotribna fell into the arms of her husband and the other former prisoners surrounded them as though forming a protective shield around their reunion. She was then carried in the crowd having nearly lost conscious in the emotion of the moment. "I held on to him like a vulture," she told AFP. "He says he said something, but I don't remember what it was." The couple had one of the rare happy endings from the latest return of Ukrainians from Russian captivity. At least one other woman emerged from the crowd in tears, unable to find the soldier she had been looking for in the crowd. - Desperate soldiers' wives - Russia and Ukraine agreed at talks in Istanbul last week to each free more than 1,000 prisoners of war and to send back the bodies of war dead. All of those freed were wounded or aged under 25. The first stages of the swap took place on Monday and Tuesday, with Russia on Wednesday also handing back the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. The oldest Ukrainian soldier freed on Thursday was 59, the youngest 22. They included some who had been listed as "missing in action," Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. The freed soldiers were besieged by distraught families looking for news of missing fighters. Under the window of the building where the soldiers were taken, people held up banners with the pictures of missing soldiers. Dozens of identity pictures are also stuck to the walls. Families begged the returning troops to look at the images and shouted their names and brigade numbers hoping for news. Wounded soldiers, some without legs and other limbs, were pushed in wheelchairs. One looked at the pictures as he moved through the crowd. "That one is alive," he said after seeing one photo. One soldier walked through with a Ukrainian flag around his shoulders. "Mum, I am in Ukraine and I will soon be home," he shouted, in Russian, into a mobile phone. Cries of joy and tears of sadness were passed through other phones as other soldiers made their presence known. Iryna Melnyk said she found out during an exchange on Tuesday that her son, missing for the past two years, was alive. "Two men told me that he was alive and in captivity," said the 44-year-old. "I recorded them by video to show that my son is alive and that he must be saved," she added. "I showed a photo of my son. I said: 'Look. 57th Brigade. Melnik.' And he looked at me and and recognised my son," she said. The prisoner exchanges are one of the rare areas where the war rivals have been able to agree after more than three years of conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Ukrainian officials said more exchanges were expected in the coming days despite wrangling between the two sides. Russian state media showed Moscow's troops in camouflage chanting "Russia, Russia" with national flags around their shoulders as they returned on Thursday. According to a Ukrainian interior ministry estimate given in December, about 60,000 Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are considered missing in the chaos of the war. bur-pop/tw/jj
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Police have charged a 56-year-old woman with human trafficking
Photo shows Ukraine Drone Strike: Screengrab shows a small drone hovering above a truck's trailer with a plume of smoke in the background. Has Video Duration: 1 minute 41 seconds . 1 m 41 s
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Residents of Ukraine's second-largest city terrorised in nine-minute drone strike
The distinct lawnmower-like sound of Russia's attack drones woke residents across Ukraine's second-largest city at 12:30am. Over the next nine minutes, there would be no pause. The intense overnight assault killed at least six people and wounded 60 others, including children, Ukrainian authorities said. Olena Khoruzheva raced to the hallway with her two children as soon as they heard the drones approaching. They tried to get as far away as possible from the windows. Her youngest son lay on the floor with his hands over his head. "I was on top of him," the 41-year-old pharmacist told AFP. That was just the beginning. Eleven sites were hit within minutes, including three residential buildings, according to Kharkiv's regional governor. "There were more explosions, then we heard people shouting, 'Help! Help!' Ms Khoruzheva said. Her 65-year-old neighbour was one of those killed in the attack. Authorities say at least 17 Shahed-type drones were launched at the city, which lies just 30 kilometres from the Russian border. The Osnovianskyi and Slobidskyi districts took direct hits. As the 3.5-metre-long and 2.5-metre-wide drones came hurtling towards buildings, residents did not know whether to stay put or run out to the streets. The barrage seemed never-ending. "We were very scared because there were many, many of them [Shahed drones]," resident Olha Kravets said. "We thought that this could happen, but we did not expect our house to be hit. In one five-storey building, fires broke out in 15 apartments, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Private homes, playgrounds, public transport, and key infrastructure were also struck. Several cars were damaged by debris. Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov warned that it appeared Russia was using a new high-altitude dive-bombing tactic. He said the drones had significantly increased their altitude, flying high above targets then sharply dropping before impact. "Russian forces have changed tactic — they're now launching drones at 4,000 to 5,000 metres," he wrote on Telegram. The tactic made it increasingly difficult for Ukrainian air defences to respond. Vitalii Holovin's apartment was destroyed. His home was engulfed in smoke, leaving him with no choice but to flee, leaving behind all his belongings. "I didn't have a chance to take any documents or money," he said. "There was a fire. I felt the smoke, I got out … It was impossible to stay in smoke and look for something." His neighbour saved a dog from another apartment. "The dog got burnt," she said. The devastating nine-minute drone strike left carnage in the streets. Emergency crews, municipal workers and volunteers worked through the night to extinguish fires and rescue residents from burning homes. Regions were left without gas, water and electricity. Dozens of the injured were hospitalised, including a two-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, Mr Syniehubov said. There are fears for the many people still trapped under rubble. Kharkiv withstood Russia's full-scale advance in the early days of the war. However, it has since been a regular target of drone, missile and guided aerial bomb assaults. "Every new day now brings new cowardly strikes from Russia, and almost every strike is demonstrative," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram. "Russia deserves increased pressure." There was no immediate comment from Russia on the overnight attacks. The Kharkiv attack followed Russia this week carrying out its two biggest air assaults of the war so far. It launched almost 500 drones on Monday and 315 drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday. Ukraine's air force said Russia had fired 85 drones across Ukraine overnight, 40 of which were shot down. The attacks are part of intensified bombardments that Moscow says are retaliatory measures for Kyiv's recent attacks in Russia. ABC/wires
