Latest news with #448th
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine strikes missile brigade accused of Sumy massacre
Ukraine has struck the headquarters of a Russian brigade that Kyiv said was behind a devastating strike on civilians in Sumy, according to reports. The 112th Guards Missile Brigade, a unit long accused of deliberately bombing civilians, was reportedly hit by drones early on Wednesday in Russia's Ivanovo region, 500 miles from Ukraine, in an apparent revenge attack. Footage taken by local residents showed a large UAV crashing into a building, triggering a large explosion. Russia said it had downed seven large drones in the Ivanovo region, but did not mention the missile brigade and sought to downplay the damage. Hours earlier, Ukraine bombarded the base of Russia's 448th missile brigade. Footage showed a huge fire roaring at the base in Kursk late last night. On Palm Sunday, two Russian Iskander ballistics missiles exploded in the centre of Sumy, killing at least 34 people, injuring more than 100 and sparking widespread condemnation from Kyiv and its allies. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence, said that the 112th and the 448th missile brigades were responsible for the 'war crime' and vowed to retaliate. Yesterday The Telegraph revealed the identities of the 112th brigade commanders accused of slaughtering Ukrainian civilians. We'll be back soon with more updates and analysis from the war in Ukraine. Russia has broken the US-backed energy ceasefire more than 30 times since March, Ukraine claimed on Wednesday. Heorhii Tykhyi, Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson, said that Moscow has attacked energy facilities in Kherson and Mykolaiv in the south and Poltava in the centre of the country over the past 24 hours He added that Russia has violated the energy ceasefire since it began on 25 March 'almost on a daily basis'. 'Not even one month has passed since the agreement was made, but Russia has already violated this agreement over 30 times,' he said. Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of violating the US-brokered 30-day limited ceasefire on energy infrastructure strikes. The former governor of Russia's Kursk region was detained on Wednesday on suspicion of fraud, according to state media. TASS reported that Alexei Smirnov, who resigned over his handling of the Ukrainian invasion of the region in December last year, is 'suspected of fraud'. It cited law enforcement as saying both he and his former first deputy, Alexei Dedov, have been detained as a result. No further details were shared. Mr Smirnov was head of the western region when Ukrainian troops stormed across the border in a large-scale incursion in August 2024. Since then, a ruthless Russian offensive has ejected most of the Ukrainian forces. Russia will hold talks with Qatar's Emir in Moscow on Thursday to find a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has announced. The Kremlin said that Putin's talks with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani would focus on 'topical issues' with an emphasis on trade as well as on a number of issues on the international agenda. 'There will definitely be an exchange of views between Putin and the Emir of Qatar on Ukrainian affairs,' Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, told reporters, adding that they will also discuss regional affairs. 'The region is replete with conflict potential. And Qatar plays a very big and important role in attempts to resolve many situations,' Mr Peskov added. Qatar has made a series of attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and has helped arrange the return of children from both countries who were separated from their parents throughout the conflict. There has been 'significant progress' in ongoing talks between Kyiv and Washington on US-proposed mineral deal, Ukraine's economy minister has said. Yulia Svyrydenko said that Kyiv's legal teams had 'adjusted several items within the draft agreement' , describing the development as a 'positive new step'. 'Our technical teams have worked very thoroughly together on the agreement, and there is significant progress,' she wrote on X. 'We have now agreed with the American side to record this progress in the relevant memorandum of intent. We are preparing to complete the formalisation of the agreement in the near future.' Ms Svyrydenko added that the agreement will 'create opportunities for investment and development in Ukraine and establish conditions for tangible economic growth for both Ukraine and the United States.' Negotiations on Black Sea security are underway in Ankara and could shape the region's post-war stability, the Ukrainian president has said. Volodymyr Zelensky had talks with the UK, France, and Turkey to discuss the deployment of foreign military personnel to safeguard Black Sea waters. 'This is not about ending the war, this is about what will happen after the cease-fire - security guarantees,' said Mr Zelensky. He added that Turkey could play a key role in future regional security guarantees and stressed the importance of a military presence to protect coastal cities such as Odesa and Mykolaiv. Donald Trump's most senior envoys will travel to Paris on Wednesday for talks with European counterparts over the future of Ukraine, the US state department has said. The talks led by Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, and Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, are set to last until Friday. Mr Rubio and Mr Witkoff will engage with European leaders 'to advance President Trump's goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed', the department said in a statement. 