War

More than 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel works are held in captivity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a meeting with journalists, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "As for the prisoners, there are more than 2,500 of them. It's difficult to say more precisely. This is not the number of people who left Azovstal when we, our side, were involved in this process... Your question was if there are more [than 2,000-2,500] military from Azovstal held in their captivity. I think there are more [than 2,000-2,500]," he said. Zelensky recalled that the Main Intelligence Directorate of the…

Some 700,000 Ukrainian servicemen are defending Ukraine against Russia in the ongoing war. This was announced on Facebook by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Kateryna Pavlichenko, Ukrinform reports. The official recalled that since the beginning of the full-scale war, 40,000 casualties have been recorded on the Ukrainian side, while nearly 3 million of citizens remain in the temporarily occupied territories. "Children who have lost their parents, those who have been forcibly deported, victims of violence… All of them need the help of professional psychologists. Some 700,000 Ukrainian servicemen are taking part in the war. Accordingly, there is a…

Ukraine faithfully fulfills all its international legal obligations towards prisoners of war and demands from Russia a mirror treatment of the captured Ukrainian military. That’s according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports. MFA Ukraine stressed that Ukraine is a responsible actor in the international community, faithfully fulfilling all its international legal obligations, including in terms of international humanitarian law. "In the context of full-scale Russian aggression, the Ukrainian state, as a party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its Protocols, has strictly adhered to the principles of hostilities, including international humanitarian law,…

Two enemy boats and a submarine, carrying 20 Kalibr missiles, are staying in the Black Sea and ready to launch missile strikes. The relevant statement was made by the South Operational Command on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “The enemy’s naval group continues to block civil shipping in the north-western part of the Black Sea. Two missile boats and a submarine, carrying 20 Kalibr cruise missiles, are ready to launch attacks,” the report states. The situation within the control area of the South Operational Command is remaining tense but stable. Russian troops continue to conduct hostilities at the contact line…

In the city of Mariupol, seized by Russian invaders, the stench caused by waste and the remains of victims under the rubble is increasing, as summer temperatures are rising. The relevant statement was made by Advisor to Mariupol Mayor Petro Andriushchenko on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “Mariupol. The most difficult thing is to convey the stench… Landfills arranged in the middle of the city. Morgues at shopping malls. The dead under the rubble,” Andriushchenko wrote. He posted a video recorded by a local resident. That man came to Pishchanyi [Sandy] Beach on the outskirts of Mariupol to escape the…

The Government of the United Kingdom unveiled a second package of support for the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine. This is stated in the press release published on the website of the Government. “The UK has responded swiftly to a request from the International Criminal Court for more police and lawyers to aid their investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Russian forces should know that they will be held to account for their actions and the global community will work together to ensure justice is served,” Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary…

The Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, has inspected the work of Ukrainian intelligence units in the city of Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region. According to Ukrinform, the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported this on Telegram. "Today, this is the 'hottest' area of the Russian-Ukrainian war, where our defenders are destroying the enemy in heavy fighting. In certain areas the enemy has a tenfold superiority in artillery. Nevertheless, we are gradually driving the occupiers out of the city," the statement said. According to the ministry Budanov…

The Centre for Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has confirmed the death of Russian Major General Roman Kutuzov in a battle near Popasna. According to Ukrinform, StratCom said this in a Facebook post. "Exclusive. Meet. Commander of the DNR's 1st Army Corps (of the orcs), Major General Roman Kutuzov has been officially denazified and demilitarized," the statement said. Earlier reports said that Russian Major General Roman Kutuzov was killed in battles near the town of Popasna in the Luhansk region.

Russian forces pulled some ships back to their bases in the temporarily occupied Crimea, but up to 12 cruise missiles can still be fired from the Black Sea. Serhii Btratchuk, spokesman for the Odesa Regional Military Administration, said this in a Telegram post, Ukrinform reports. "Russian Black Sea Fleet ships continue to regroup. Currently, the enemy left a warship and a submarine equipped with cruise missiles and several large landing ships in the Black Sea. The risk of an amphibious assault remains, but now there are no signs that the enemy is preparing for the active phase of the landing…

Ukraine's Armed Forces are holding out as Russian invaders are storming the city of Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk region. Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, said this in a Telegram post, according to Ukrinform. "The Russians are storming Sievierodonetsk… Street fights are ongoing there. However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding the defense. The head of state, who visited our advanced positions in the Luhansk region at night, was convinced of this," he wrote. He also noted that rescuers had put out the fire in an area of about 1,000 square meters in Lysychansk after the Russians…