War

Four bodies of civilians have been recovered from under the rubble of an apartment block destroyed in Russia’s missile strike on the city of Kharkiv back in February 2022. The relevant statement was made by the Main Department of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service in Kharkiv Region on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “On May 31, 2022, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service continued emergency and rescue works, dismantling the rubble of a 16-storey apartment block in Industrialnyi District. Yesterday, on floor 15, using special tools, rescuers unblocked the bodies of two victims, a man and a woman. Today, two more…

President of the Slovak Republic Zuzana Čaputová has visited Irpin and Borodianka as part of her visit to Ukraine. The relevant statement was made by Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “In Borodianka and Irpin, I have seen with my own eyes the destruction brought by Russian soldiers to Ukraine. Hundreds of kilometers to the east and to the south, thousands of other Ukrainian civilians – women, men, children – are facing the same destruction today,” Čaputová wrote. She expressed confidence that Ukraine will flourish again, when this nightmare ends. “Just like flowers that have bloomed…

A joint press conference of International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan and Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova has started in The Hague. The press conference is taking place in Eurojust, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova delivered her speech first. In her words, the judicial front is very important, as “about 200-300 war crimes are committed daily”. Venediktova stressed that hostilities are continuously raging in Ukraine. “It is a brutal war. We do not have access to the occupied territories, but I hope, thanks to international colleagues, we will be able to achieve justice,” Venediktova noted.…

OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid announces the release of one of the four OSCE SMM members from militants’ captivity in eastern Ukraine. “Very relieved about the release [from captivity] of one OSCE SMM national mission member,” Schmid posted on Twitter. The official urged for the release of the three colleagues who remain in detention in Donetsk and Luhansk and noted that she would continue to work tirelessly for their immediate return to their loved ones. On April 29, OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau and OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid stated that the OSCE would take immediate steps…

Two Russian servicemen, Aleksandr Bobykin and Aleksandr Ivanov, who had opened fire from Grad multiple rocket launchers on Kharkiv region, were sentenced to 11 years and 6 months in prison. The sentence was read out at the Kotelevsky district court of Poltava region on May 31, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The court considers well-founded and proven all the charges brought against servicemen. "The court has no doubts about the voluntariness of their position. The guilt has been proved in full," reads the verdict. The mitigating circumstances are sincere remorse, confirmed by a full confession and cooperation with the investigation on…

A 12-year-old child and a woman were killed in the Russian shelling of Kharkiv region in the morning. Over the past 24 hours, three people were killed and 14 were injured in the region. “Over the past 24 hours, the enemy shelled Osnovyansky and Kyivsky residential districts of Kharkiv city and Kharkiv, Izium, Chuhuiv, and Bohodukhiv districts of the region. Unfortunately, three people were killed: a woman in the town of Korotych of Kharkiv district, a man in the village of Udy of Bohodukhiv district, and a woman in Chkalovske town, Chuhuiv district. A total of 14 civilians were injured…

The troops of the Russian Federation fired on 12 localities in Donetsk region over the past day. Casualties have been reported.  "Donetsk region: Russians shelled 12 localities over the past day. Civilians were killed and wounded. Twenty-six civilian objects – residential buildings, two schools, a factory, an ammonia pipeline, critical infrastructure facilities – were destroyed. The police documented the consequences of Russia's war crimes," the National Police of Ukraine posted on Telegram. Russian troops struck Avdiivka, Bakhmut, Toretsk, Mykolayivka, Slovyansk, New York, Ocheretyne, Orlivka, Nelipivka, Netaylove, Travneve, and Zakotne. The enemy opened fire from aircraft, artillery, tanks, and small arms…

Russian invaders control part of the city of Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk region, but they cannot move freely there. Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, said this during a nationwide TV marathon, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "The situation in our city remains extremely difficult. In Sievierodonetsk, unfortunately, part of the city is already controlled by the Russian army. A couple of days ago, they reported that the city had already been captured, but this was not the case. Our guys are there, they are repelling their [Russians’] attacks. That is, they [the Russians] cannot move freely…

Russian invaders launched a rocket attack on the city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region at night, killing at least three people and injuring six others. According to Ukrinform, Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, said this on Facebook. "At least three people were killed and six were injured in a rocket attack by the Russians on Sloviansk at night. A school and at least seven apartment buildings were damaged," the statement said. According to Kyrylenko, as of now, rescue operations are underway. The exact number of casualties is being clarified. He stressed that "this air strike…

Following the death of French BFMTV journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff as a result of Russian shelling of a humanitarian convoy in Ukraine, the French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office has announced the opening of an investigation into a war crime. The inquiry was entrusted to the Central Office for Combating Crimes against Humanity, Genocide and War Crimes, according to Ukrinform referring to BFMTV. "The investigation is open into the facts of deliberate attempt on the life of a person protected by international law of armed conflict, deliberate attempts on persons not directly involved in conflict, and deliberate attempts on personnel and vehicles…