Ukrainian ground forces commander resigns after Russian strike on training ground
"I have decided to resign from the position of commander of the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," announced Mykhailo Drapatyi in an emotional message posted on Telegram on Sunday, June 1. The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces said he felt a "personal sense of responsibility" for the deaths of at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers on Sunday in a Russian bombing raid on a training ground.
The Ukrainian army had earlier reported that 12 soldiers were killed and more than 60 wounded in a Russian missile strike on the site where they were training. Several deadly attacks of this kind have occurred in recent months.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Moscow's forces have repeatedly targeted locations where Ukrainian soldiers gather, sometimes far from the front line. These attacks have drawn criticism in Ukraine, with political leaders accusing the military command of creating easy targets and endangering soldiers by grouping them together.
On Sunday, Mykhailo Drapatyi said he had tried to "change the attitude" of his officers. "The culture of secrecy and impunity is a poison for the army," he criticized, claiming he had tried to "eradicate" them. "But if these tragedies are still happening, it means that my efforts have not been enough," he added.
Internal investigation
The army specified that there had been "no meeting or mass gathering" at the location targeted. The "majority" of soldiers also went to an air raid shelter after the alert warning of an incoming attack was triggered, the army stated.
An internal investigation would be conducted to determine the circumstances of the strike, it added. "If it turns out that the deaths and injuries of the soldiers were the result of actions or inaction by those responsible, the culprits will be severely punished," the army said.
At the end of May, six Ukrainian soldiers were killed and more than 10 wounded by a Russian strike on a training ground in the Sumy region, which borders Russia.
In March, a Russian attack on a military training ground killed numerous soldiers more than 100 kilometers from the front line. The army did not provide a precise casualty count. At the time, the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces Drapatyi had criticized military leaders who "carry out their duties negligently." In September 2024, a Russian airstrike on a military institute in Poltava, a city in central Ukraine, also killed nearly 60 people and wounded more than 300.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
At least one dead after earthquake in Turkey felt across Greek islands
Residents in western Turkey and the Greek islands were shaken awake on Monday evening when a strong 5.8-magnitude earthquake jolted the Turkish coastal town of Marmaris. A 14-year-old girl died in the town of Fethiye after the quake, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, despite being taken to the hospital. She had suffered a panic attack. The quake, which had a depth of 68 km according to the European Seismological Centre, was felt across the Dodecanese islands. At least 69 people were injured after attempting to jump from heights due to panic caused by the tremors, which were strongly felt on the Greek island of Rhodes — the largest of the Dodecanese islands near the Turkish border. No injuries were reported in Rhodes; however, tourists visiting the island said they woke up to violent shaking. Travel agency TUI cautioned tourists in the region to 'remain calm and follow any safety instructions provided by your accommodation or local officials.' Greek seismologist Efthimios Lekkas told ERT News that the earthquake's depth caused it to be felt across a wider area. "It will not have a significant impact on the surface, there will be no tsunami, and above all, there will not be a rich aftershock sequence," he noted. Due to its significant depth, the quake "was very intense for the residents of Rhodes and its surrounding areas. From here on, there will not be any major damage." Although the second round of talks between Kyiv and Moscow did not bring an end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine any closer, it did provide more details on where both sides stand and more specifically what they are demanding from each other. In the run up to Monday's meeting, Kyiv and Moscow reportedly agreed to both submit their individual "peace memorandum," outlining the key positions before delegations met for talks. Ukraine handed its memorandum to Russia ahead of the meeting, but Russia waited until the meeting took place in Istanbul before delivering its document. Similar to the first round on 16 May, negotiations ended with an agreement for a prisoner exchange covering two categories: young soldiers between the age of 18-25 years and seriously ill POWs. Kyiv and Moscow also agreed to exchange the bodies of the fallen soldiers, numbering 6,000 from each side. Russian state media reported that the heads of the delegations held a separate meeting which lasted two and a half hours – more than twice as long as the official talks – and according to Kremlin-affiliated outlets it "predetermined an efficient course of further negotiations." The key point in Ukraine's roadmap is a ceasefire. Kyiv is demanding that be the first step towards any further measures and any possible peace deals. The Ukrainian delegation again offered Moscow a complete ceasefire as well as a reciprocal exchange of prisoners of war, the return of children abducted by Russia and the release of all civilians from Russian captivity. Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv's team, confirmed that Ukraine handed to Russia a list of "several hundred" Ukrainian children forcefully deported by Russia. Another item on the agenda was organising a meeting at leadership level, possibly with US President Donald Trump in attendance. "We believe that further work between the delegations makes sense if it is aimed at preparing a meeting between state leaders. We have proposed to the Russian side to hold a meeting at the level of leaders by the end of this month, from 20 to 30 June. This is very important for the negotiation process," Umerov said. According to media reports, Ukraine's memorandum also states that Kyiv will continue on its path toward joining the EU and will become a member of NATO if there is consensus within the alliance. Kyiv is reportedly also calling for security guarantees that would prevent Russia from launching another attack on the country, as well as the involvement of the international community to achieve this. In return, Ukraine reportedly may be willing to accept the gradual lifting of some sanctions against Russia, but with a mechanism for their snapback renewal if necessary. Russia claims to have offered Ukraine a "partial" ceasefire covering certain parts of the frontline in its roadmap. