THE battle for Donbas will resemble scenes from World War Two as Russia is feared to launch huge attack operations, Ukraine has warned.
Thousands of tanks, planes and armored vehicles will descend upon the region, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned on Thursday at NATO, as he called for help from allies within days.
“Either you help us now – and I’m speaking about days, not weeks – or your help will come too late, and many people will die,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman admitted a “significant” loss of Russian troops – and denied Russia had committed any war crimes.
Dmitry Peskov, in his first broadcast interview with Western media, also said Russia hopes “this operation” will reach its goals “in the coming days”.
He told Sky News: “We’re living in days of fakes and lies” and verified photos and satellite images of dead civilians in the streets of Ukrainian cities were a “bold fake”.
“We deny the Russian military can have something in common with these atrocities and that dead bodies were shown on the streets of Bucha.”
He maintained the whole situation in Bucha, where photos show many murdered Ukrainian civilians, was a “well-staged insinuation,
Follow our Russia-Ukraine live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates…
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Russia’s ‘chilling order to wipe out Ukrainian village
RUSSIAN troops received orders to slaughter civilians, Ukraine’s intelligence service claimed last night.
A furious Russian commander allegedly screamed “kill them all” after soldiers warned him they had innocent villagers in their sights.
Ukrainian spies claimed they hacked a call during the battle of Mariupol, where 150,000 people remain trapped by a Russian siege.
At least 5,000 people are thought to have been killed in weeks of relentless bombardment.
In the intercepted radio call, which could not be verified, a Russian soldier tells his commander that he can see two people wearing civilian clothes.
Their commander yells: “Kill them all!”
A soldier replies: “Understood.”
The commander then says: “What are you waiting for?” before he is told “it is a village of civilians”. The Russian chief then yells: “Shoot the civilian cars.”
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Russian elite paratroopers stage a mutiny according to reports
A senior NATO official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told AP that the figure of captured, injured or dead Russian troops could be as high as 40,000.
This has prompted Russian elite paratroopers to stage a mutiny after witnessing their comrades being wiped out in battle, reports claim.
The soldiers were from key airborne forces headquarters in Pskov in northern Russia.
The refusenik troops had been moved to Belarus as part of the invasion force but after their mutiny, they were sent in disgrace back to their base in Pskov.
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‘Putin has changed his tactics’
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said the war has entered a “new and different phase” following today’s meeting of Nato allies.
Speaking after the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, Ms Truss said: “Putin has changed his tactics but not his intent. He wants a hold over the whole of Ukraine.”
Ms Truss also said there was now “a more concentrated Russian offensive” in Ukraine and that Nato had agreed to supply new and heavier equipment to fight it.
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Russia and Ukraine latest
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Inside Putin’s ‘Rusich’ neo-Nazi mercenaries
RUSSIAN mercenaries who collect their enemies’ ears as trophies are being deployed to Ukraine, it was reported.
The Neo-Nazi Rusich band have been pictured near the Russian-Ukrainian border in an area where Vladimir Putin’s forces are expected to go on the offensive in coming days.
Also known as Task Force Rusich, the group is affiliated to the Kremlin-backed Wagner group of mercenaries, who have also been recently seen inside Ukraine.
Rusich was founded in St Petersburg in 2014 by Aleksei Milchakov,30, who trained as a paratrooper in the Russian army, and 33-year-old Yan Petrovsky.
It first earned notoriety when deployed to eastern Ukraine during the fighting there between Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military in 2014.
On Milchakov’s page on Russian social media site Vkontakte, he posted pictures that show him removing the ears of dead Ukrainian soldiers, reports The Times.
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Putin’s troops ‘evaporated’ from the Kyiv
VLADIMIR Putin’s troops have “evaporated” from the Kyiv region as Ukraine pushes Russa back – as fears of genocide in the east still loom.
US officials believe around 24,000 Russian troops have withdrawn from Kyiv.
But there are still fears Putin’s forces are resupplying and could launch a new Ukraine deployment in the future.
Tens of thousands of Vladimir Putin’s troops are expected to storm the bitterly contested Donetsk and Luhansk in a face-saving onslaught.
Military chiefs fear far more atrocities are yet to be discovered as Russian troops are forced back.
They also claim Russia is facing a looming “military disaster” as units that received a battering in the first weeks of war are sent to the new front line.
A US defence official said on condition of anonymity: “The threat of (a) ground invasion (of Kyiv) is clearly gone for the moment… but it’s not clear what their longer-range goals are,”
They added: “The troops leaving the area were withdrawing to Belarus and Russia to reconsolidate, but it was not clear how many would eventually be sent back to Ukraine.”
Yesterday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the Russian leader is “really only taking control of a small number of population centres” – and had hit none of the key goals of his Ukraine invasion.
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Russia suspended from UN Human Rights Council
The General Assembly of the United Nations has just voted to suspend Russia from its Human Rights Council.
