Russia attacks Ukraine on the first day of self-declared ceasefire, killing 1 person
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — One person was killed early Thursday in Russian attacks in northeast Ukraine, in the opening hours of a 72-hour ceasefire called by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Another two people were injured after Russian forces dropped guided air bombs in the northeast Sumy region.
The bombs were dropped on residential areas near the border, the regional prosecutor's office said on Thursday. Ukraine's Air Force alerted launches of glide bombs and at least one missile in the Sumy region starting at 02:39 a.m. and until early morning on Thursday.
Large-scale missile and drone attacks, which have been a near-daily occurrence in Ukraine in recent weeks, were not recorded since 8:30 p.m. the previous night, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The ceasefire came into force at midnight on Thursday Moscow time.
But smaller-scale Russian attacks persisted elsewhere in the country closer to the frontline, causing civilian casualties.
A 55-year-old woman was killed in her home in Mykolaivka community in Sumy region around 3 a.m., and her 24-year-old son was wounded, prosecutors said. Roughly 30 minutes later, another bomb hit civilian infrastructure in Vorozhba community, injuring a 70-year-old woman. An investigation into war crimes has been launched, officials said.
Russia announced a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire to coincide with the celebrations in Moscow for the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Russia's biggest secular holiday. Kyiv has pressed for a longer-term ceasefire.
In March, the United States proposed a 30-day truce in the war, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for ceasefire terms more to its liking .
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Associated Press
16 minutes ago
- Associated Press
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The two-year-old Africa Corps, which has links to a covert branch of Russia's army, is ascendant at a time when U.S. and European troops have been withdrawing from the region, forced out by sub-Saharan nations turning to Russia for security. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been battling fighters linked with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for more than a decade. At first, mercenary groups with an arms-length relationship to the Kremlin entered the fray in Africa. But increasingly, Russia is deploying its military might, and intelligence services, more directly. 'We intend to expand our cooperation with African countries in all spheres, with an emphasis on economic cooperation and investments,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 'This cooperation includes sensitive areas linked to defense and security.' From the ports, Russian weapons are trucked to Mali Russia's 8,800-ton Baltic Leader and 5,800-ton Patria are among hundreds of ships that Western nations have sanctioned to choke off resources for Russia's war in Ukraine. The ships docked and unloaded in Conakry, Guinea, in late May, AP satellite images showed. Other ships made deliveries to the same port in January. They delivered tanks, armored vehicles and other hardware that was then trucked overland to neighboring Mali, according to European military officials and a Malian blogger's video of the long convoy. The military officials spoke to AP about Russian operations on condition of anonymity. The AP verified the blogger's video, geolocating it to the RN5 highway leading into Bamako, the Malian capital. After the latest delivery in Conakry, trucks carrying Russian-made armored vehicles, howitzers and other equipment were again spotted on the overland route to Mali. 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But after Wagner forces mutinied in Russia in 2023 and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed two months later in a suspicious plane crash, Moscow tightened its grip. Russian military operations in Africa were restructured, with the Kremlin taking greater control through Africa Corps. It is overseen by the commander of Unit 29155, one of the most notorious branches of Russia's shadowy GRU military intelligence service, according to the European Union. Unit 29155 has been accused of covertly attacking Western interests for years, including through sabotage and assassination attempts. The EU in December targeted Unit 29155 Maj. Gen. Andrey Averyanov with sanctions, alleging that he is in charge of Africa Corps operations. 'In many African countries, Russian forces provide security to military juntas that have overthrown legitimate democratic governments, gravely worsening the stability, security and democracy of the countries,' the EU sanctions ruling said. These operations are financed by exploiting the continent's natural resources, the ruling added. The Russian Ministry of Defense didn't immediately respond to questions about Averyanov's role in Africa Corps. Africa Corps recruitmentResearchers and military officials say the flow of weapons from Russia appears to be speeding Africa Corps' ascendancy over Wagner, helping it win over mercenaries that have remained loyal to the group. Africa Corps is also is recruiting in Russia, offering payments of up to 2.1 million rubles ($26,500), and even plots of land, for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense, plus more on deployment. Within days of the latest equipment delivery, Wagner announced its withdrawal from Mali, declaring 'mission accomplished' in a Telegram post. Africa Corps said in a separate post that it would remain. The changeover from Wagner to Africa Corps in Mali could be a forerunner for other similar transitions elsewhere on the continent, said Julia Stanyard, a researcher of Russian mercenary activity in Africa. 'Bringing in this sort of brand-new sophisticated weaponry, and new armored vehicles and that sort of thing, is quite a bit of a shift,' said Stanyard, of the Switzerland-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Armed groups in Mali have inflicted heavy losses on Malian troops and Russian mercenaries. The al-Qaida linked group JNIM killed dozens of soldiers in an attack this month on a military base. Insurgents also killed dozens of Wagner mercenaries in northern Mali last July. Some of the latest hardware could have been shipped over specifically in response to such attacks, military officials said. They said the jamming equipment, for example, could help defend against booby traps detonated using phone signals. 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Beatrice Dupuy and Rachel Leathe in New York contributed.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
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