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, said Russia prepared a "two-part memorandum" the second part of which proposes a two to three-day ceasefire in certain areas during the negotiations. He also announced the upcoming prisoner exchange and confirmed that the Russian delegation had received a list of 339 names of the children handed over by Ukraine. Medinsky said Russia will consider each case on the list and accused Kyiv of what he called "staging a show" on the topic of the deported children, adding that it is mainly targeted at "sympathetic Europeans." Medinsky said Kyiv is "trying to squeeze out a tear by raising this issue." According to official Ukrainian information, up to 20,000 Ukrainian children remain in Russia after being illegally deported from Ukraine. These are the children for whom detailed information has been collected. Their place of residence in Ukraine and their location in Russia are known. The actual figure is likely to be much higher. Yale's Humanitarian Research Lab placed the number of deported Ukrainian children closer to 35,000. Moscow claimed the number could be as high as 700,000. Regarding a complete ceasefire, Russia's first condition is Kyiv's "complete withdrawal of forces" from four regions of Ukraine - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - which Moscow claims as its own annexed "new territories." Russia also demands international recognition of the territories it has occupied since 2014, including the Crimean Peninsula. As per Russia's roadmap, Western arms supplies to Ukraine should be stopped during the ceasefire and this also applies to intelligence sharing. Moscow also demands Ukraine lift martial law and hold elections before any peace deal can be signed. The 2 June meeting in Istanbul tool place a day after Ukraine's operation "Spiderweb," which say Kyiv hit over a third of all Russian missile carriers in a coordinated drone attack on Sunday.** Following that operation, Russia's demands to Ukraine voiced in Istanbul also include "Kyiv's refusal to engage in sabotage and subversive activities against Russia."
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Fact check: No, Russia didn't bomb a 'pedo enclave' in Ukraine
A false news report has gained traction online and fuelled conspiracy theories that recent Russian airstrikes in Ukraine were targeting a European paedophile ring. The fake report, published by a website called Real Raw News, claims that President Vladimir Putin ordered the assault on a child-trafficking cartel formed of Ukrainian, Albanian, French and German paedophiles, prompting anger among Western governments. The strikes were supposedly what prompted US President Donald Trump to take to his Truth Social platform to blast Putin as "crazy" for intensifying attacks on Ukraine. The article says that the intel about the paedophile ring came from a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agent called Andrei Zakharov. He allegedly said that Russian aircraft flew over the region, dropping leaflets warning civilians to evacuate to ensure that no children were in the area when the assault began. However, the contents of the report are completely fabricated, not least because it comes from a known fake news website. Real Raw News was created in April 2020 and is known for publishing misleading articles about the COVID-19 pandemic and the deaths of public figures. Euronews has previously reported on fake news coming from the site, and its own About Us page says that it contains "humour, parody and satire." All reputable reporting on the Russian airstrikes that took place between 24 and 25 May said that Moscow had killed at least 13 people and injured dozens, including children. Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 367 drones and missiles at the country overnight, making it the largest single aerial attack since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine at the time of the assault. There's no mention in any reliable reporting of a paedophile enclave and officials said that military, residential and industrial buildings had sustained damage. There's also no credible evidence that an FSB agent called Andrei Zakharov exists. Following the airstrikes, Trump did post on Truth Social that Putin had "gone absolutely crazy" and was needlessly killing civilians and later hinted at more potential sanctions on Russia. "Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever," Trump said on Truth Social. "I've always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that's proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!" When asked by a reporter if he would potentially impose additional sanctions on Russia, Trump said he would "absolutely" consider doing so. The Kremlin responded to Trump's accusations by suggesting that the US president was showing signs of "emotional overload" after attempting to launch peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The US Senate is expected to work on a Russian sanctions bill in the coming days, according to Senator Lindsey Graham, following talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 30 May. The Berlin Administrative Court declared on Monday that the rejection of asylum seekers at German borders to be unlawful, dealing a major blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt's migration policy. The court ruled on the case of three Somali nationals who were deported at the border with Poland, stressing that Merz's government had violated asylum laws. The court says immigrants cannot be turned away without their asylum application being examined first. The Somali nationals, two men and one woman, were turned away at a train station after requesting asylum in the city of Frankfurt an der Oder in the east of the country after arriving from Poland on 9 May. The court delivered its decision, which is not open to appeal, after considering emergency appeals from the immigrants. Judges found the foreign nationals' rejection to be unlawful as they stated that at least one of the migrants had legitimate cause for asylum. They also added that the general policy of the new conservative government was lacking legal justification. Merz's government had announced in May its new hardline migration policy which seeks to severely crackdown on irregular migrants. The new initiative pledged to completely halt the asylum process, freezing applications and turning away asylum seekers at the borders. The court says the initiative is not in line with EU immigration policy – the Dublin system. Under the system, Berlin is obligated to thoroughly examine application and make a decision on a case-by-case basis. It also mandates each member country to conduct a full-scale investigation to determine which member state is responsible for assessing the asylum claim once it's been made. 