It follows allegations of war crimes by Kremlin troops in Ukraine.
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‘War criminals have no place in UN’
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, has responded to the news that Russia has been suspended from the UN’s Human Rights Council.
Kuleba said: “War criminals have no place in UN bodies aimed at protecting human rights. Grateful to all member states which supported the relevant UNGA resolution and chose the right side of history.”
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Kremlin admits ‘significant losses of troops’
Russia has suffered “significant losses of troops”, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has said.
Sky News asked Dmitry Peskov whether the war had been a “humiliation” following their forces recent retreat from the capital.
He said this was a “wrong understanding” of what was going on.
But when asked again about Russia’s losses he said: “Yes, we have significant losses of troops and it’s a huge tragedy for us.”
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Ukraine war at ‘precarious point’ as Russians regroup for ‘final attack’ – Exclusive
THE war in Ukraine is at a “very precarious point” and Russians are regrouping for an “overwhelming final attack”, the Chief of the Air Staff has warned.
Sir Mike Wigston insisted the conflict is “far from over” but the next few weeks could be a turning point for the battered nation as Putin’s troops pull back and prepare for their next bloody onslaught.
Speaking to The Sun alongside British RAF personnel heading to Romania for a string of gruelling NATO drills, the UK’s top air chief promised the UK “will be ready” to play our part to help turn the tide.
And he admitted it would be “logistically possible” for Britain to send armoured tanks or other machinery to Ukraine if Boris Johnson gives it the green light.
Yesterday the PM said he is “certainly looking at what more military assistance we can give” as Nato allies considered how to bolster Ukraine’s resistance.
The air chief insisted that the conflict was the biggest realignment of geopolitics since the end of World War II – and European, Russian and world relations would never be the same again.
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Russia’s ‘chilling order to wipe out Ukrainian village
RUSSIAN troops received orders to slaughter civilians, Ukraine’s intelligence service claimed last night.
A furious Russian commander allegedly screamed “kill them all” after soldiers warned him they had innocent villagers in their sights.
Ukrainian spies claimed they hacked a call during the battle of Mariupol, where 150,000 people remain trapped by a Russian siege.
At least 5,000 people are thought to have been killed in weeks of relentless bombardment.
In the intercepted radio call, which could not be verified, a Russian soldier tells his commander that he can see two people wearing civilian clothes.
Their commander yells: “Kill them all!”
A soldier replies: “Understood.”
The commander then says: “What are you waiting for?” before he is told “it is a village of civilians”. The Russian chief then yells: “Shoot the civilian cars.”
-
Russian elite paratroopers stage a mutiny according to reports
A senior NATO official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told AP that the figure of captured, injured or dead Russian troops could be as high as 40,000.
This has prompted Russian elite paratroopers to stage a mutiny after witnessing their comrades being wiped out in battle, reports claim.
The soldiers were from key airborne forces headquarters in Pskov in northern Russia.
The refusenik troops had been moved to Belarus as part of the invasion force but after their mutiny, they were sent in disgrace back to their base in Pskov.
-
‘Putin has changed his tactics’
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said the war has entered a “new and different phase” following today’s meeting of Nato allies.
Speaking after the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, Ms Truss said: “Putin has changed his tactics but not his intent. He wants a hold over the whole of Ukraine.”
Ms Truss also said there was now “a more concentrated Russian offensive” in Ukraine and that Nato had agreed to supply new and heavier equipment to fight it.
-
Russia and Ukraine latest
-
Inside Putin’s ‘Rusich’ neo-Nazi mercenaries
RUSSIAN mercenaries who collect their enemies’ ears as trophies are being deployed to Ukraine, it was reported.
The Neo-Nazi Rusich band have been pictured near the Russian-Ukrainian border in an area where Vladimir Putin’s forces are expected to go on the offensive in coming days.
Also known as Task Force Rusich, the group is affiliated to the Kremlin-backed Wagner group of mercenaries, who have also been recently seen inside Ukraine.
Rusich was founded in St Petersburg in 2014 by Aleksei Milchakov,30, who trained as a paratrooper in the Russian army, and 33-year-old Yan Petrovsky.
It first earned notoriety when deployed to eastern Ukraine during the fighting there between Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military in 2014.
On Milchakov’s page on Russian social media site Vkontakte, he posted pictures that show him removing the ears of dead Ukrainian soldiers, reports The Times.
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Putin’s troops ‘evaporated’ from the Kyiv
VLADIMIR Putin’s troops have “evaporated” from the Kyiv region as Ukraine pushes Russa back – as fears of genocide in the east still loom.
US officials believe around 24,000 Russian troops have withdrawn from Kyiv.
But there are still fears Putin’s forces are resupplying and could launch a new Ukraine deployment in the future.
Tens of thousands of Vladimir Putin’s troops are expected to storm the bitterly contested Donetsk and Luhansk in a face-saving onslaught.