'They will also discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region,' it added. Youths in Ukraine are being trained for combat, it has been reported. An organisation called Centuria, founded in 2020 by Azov Brigade veterans, is training Ukrainians youths as young as 14 in military and combat medical training. The training sessions do not involve live ammunition. The organisation has more than 3,000 members across several Ukrainian cities. The Kremlin has declined to specify when a 30-day halt on strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure would end - or whether it would be extended - just hours before the agreement was set to expire. Vladimir Putin said on March 18 he had ordered his army to halt attacks on energy targets after speaking with Donald Trump. However, Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of breaching that truce. 'We'll keep you informed. I am not yet ready to tell you what decision has been made,' Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, told reporters when he was asked about its expiration. No formal agreement between Moscow and Kyiv was ever put in place and there are competing accounts of when each side's commitment to stop such strikes came into force. The Russian military said its air defence forces had destroyed seven Ukrainian drones over Russia's Ivanovo region, the location of one of two missile brigades which Kyiv accuses of a deadly weekend attack on the city of Sumy. Russia's defence ministry, which claims the Sumy attack targeted a meeting of Ukrainian military officers, said that Wednesday's attempted Ukrainian strike on Ivanovo had been conducted by aeroplane-style drones in the morning. It did not specifically mention the missile brigade based in the region, but local media reported it had been the intended target. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. 'According to operational data from headquarters, there were no fatalities and two lightly injured people received medical assistance,' the local government of the Ivanovo region said in a statement. Vladimir Putin will discuss Ukraine and other issues when he holds talks with Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Moscow. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Qatar played a very big and important role in trying to settle many different situations. The US appears to have significantly reduced the amount of money it wants Ukraine to pay back for its support in the war with Russia. Following a round of negotiations in Washington last week, the Trump administration reduced its estimated cost of US military assistance to Kyiv to $100 billion (£75bn) from $300 billion (£226bn), people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. Mr Trump is pushing Kyiv to sign a deal to share the profits on Ukraine's rare minerals, as well as infrastructure, in a bid to recoup the billions given in aid and weapons to the war-torn country under the Biden administration. Mr Zelensky has rejected the description of US aid as debt and is seeking better terms on the deal, which gives Ukraine no future security guarantees. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian president said the negotiations on the deal were 'positive' and more meetings were expected. Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, told Bloomberg News that the fractious deal could be signed 'as early as this week'. The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 97 drones in a heavy night of attacks. It said it shot down 57 drones, with another 34 not reaching their targets likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures. It did not specify what happened to the remaining six drones. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to travel to Paris later this week. Mr Witkoff is set to meet Emmanuel Macron, while Mr Rubio will speak with his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, sources familiar with the trip told Politico. An official said the two sides will discuss Ukraine, Iran and trade relations in the wake of Donald Trump's worldwide tariff threats. The French president's meeting with Mr Witkoff will come only days after the envoy met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow to try to push forward with ceasefire negotiations which has stalled in recent weeks. Credit: Reuters Ukraine reportedly targeted another Russian brigade accused of conducting a deadly strike on the city of Sumy on Palm Sunday. The base of the 112th missile brigade, a unit accused of deliberately targeting civilians, was attacked with drones early on Wednesday, according to local witnesses. The reports came hours after Ukraine said it had struck Russia's 448th brigade, the other unit said to be responsible for Sunday's attack on Sumy that killed at least 34 people, injured more than 100 and sparked outrage from Kyiv and its allies. Footage taken by local residents showed a large aerial drone crashing into a building, triggering a large explosion. There is no official confirmation of the strike against the 112th brigade. See 8.27am post for more details on the 'terror bombing' 112th brigade. Ukraine's parliament voted to extend martial law until August 6, a senior lawmaker said. An overwhelming majority of 357 deputies supported the extension, which allows the country to continue mobilising troops and suspends the election cycle. One lawmaker voted against the bill. Russian strikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson killed one person and wounded three on Wednesday in an apparent so-called double-tap strike. Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the region, said that Russian attacks had continued as rescue workers arrived on the scene. 