'The decision of the administrative court today states that a Dublin check must be carried out. This means that the border crossing has to take place, and Germany has to check which member state is responsible for the asylum procedure,' says Dobrindt. 'In this decision, the court stated that the justification for our measures should have been more specific. This means that we are also complying with this demand and providing more detailed reasons.' Pushbacks at the borders were a campaign promise of the new Chancellor, Merz, and Interior Minister Dobrindt, although many critical voices said they were illegal. After the court decision, at least one MP called for Dobrindt to resign. But Dobrindt insists that pushbacks will continue, adding that he believes the government does have a legal framework to support their policy. 'Incidentally, we are sticking to the pushbacks. We see that the legal basis is there and will therefore continue to proceed in this way, regardless of this individual case decision,' said Dobrindt. The new conservative federal government had tried to legally justify turning asylum seekers away at the borders through a clause in the German Asylum Act, and an article in the Treaty on the Functioning of European Union. Article 72 allows member states to suspend EU law in case of threats to public order. The Berlin court rejected the premise of invoking Article 72 citing insufficient evidence of a threat to the country.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Asian markets rise as traders eye possible Trump-Xi talks
After a period of relative calm on the tariff front, Donald Trump at the weekend accused Beijing of violating last month's deal to slash huge tit-for-tat levies and threatened to double tolls on steel and aluminium. The moves jolted Asian markets on Monday, but hopes that the US president will speak with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping -- possibly this week -- has given investors some hope for a positive outcome. Meanwhile, oil prices extended Monday's surge on a weak dollar and Ukraine's strike on Russian bombers parked deep inside the country that stoked geopolitical concerns as well as stuttering US-Iran nuclear talks. Trump has expressed confidence that a talk with Xi could ease trade tensions, even after his latest volley against the Asian superpower threatened their weeks-old tariff truce. "They violated a big part of the agreement we made," he said Friday. "But I'm sure that I'll speak to President Xi, and hopefully we'll work that out." It is unclear if Xi is keen on a conversation -- the last known call between them was in the days before Trump's inauguration in January -- but the US president's economic adviser Kevin Hassett signalled on Sunday that officials were anticipating something this week. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent -- who last week warned negotiations with China were "a bit stalled" -- said at the weekend the leaders could speak "very soon". Officials from both sides are set for talks on the sidelines of an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ministerial meeting in Paris on Wednesday. While there has been no movement on the issue, investors took the opportunity on Tuesday to pick up recently sold shares. Hong Kong gained more than one percent while Shanghai returned from a long weekend on the front foot. There were also gains in Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington, Singapore, Taipei and Manila. Seoul was closed for a presidential election. Deals queued up? The advances followed a positive day on Wall Street led by tech giants in the wake of a forecast-beating earnings report from chip titan Nvidia. Still, National Australia Bank's Rodrigo Catril remained nervous after Trump's latest salvos. "The lift in tariffs is creating another layer of uncertainty and tension," he wrote in a commentary. "European articles suggest the lift in tariffs doesn't bode well for negotiations with the region (and) UK steelmakers call Trump doubling tariffs 'another body blow'," he added. "The steel and aluminium tariffs also apply to Canada, so they will likely elicit some form of retaliation from there and while US-China trade negotiations are deteriorating due to rare earth, student visas and tech restrictions, steel tariffs will also affect China." Separately, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday voiced optimism for a trade deal with India "in the not too distant future", adding that he was "very optimistic". And Japanese trade point man Ryosei Akazawa is eyeing another trip to Washington for more negotiations amid speculation of a deal as early as this month. Also in focus is Trump's signature "big, beautiful bill" that is headlined by tax cuts slated to add up to $3 trillion to the nation's debt. Senators have started weeks of what is certain to be fierce debate over the mammoth policy package, which partially covers an extension of Trump's 2017 tax relief through budget cuts projected to strip health care from millions of low-income Americans. Oil prices extended Monday's surge that saw West Texas Intermediate briefly jump five percent on concerns about an escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and suggestions Washington could hit Moscow with stricter sanctions. That compounded news that the OPEC+ producers' grouping had agreed a smaller-than-expected increase in crude production. Traders were also monitoring tensions over Iran's nuclear programme after Tehran said it would not accept an agreement that deprives it of what it calls "peaceful activities". Key figures at around 0230 GMT Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 37,546.85 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent at 23,425.37 Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,352.06 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1431 from $1.1443 on Monday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3532 from $1.3548 Dollar/yen: UP at 143.05 yen from 142.71 yen Euro/pound: UP at 84.48 pence from 84.46 pence © 2025 AFP