Military chiefs fear far more atrocities are yet to be discovered as Russian troops are forced back.
They also claim Russia is facing a looming “military disaster” as units that received a battering in the first weeks of war are sent to the new front line.
A US defence official said on condition of anonymity: “The threat of (a) ground invasion (of Kyiv) is clearly gone for the moment… but it’s not clear what their longer-range goals are,”
They added: “The troops leaving the area were withdrawing to Belarus and Russia to reconsolidate, but it was not clear how many would eventually be sent back to Ukraine.”
Yesterday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the Russian leader is “really only taking control of a small number of population centres” – and had hit none of the key goals of his Ukraine invasion.
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Russia suspended from UN Human Rights Council
The General Assembly of the United Nations has just voted to suspend Russia from its Human Rights Council.
It follows allegations of war crimes by Kremlin troops in Ukraine.
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‘War criminals have no place in UN’
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, has responded to the news that Russia has been suspended from the UN’s Human Rights Council.
Kuleba said: “War criminals have no place in UN bodies aimed at protecting human rights. Grateful to all member states which supported the relevant UNGA resolution and chose the right side of history.”
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Kremlin admits ‘significant losses of troops’
Russia has suffered “significant losses of troops”, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has said.
Sky News asked Dmitry Peskov whether the war had been a “humiliation” following their forces recent retreat from the capital.
He said this was a “wrong understanding” of what was going on.
But when asked again about Russia’s losses he said: “Yes, we have significant losses of troops and it’s a huge tragedy for us.”
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Uefa ready to boot out Russia’s Euro 2028 bid
UEFA is ready to boot out Russia’s Euro 2028 bid with a decision promised “very soon”.
Moscow attempted to sabotage the England-led British Isles campaign by making an 11th-hour bid last month, which also saw Turkey enter the fray.
That was despite the global backlash against Vladimir Putin’s regime and meant the expected confirmation of the 2028 hosts was blocked.
European football insiders hinted that Russia would be banned from bidding and after a meeting of its ruling executive committee, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said: “We are not talking about the UK bid or the Russian bid today.
“But you will all hear something about this, very soon.”
Ceferin also promised an imminent decision on Russia’s participating in this summer’s Women’s Euros, due to be held in England, with the likelihood the team will be banned.
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Pink Floyd release first new music since 1994 to support Ukraine
So moved by the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis, Pink Floyd have made their first new music since 1994.
Today, the prog rock icons release an impassioned anthem called Hey Hey Rise Up in protest at Putin’s terrible war.
There’s a deeply personal reason for the unlikely Floyd reunion… singer and guitarist David Gilmour’s daughter-in-law and grandchildren are Ukrainian.
The 75-year-old says: “We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world’s major powers.
“I hope the song will receive wide support and publicity. We want to raise funds for humanitarian charities, and raise morale.”
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Summary of the news today
Thank you for reading my coverage today. Before I log off and my colleague Louis Allwood takes over, here’s a summary of today’s news:
- Russia has been expelled from the UN Human Rights Council. This comes after G7 countries condemned what they called “massacres” by Moscow’s troops in Ukraine
- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said today that he has offerd to host future Ukraine-Russia peace talks
- Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko says his country must be involved in peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisor has taken to Twitter to accuse “propagandists” in Russia of being responsible for the atrocities in the country
- NATO members have agreed to strengthen support for Ukraine
- Vladimir Putin has been hit by another mutiny as a total of 60 paratroopers reportedly refused to continue fighting in Ukraine
- Spotify will no longer be available in Russia as services will come to an end on Monday
- According to an official, the World Health Organisation is preparing for possible “chemical assaults” in Ukraine
- Boris Johnson, plans to ramp up nuclear power in the UK to avoid “blackmail” from people like Russian President Vladimir Putin
- Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Kremlin forces of trying to cover up evidence of atrocities
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Ukraine supplied 25,000 anti-aircraft weapons by US
Ukraine has received about 25,000 anti-aircraft weapons systems from the United States and its allies, the top U.S. general said today.
Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States and its allies had also supplied Ukraine with 60,000 anti-tank systems.
“The Ukrainians … are very, very thankful, extraordinarily thankful,” Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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Russia EXPELLED from UN Human Rights Council
Reports have just come in that Russia has been expelled from the UN Human Rights Council.
This follows reports of “gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights” by invading Russian troops in Ukraine.
A total of 93 countries voted in favour of removing Russia from the body, while 24 countries voted no and 58 countries abstained.
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Amnesty: Russian forces executed civilians near Kyiv
According to new testimony published by Amnesty International, Russian forces executed civilians in various locations in the Kyiv region.
“In recent weeks, we have gathered evidence that Russian forces have committed extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, which must be investigated as likely war crimes,” says Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard.
“Testimonies shows that unarmed civilians in Ukraine are being killed in their homes and streets in acts of unspeakable cruelty and shocking brutality.”