'This is a deliberate tactic by Russia to prevent the rescue of the victims and to harm medics, rescuers, and police officers,' Mr Prokudin said. Moscow's forces have been repeatedly accused of using the brutal and illegal tactic throughout the three-year war in what Kyiv says is an attempt to kill or maim trained professionals and break the morale of Ukrainians. Kherson was captured by Russian forces when they invaded in early 2022. It was liberated months later, but the city remains under constant Russian bombardment. Should Russia ever face a war crimes court over its actions in Ukraine, the men of the 112th missile brigade may have some explaining to do. Officially, their job is to support Russian troops in north-east Ukraine, using huge, truck-launched rockets to take out military targets far behind enemy lines. Unofficially, they are also accused of 'terror bombing', such as this weekend's Palm Sunday attack on the city of Sumy, which killed 34 people. Just before 10.30am, an Iskander ballistic missile – a 21-foot projectile big enough to carry a nuclear warhead – slammed into Sumy's down town area, packed with worshippers returning from church. Minutes later, in a so-called 'double tap', a second Iskander scattered cluster munitions as rescue workers rushed to help. But Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, has pinned the blame on the 112th missile brigade – a unit Kyiv says specifically targets civilians. Kyiv also blames the 448th brigade for the Sumy attack and on Tuesday targeted its base in a retaliatory strike. Russia has lost 936,210 troops in Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion, Ukraine's general staff said on Wednesday. The number includes 1,050 casualties Moscow's forces suffered just over the past day. Russian attacks across Ukrainian regions killed at least one civilian and injured at least 27 over the past day, regional authorities reported on Wednesday. In the Sumy Oblast, which is facing intensified attacks by Russia, a man was killed during a drone strike and another was injured. In Donetsk Oblast, five people were injured in Russian attacks over the past day, while another five were injured in Kharkiv, including a paramedic wounded near Kupiansk when his ambulance was damaged in a Russian airstrike. Russian attacks injured 11 people over the past day in Kherson region, local governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of targeting civilians throughout the three-year war. Russia's foreign minister has reiterated Vladimir Putin's rejection of the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. Sergey Lavrov, repeating the concerns of the Russian president, questioned whether Ukraine would be allowed to mobilise forces, train newly mobilised soldiers, receive military aid from its allies and what the control measures of a truce would be. Mr Lavrov attempted to blame Ukraine for the lack of a deal, saying it 'loves to lie', despite Kyiv agreeing to the immediate ceasefire proposal last month. Russia's ministry of defence has accused Ukraine of violating the partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure almost every day since March 29, while offering no evidence of such violations. 'The Kremlin appears to be using these unsubstantiated claims to also refuse Trump's ceasefire proposal,' the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. said. A Russian drone attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa overnight injured three people, sparked fires and damaged homes. 'The enemy has again attacked Odesa with a massive drone attack,' Oleh Kiper, governor of the region said on Telegram, although the full scale of the attack was not clear. Ukraine's emergency service said three people were injured and several fires broke out in the city as a result of the attack. We're bringing you all the latest from the war in Ukraine and ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Sky News
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Ukrainian forces 'strike Russian brigade' behind deadly missile attack on Sumy
Ukraine's military says it has struck the base of the Russian missile brigade behind Sunday's devastating attack on Sumy. A Russian assault on the city killed 35 people and injured at least 119. Children were among the dead and wounded. The Ukrainian military has now said it has struck a base of "the 448th missile brigade of the Russian occupiers". In a statement on messaging app Telegram, it said the base was "hit [and] a secondary detonation of ammunition was recorded". "The results of the strike are being clarified," it added. 0:42 Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously shared videos of the aftermath of Russia's Palm Sunday attack, showing dead bodies in the middle of a street in Sumy. The Ukrainian president said "only scoundrels can act like this" and called for "tough reaction from the world" in posts on social media. Meanwhile, Ukraine 's foreign ministry said one of the children injured was a baby girl born this year, adding "even newborns are targets for Russia's crimes". NATO on Tuesday reaffirmed its "unwavering" support for Ukraine as the alliance's secretary-general visited the country. As he met with Mr Zelenskyy at a hospital in Odesa, Mark Rutte said: "I'm here today because I believe Ukraine's people deserve real peace, real safety and security in their country, in their homes." Mr Rutte also said he and Mr Zelenskyy had discussed the Trump administration's peace talks with both Russia and Ukraine. "These discussions are not easy - not least in the wake of this horrific violence - but we all support President