The Ukrainian president announced on Friday that Moscow would release ten civilians held captive in Crimea and Belarus.
The return of civilians captured in this way has been rare since the beginning of the conflict
Follow the latest information.
Follow for full coverage
More than two years of war in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday that he would release ten civilians, including two priests and a local official, held captive in Crimea and Belarus and return to Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have been at war for more than two years and regularly exchange captured soldiers, but civilian returns are rare.
“We were able to rescue ten more of our citizens from Russian custody”He wrote on social networks, adding that they were “Released and now back in Ukraine”. According to Volodymyr Zelensky, the agreement, which Moscow has not yet announced, was prepared with the support of the Vatican.
Doretsk
Russia said on Saturday it captured a village near Doretsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that has been targeted by escalating Russian attacks since early June.
“Thanks to successful operations, units of the Central Troop Group liberated the settlement of Shumi,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily statement.
This small village is located near the town of Doretsk, which is an important obstacle on the front. Its fall would give the Russian army access to Kostiantynivka and then eventually to Kramatorsk, the Kremlin’s ultimate objective in the region.
Doretsk residents interviewed by AFP this week reported dozens of daily Russian bombings, an increase since early June. Authorities urged residents to evacuate.
Before Kharkiv
Fighting continues in Ukraine’s northern city of Vovchansk. According to kyiv civil servants, the situation is under control. Armed troops were able to stop the Russian advance in this area.
Russia wants to build “banned missiles”.
Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will begin production of short- and medium-range missiles. These missiles were banned under a treaty with the US before they were manufactured. We explain to you what these weapons are.
Russian attacks on residential areas
According to the Kyiv Independent, the Russian strikes hit residential areas in the east of Donetsk region. Four civilians have been killed and six wounded since Friday, Governor Vadim Pilashkin announced.
“Break the Silence”
Agence France-Presse has collected testimonies from several victims denouncing rape by Russian soldiers since the invasion of Ukraine on the orders of Vladimir Putin nearly two and a half years ago.
Arms sales to Russia
The United States and allies on Friday accused North Korea of violating arms control measures by selling missiles used in the war in Ukraine to Russia, according to Washington.
Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood has condemned “illegal arms transfers” from North Korea to Russia, as the two countries establish increasingly close ties.
“We strongly condemn these illegal transfers, which have significantly contributed to Russia’s ability to wage war against Ukraine,” Mr. Wood on the matter of the UN.
Five people died
Five people, including two children, were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike at a house in a Russian village on the border between the two countries, the governor of the Russian region of Kursk announced on Saturday.
“Five people were killed, including two children (…) Two family members are in critical condition,” Governor Alexei Smirnov said in a telegram.
And directly
Hello everyone, follow all latest news on Ukraine war live today.
The freed prisoners were captured in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, in occupied southern Ukraine, or five of them in Belarus, Russia’s loyal ally. Among them, Nariman Djelal, deputy chairman of the Mejlis, the assembly of Crimean Tatars, was arrested in 2021. The Tatars are a historically Muslim community on the peninsula. According to Ukraine’s president, two Catholic priests, Bogdan Keleta and Ivan Levitsky, are also on the list. Two more freed civilians were captured “in 2017-2018,” he said.
-
Read more
Russia and Ukraine exchange 90 prisoners of war each
Volodymyr Zelensky did not say anything about the terms of the deal, instead revealing whether Ukraine had released Russian prisoners. As for the release of civilians, precedents between the two countries have been rare since February 2022 and the start of the Russian invasion.
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”
