Ukraine claimed responsibility for an overnight drone attack on an oil complex in southern Russia on Thursday, according to an AFP military source.
Russian authorities had earlier reported a fire at the site.
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27 years in prison for murder of pro-Kremlin blogger
A Russian judge announced that he sentenced Daria Trepova, a 26-year-old woman accused of the April 2023 explosive killing of a Russian nationalist blogger specializing in attacks on Ukraine, to 27 years in prison on Thursday.
A military court in St. Petersburg (northwest Russia), where the trial took place, said in a statement that Daria was “sentenced to 27 years in the Trepova penal colony.”
Interpellations of Girkine Supporters
Three supporters of Russian nationalist dissident Igor Gerkin, who was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday, were arrested by police in court after the verdict, AFP reporters reported on the site.
One of those arrested had “Freedom for Strelkov!” There was a poster. (Nom de Guerre of Igor Gerkin, editor’s note) and, like two others arrested, campaigned for the “Other Russia” party created by the nationalist writer Edouard Limonov.
Geekin sentenced to 4 years in prison
Russian justice on Thursday sentenced Igor Gerkin, an ardent nationalist and veteran of the Front of Ukraine, to four years in prison for “extremism” in 2014, who became a critic of the Kremlin while supporting the attack on Ukraine.
“I serve the motherland,” said the former commander of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, who was convicted in the Netherlands of the 2014 downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, when the verdict was announced.
kyiv requests site inspection
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, demanded on Thursday that the UN and the Red Cross have access to the crash site of a military plane in Russia, a day before Moscow said it was taking 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
“I would ask that representatives of these organizations join the inspection of the sites”, in the Russian region of Belgorod, Dmytro Lubinets confirmed, adding that he had contacted the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday to find out if Russia was aware of the prisoner transfer. However, he said he was “absolute” that “no one will be allowed to view the site”.
Ukraine says it hit an oil site in Russia
Ukraine claimed responsibility on Thursday for an overnight drone strike against an oil complex in southern Russia, where Russian authorities reported a fire, according to an AFP military source.
Ukrainian security services (SBU) struck a refinery in the Black Sea city of Tuapse and damaged an “oil processing unit,” the source said. During the night, regional authorities announced that an oil site in Tuapse had caught fire, without explaining the cause of the disaster.
Initiation of investigation by Ukrainian special services
Ukrainian special services (SBU) announced on Thursday the launch of an investigation into the crash of a Russian military plane in the border region of Belgorod, which Moscow accused Kiev of shooting down while Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board. .
“An investigation is being conducted under Article 438 (violation of the laws and customs of war) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine,” the SBU said, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of “playing” with the lives of Ukrainians. prisoners
“Citizens Army”
As the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, Britain’s chief of staff has called for “training an army of citizens” to deal with the dangers of the conflict. He cited as an example the steps taken by some European countries to strengthen themselves to counter the “Russian threat”.
Ukraine says it shot down 11 Russian drones
Ukraine announced Thursday that it had shot down 11 of 14 drones launched by Russia overnight, injuring several in the country’s southern regions.
The Ukrainian Air Force said air defense systems shot down the drone in Odessa and Mykolaiv regions, while the Interior Ministry said the attack wounded six people in Odessa and damaged residential buildings and a warehouse.
Russian plane crash
The Kremlin described the crash of a Russian military transport plane as a “monstrous act” by Kiev, which it blamed on Ukraine. “The fact that the Ukrainians killed their prisoners, their citizens who were supposed to be home in about 24 hours, this is of course an absolutely terrible act,” Peskov was quoted as saying by news agencies. Russians.
The plane was transporting 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war for exchange in the Russian region of Belgorod, 45 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, on Wednesday, according to Moscow.
Emergency meeting at the UN Security Council
The UN Security Council is meeting urgently on Thursday at the request of Moscow, which has accused Ukraine of shooting down a Russian military transport plane and killing all its passengers, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were exchanged.
The meeting should take place at 5 p.m., the council’s French president announced, following a request Wednesday by Sergei Lavrov, the Russian diplomatic chief visiting New York.
Update on the situation
Here is the latest key information on the conflict:
– Russia accused Ukraine of shooting down a Russian military transport plane in the Belgorod border area on Wednesday, killing all its occupants, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners, according to Moscow. In his daily Internet address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the opening of an international investigation in the evening. The UN Security Council will meet urgently this Thursday afternoon at the request of Moscow.
– A Russian strike on a village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region left two dead and eight injured, including a 16-year-old teenager, on Wednesday, regional authorities announced.
– Russian MPs on Wednesday voted on first reading a measure aimed at confiscating the money and assets of anyone found guilty of spreading “false information” about the military.
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Welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the war in Ukraine. Find the latest information and powerful images related to this conflict here.
The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of shooting down a Russian military transport plane over the Belgorod border region, killing all on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners. In his daily address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an international investigation in the evening. “It is clear that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their parents and with the feelings of our society”He declared, without confirming or denying, that the victims were indeed prisoners of his country. “We must establish all the facts clearly and as much as possible, although the plane was shot down over Russian territory, which is beyond our control”Zelensky added.
An emergency meeting of the Security Council will be held on Thursday afternoon at the request of Moscow, the council presidency announced on Wednesday.
For its part, the Ukrainian Military Intelligence (GUR) claimed “Not reliable information” On the passengers of the downed Il-76, while confirming that there was a prisoner exchange “Prediction” But ultimately it didn’t happen. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry criticized Ukraine “killed” Russian military aircraft that transport “Ukrainian soldiers for exchange”. According to Moscow, the Ukrainian army “Known” that the Russians would fly the prisoners to Belgorod and then to a meeting point on the border.
Ukrainian intelligence, on the contrary, assured that Kiev has not “not known” The need to secure airspace in the area. Ukraine did not know “Number of Vehicles, Route and Mode of Transportation of Prisoners”he said, accusing Moscow of knowingly holding the case “endanger”. The Russian military, for its part, maintains that Ukrainian forces started “Two Missiles” from “An Anti-Aircraft Defense System” To shoot down an Il-76 military transport plane and then be able to “Blame Russia”.
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The Ukrainian military, in a statement released hours after the crash and without directly mentioning it, vowed to continue. “Destroy transport aircraft and control airspace (…) including Belgorod-Kharkiv area”.