Trump's push for peace," he said. His comment came after Mr Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia. Rebutting this, Mr Rutte added: "Russia is the aggressor, Russia started this war. There's no doubt." It also follows Russian and Ukrainian diplomats accusing each other of violating a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure. "The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the very beginning, every passing day, maybe with two or three exceptions," Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said, adding that Moscow would provide a list of Kyiv's attacks from the past three weeks. Andrii Sybiha, his Ukrainian counterpart, dismissed the claim saying on Saturday that Russia launched "almost 70 missiles, over 2,200 [exploding] drones, and over 6,000 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine, mostly at civilians" since agreeing to the limited pause on strikes.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine ‘strikes Russian rocket brigade's base'
Ukraine claims to have struck a base belonging to a Russian rocket brigade that conducted a deadly strike on the city of Sumy on Palm Sunday. '(A base) of the 448th missile brigade of the Russian occupiers was hit, a secondary detonation of ammunition was recorded. The results of the strike are being clarified,' the military said in a statement on Telegram. Footage taken on the side of a road appears to show a huge fire roaring at the base, which is based in Kursk, late last night. Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier today that Ukraine urgently needed air defence systems after Russian missile strikes, including on Sumy, which killed 34 people and injured 100 more. 'Absolutely everyone sees how acute Ukraine's need for air defence systems and missiles is. We talked about this a lot today,' the Ukrainian president told Mark Rutte, secretary general of Nato, during a visit to the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa. Mr Rutte insisted that Nato's support for Ukraine was 'unwavering' but his visit came as the Trump administration blocked the G7 from releasing a statement condemning Russia's strike. A source told Bloomberg that news that the US was 'working to preserve the space to negotiate peace', meaning it will hold back on criticising Russian strikes. Thanks for following our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. It has now ended. We'll be back soon with more updates and analysis. Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Steve Witkoff's remarks on how to bring about peace in Ukraine. Mr Witkoff, a special envoy for Donald Trump, said peace centred around 'five territories' - presumably the four regions Vladimir Putin illegally annexed in 2022, plus Crimea, which Russia invaded in 2014. Responding to his comments, Mr Zelensky said: 'Ukraine is a sovereign state, and only the Ukrainian people can speak about its territories. 'All territories belong to the unitary state of Ukraine. Once again – only the Ukrainian people can speak about our territories. And you know what our red lines are – we will never recognise any temporarily occupied territories as Russian. 'Therefore, these individuals are discussing matters beyond their mandate.' Four Russian journalists accused of working with Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin's fiercest opponent, have been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison each. Antonina Favorskaya, Kostantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin and Artyom Kriger were found guilty of involvement with a group that had been labelled as extremist. All four, who worked with Mr Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption, maintained their innocence and said they had been targeted for their work as journalists. Mr Navalny was Russia's most prominent opposition politician and relentlessly campaigned against official corruption in the Kremlin. He died last year in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence, which he had rejected as politically driven. Tuesday's trial was part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent that hit an unprecedented scale following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian authorities have targeted opposition figures, independent journalists, rights activists and ordinary Russian citizens who are critical of the Kremlin. Ukraine and the US held 'positive' talks on a critical minerals deal, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. 'For now, both sides concluded the meeting on a positive note,' the Ukrainian president said. Mr Zelensky had been due to sign a critical minerals agreement alongside Donald Trump during a visit to the Oval Office in February but it was suspended after their public shouting match. Footage appears to show the aftermath of a Ukrainian strike on a Russian rocket base that was reportedly behind a deadly attack on Sumy on Palm Sunday. Footage taken on the side of a road appears to show a huge fire roaring at the base, which is based in Kursk, late last night. Credit: Social Media/Telegram Nato's secretary general has said that Donald Trump's push for a ceasefire in Ukraine was 'not easy' and condemned Russia's 'terrible pattern' of attacks on Ukrainian civilians. 'These discussions are not easy, not least in the wake of this horrific violence. But we all support President Trump's push for peace,' Mark Rutte said of US-led talks during a surprise visit to the port city of Odesa, where he met with Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Rutte's comments contrast with an assessment from Mr Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who said he sees a peace deal 'emerging' after talks with Vladimir Putin in Russia last week. Serbia could be blocked from joining the European Union if its president travels to Russia next month for Vladimir Putin's Victory Day parade. Russian state media reported that Aleksandar Vucic would be one of the foreign dignitaries in attendance, as well as contributing military hardware to the spectacle on May 9. In response, European officials warned Mr Vucic that his visit would be a breach of the bloc's membership criteria and would derail his country's EU ambitions. 'We need to ensure that they understand that certain decisions come at a cost,' said Jonatan Vseviov, the secretary-general of Estonia's ministry of foreign affairs. 'The consequence is them not joining the European Union.' Ukrainian, British, French and Turkish representatives will hold a meeting on Black Sea security in Turkey later today, Volodymyr Zelensky has said The Ukrainian president made the announcement alongside Mark Rutte, the secretary general of Nato, during a visit to the Black Sea port city of Odesa. JD Vance has branded Volodymyr Zelensky 'absurd' for suggesting that Washington was siding with Vladimir Putin. 'I think it's sort of absurd for Zelensky to tell the [US] government, which is currently keeping his entire government and war effort together, that we are somehow on the side of the Russians,' Mr Vance said in a new interview. 'You have to try to understand where both the Russians and the Ukrainians see their strategic objectives. That doesn't mean you morally support the Russian cause,' he told the UnHerd website. Discussing his public row with Donald Trump and Mr Vance in February, Mr Zelensky earlier told CBS News, 'It seems to me that the [US] vice-president is somehow justifying Putin's actions.' The Ukrainian president said he tried to explain to Mr Vance that 'there is an aggressor and a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim'. The Trump administration has told its G7 allies that it will not support a statement condemning Russia's deadly strike on Sumy as it wants to keep peace negotiations with the Kremlin on track. A source told Bloomberg that without US support, a statement could not be released. It comes after Donald Trump said the attack was a 'mistake' and blamed Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war. Ukraine claims to have struck a base belonging to a Russian rocket brigade that conducted a deadly strike on the city of Sumy on Palm Sunday. '(A base) of the 448th missile brigade of the Russian occupiers was hit, a secondary detonation of ammunition was recorded. The results of the strike are being clarified,' the military said in a statement on Telegram. A Russian military court has jailed five people for up to 18 years after finding them guilty of setting fire to railway infrastructure and a helicopter outside Moscow last year. Prosecutors said the group had acted on the orders of people close to Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency, state news reported. GUR posted video at the time purporting to show the helicopter, which it said belonged to the Russian defence ministry, on fire. But it did not claim responsibility for the attack. The court, which held its proceedings behind closed dors, said the defendants - four men and one woman - had set fire to a railway relay box and had later torched a search and rescue helicopter parked at the Ostafyevo airfield outside Moscow in April 2024. The Ukraine war grinds on despite Donald Trump's vainglorious promise to end it within a day, or at least by Easter. At the weekend, dozens were killed and more than 100 injured in a strike on the northern town of Sumy. Two Iskander missiles landed in the busy city centre, one of which hit a trolley bus filled with passengers. The attack came as worshippers headed to church, with Ukrainian officials saying the weapons were packed with cluster munitions, designed to take as many lives as possible by scattering hundreds of small fragments on impact. It is another miserable episode in a conflict that began more than three years ago with Russia's invasion, but which has really been going on in the east since 2014. Mr Trump described the missile strike as 'a mistake', causing outrage in Ukraine at his apparent willingness to appease the Russian leader whatever he does. Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said: 'It is a very disturbing statement which both encourages Putin to continue atrocities and demonstrates that someone in Trump's entourage is pushing Russian narratives.' The truth is that it is not necessary for someone else to put Russia's side because Mr Trump seems happy to do it himself. He is right to say that the carnage needs to end and a ceasefire leading to peace is the only way that can happen. But he appears to want a deal whatever the cost to Ukraine and with few concessions from the Kremlin. Residents in Sumy are feeling a mixture of 'despair, sadness, rage and hatred' after Russia's deadly Palm Sunday attack, an aid worker in the region has said. Liza Sherstyuk, who works with World Jewish Relief in Sumy, told the Telegraph that residents had been feeling anxiety 'almost all the time' since the attack but that life was carrying on. 'Sumy residents are stunned, but today everyone who could went to work. As I already wrote, utility workers, volunteers and ordinary citizens are clearing up rubble and cleaning glass on the streets where the attack took place,' she said. 'Transport is running, shops are open. People are collecting funds to help the victims and the families of the dead. Everyone I spoke to feels despair, sadness, rage and hatred for the enemy.' Paul Anticoni, World Jewish Relief's chief executive, said the attack showed just how important it is that humanitarian assistance is provided in Ukraine. 'This devastating attack is a tragic reminder of the ongoing violence and suffering faced by so many in Ukraine,' he said. Volodymyr Zelensky has submitted two bills to the Ukrainian parliament to extend martial law and mobilisation. Martial law was introduced on Feb 24, 2022, following Russia's invasion, and is due to run out on May 9 if it is not extended. It is usually extended each time by 90 days. The law also prohibits elections, as per the Ukrainian constitution, which has become a point of contention since Donald Trump returned to power and labelled Mr Zelensky a 'dictator without elections'. Ukrainian forces have recaptured the village of Dniproenerhiia in Donetsk, according to Serhii Naiev, commander of Ukraine's Vuhledar tactical group. 'I have been in command of the tactical group for two months. During this period, we managed to reduce personnel losses by 20%, regain control of the village of Dniproenerhiia, and improve the tactical situation in two critical areas,' Mr Naiev wrote on Telegram. The governor of Ukraine's Sumy region has been fired after a Russian missile attack killed at least 35 people in the city of Sumy on Sunday. Volodymyr Artiukh's dismissal, announced on Tuesday, follows accusations that he had planned a military awards ceremony which Moscow then targeted. Mr Artiukh confirmed the plans for the event but has denied responsibility for initiating it. Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of nearby Konotop, accused him of risking the lives of civilians and military personnel by planning to hand out awards the soldiers of the 117th Brigade on April 13, providing the pretence for the Russian attack. Artem Lysohor, the govenor of Luhansk, was also dismissed, but no reason was specified. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that there is 'no clear outline' of a US-Russia deal on Ukraine for now. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, said that contacts with Washington were positive and useful, but declined to give a timeline for a peace settlement. 'There are no clear outlines of any deal yet. But there is a political will to move toward a deal,' Mr Peskov added. Russia attacked Ukraine with 52 drones and one missile overnight, Ukraine's air force said in a statement on Tuesday. It said 26 of the drones had been shot down, and that a further 19 fell without reaching their targets. Ukraine's security service detained a military instructor at a training centre who it accused of planning assassinations of the base's commanders. The suspect, who worked at a base in Lviv, was allegedly was working for both the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and Russian military intelligence (GRU). The Yavoriv training ground, located just 6 miles from Ukraine's western border with Poland, has been a key hub for military training. According to the SBU, the agent had been granted 'carte blanche' by his Russian handlers to determine how the assassinations would be carried out. Russia has accused Ukraine of launching a 'massive' drone attack on its western Kursk region overnight, killing one and injuring nine. Moscow's defence ministry said on Tuesday said 109 drones were downed over the region, which Kyiv's forces invaded last August and still hold onto a sliver of land close to the Ukrainian border. 'Kursk has been subjected to a massive enemy attack overnight,' the region's administration said. 'Unfortunately, an 85-year-old woman died.' Fires broke out at three apartment blocks across the city of Kursk, it said, adding that residents were being evacuated. Footage showed a multi-storey apartment building was damaged in the drone attack, with several flats catching fire. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which has frequently subjected Kursk and other Russian border regions to air and land attacks with the goal of undermining Moscow's overall war efforts. The drone strike came as residents of the Ukrainian region of Sumy grieved one of the deadliest Russian attacks on the war. At least 35 people were killed by two of Moscow's missiles on Sunday, triggering outrage in Kyiv and among its allies. Credit: Telegram/ Kurskiy Bomond Russia's foreign spy service chief, Sergei Naryshkin, said that the security services of Russia as well as its key ally Belarus were ready to act proactively. He said that they would react to the increased 'escalation' from Europe over Ukraine, state news agency RIA reported on Tuesday. Mr Naryshkin added that in the event of an attack on Russia or Belarus, Russia would retaliate against Nato as a whole, but that Poland and the Baltic states would suffer first. A Russian military court has jailed a soldier for 15 years after convicting him voluntarily surrendering to Ukraine in the country's first such prosecution. Russia in September 2022 introduced the crime of voluntary surrender, which is punishable by between three and 10 years in prison. A court found soldier Roman Ivanishin guilty of voluntary surrender, of attempting to voluntarily surrender, and of desertion, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. Ivanishin, who was reported to have denied all the charges, will serve his sentence in a maximum security facility. His trial was held behind closed doors. Sumy's governor has denied organising a military award ceremony on the day of a devastating Russian strike, after criticism that troops and civilians were unnecessarily put at risk by the event. Volodymyr Artiukh told Ukrainian media he had been invited, but had not organised it. 'It wasn't my initiative. I was invited,' he said. Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of the nearby city of Konotop, earlier accused Mr Artiukh of planning Sunday's ceremony, saying it endangered the lives of local people and military personnel. Russia bombarded the northeastern city of Sumy with ballistic missiles on the morning of Palm Sunday, killing at least 35 people and injuring at least 119 others. Russian attacks across Ukraine have killed at least six civilians and injured seven, including a child, over the past day, regional authorities reported on Tuesday. In Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, one person was killed. Four people were killed in Russian attacks across the Kharkiv region and a 63-year-old man was also killed in Zaporizhzhia region. China has slammed what it called 'manipulation and hype' around two of its nationals captured in Ukraine, after Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of dragging Beijing into its invasion. 'China is verifying the relevant information and circumstances,' Lin Jian, foreign ministry spokesman, said on Tuesday, adding Beijing urged 'relevant parties to accurately understand China's objective and impartial stance, and to refrain from political manipulation and hype'. At a press conference on Monday, the two captured troops said they were 'fed lies' by Russia and that Vladimir Putin's forces were not as strong as they claimed. Stressing that they were mercenaries and not fighting on behalf of China, both POWs said they were taken captive immediately after arriving on the frontline and had not killed any Ukrainian troops. Mr Zelensky said last week that there were at least 155 Chinese nationals fighting for Russia in the war, a claim Beijing has dismissed as 'irresponsible'. Volodymyr Zelensky accused Vladimir Putin of being focused on continuing the war and demanded that Kyiv's allies increase the pressure on Moscow. In his nightly address on Monday, the Ukrainian leader said: 'Thirty four days ago, Ukraine responded positively to the US proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire. And for thirty four days now, Russia has been openly refusing to cease fire. 'Putin remains focused on continuing the war. Russian state propagandists are preparing their audience for the idea that diplomacy will not bring any results.' He added: 'There is only one reason for this – in Moscow, they are not afraid. If there is no strong enough pressure on Russia, they will keep doing what they are used to – they will keep waging war.' Mr Zelensky and his European allies have long accused his Russian counterpart of stonewalling peace negotiations in an effort to bide time to improve Russia's battlefield position. Kaja Kallas, the EU's chief diplomat, called on European leaders not to take part in military celebrations in Moscow on May 9 in order to show solidarity with Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has reportedly invited the leaders of China, India and Brazil, along with EU member Slovakia and Serbia, which hopes to join the 27-member bloc. 'What was also discussed very clearly, and said by different member states [of the EU], is that any participation in the 9 May parades or celebrations in Moscow will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full-scale war in Europe,' Ms Kallas told reporters after a gathering of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Ms Kallas added that the bloc does not want to see any potential members joining the celebrations, which will mark Russia's 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. 'I've also called all the member visit Kyiv as much as possible to show really our solidarity and that we are with Ukraine,' she added. Donald Trump's special envoy said that Vladimir Putin wants a 'permanent peace' deal with Ukraine, following talks seeking to end the more than three-year war. The US president has been pressing Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between Russian and US officials. Steve Witkoff on Friday met with Putin in Saint Petersburg - their third meeting third since Mr Trump returned to the White House in January. Mr Witkoff said late on Monday that he sees a peace deal 'emerging,' and that two key Putin advisers - Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev - were in the 'compelling meeting.' 'Putin's request is to get to have a permanent peace here. So beyond the ceasefire, we got an answer to that,' Mr Witkoff told Fox News, acknowledging that 'it took a while for us to get to this place.' 'I think we might be on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world at large.' Russia's foreign minister said it was 'not easy' to agree with Washington on the key parts of a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. 'It is not easy to agree the key components of a settlement. They are being discussed,' Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper when asked if Moscow and Washington had agreement on some aspects of a possible peace deal. We're bringing you all the latest from the war in Ukraine. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Al Arabiya
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Ukraine says it hit Russian brigade that conducted deadly strike on Sumy
Ukraine's military said on Tuesday that it had hit a base belonging to the Russian rocket brigade that conducted the missile attack that killed 35 people in the city of Sumy on Sunday. '(A base) of the 448th missile brigade of the Russian occupiers was hit, a secondary detonation of ammunition was recorded. The results of the strike are being clarified,' the military said in a statement on Telegram.
