Putin’s troops launch fresh strikes after Kyiv’s Crimea Bridge ‘attack’ – live

Jump to content Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe News Sports Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium News World Europe Stuti Mishra , Tara Cobham Sunday 30 July 2023 08:00 Comments Close Russian missiles hit apartment block and Ukrainian security service building in Dnipro Russia has carried out preventive strikes after what Moscow called a Ukrainian “terrorist attack” that damaged the Crimean Bridge, president Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. A Russian couple was killed and their 14-year-old daughter was wounded last week in what Moscow said was a Ukrainian attack that knocked out the road part of the bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. His comments come after Kyiv ‘s forces are set to enter Crimea ‘soon’, the head of Ukraine ‘s intelligence directorate has said. Speaking to Ukrainian news site TSN, Kyrylo Budanov said troops could begin their military operation to liberate Crimea shortly, although he did not give a specific timeframe. Crimea is a key target of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which appears to be ramping up after months of slow progress. It comes as one person died and five were injured in a Russian rocket attack on an education facility in the northeastern city of Sumy on Saturday night, Ukraine’s interior ministry said. 1690668480 Russia has carried out some preventive strikes after what Moscow called a Ukrainian ‘terrorist attack’ that damaged the Crimean Bridge, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. A Russian couple was killed and their 14-year-old daughter wounded last week in what Moscow said was a Ukrainian attack that knocked out the road part of the bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Russia’s President Putin attends a press conference in St Petersburg Matt Drake 29 July 2023 23:08 1690700430 Ukrainian soldiers fired UK-donated AS90 self-propelled artillery guns to mark the end of their training in south-west England. Uniformed troops wearing ear defenders blasted rounds into the air as Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag was pictured flying above one of the artillery units on Thursday. British Army instructors taught the 72 Ukrainian army personnel how to operate and maintain the guns when in combat, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The Ukrainian soldiers have been trained to use British donated AS90 self-propelled artillery guns. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 08:00 1690699013 Russia’s defence ministry said it had brought down three Ukrainian drones in the early hours today that had been trying to carry out what it called “a terrorist attack” on Moscow. Nobody was hurt and there was only minor damage to the façade of two office buildings in the Moskva-Citi business district, Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow’s mayor, said. The area, several miles from the Kremlin, is known for its modern high-rise towers. The fact that hostile drones have in recent months begun reaching the heart of the Russian capital, even if they do not inflict serious damage, is uncomfortable for the authorities who have told the public that Russia is in full control of what they call its “special military operation” against Ukraine. “There were no casualties or injuries,” Mr Sobyanin said in a short statement on the incident. The defence ministry said two drones had crashed in the Moskva-Citi district after being brought down using radio-electronic equipment. Air defences had shot down one more in the air over the Odintsovo area in the Moscow region, it said. “On the morning of 30th July, an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime using unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in the city of Moscow was foiled,” the ministry said in its statement. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 07:36 1690696830 Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organised peace summit in early August seeking to find a way to start negotiations over Russia’s war on the country, an official said Saturday night, according to Associated Press. The kingdom and Kyiv did not immediately acknowledge the planned talks. The summit will be held in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as no authorisation had been given to publicly discuss the summit. Those taking part in the summit will include Ukraine, as well as Brazil, India, South Africa and several other countries, the official said. A high-level official from US president Joe Biden’s administration also is expected to attend, the official said. Planning for the event is being overseen by Kyiv and Russia is not invited, the official said. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 07:00 1690693230 A drone attack in Moscow damaged two office blocks, its mayor said early morning today. Russia’s government officials alleged the attack was carried out by Ukraine. The drone attack led to an airport in the Russian capital reportedly closed to traffic. ‘Facades of two city office towers were slightly damaged. There are no victims or injured,’ Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin posted on Telegram, AFP reported. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 06:00 1690689630 Russian president Vladimir Putin said an initiative by African countries could be a basis for peace amid the war on Ukraine but claimed attacks from Kyiv made a cessation of hostilities ‘virtually impossible’. Mr Putin was addressing a press conference yesterday after holding a meeting with African leaders in St Petersburg and listening to their calls for Moscow to take steps ahead with their plan. ‘There are provisions of this peace initiative that are being implemented. But there are things that are difficult or impossible to implement,’ he said. He said the ceasefire was one of the points in the African initiative. ‘But the Ukrainian army is on the offensive, they are attacking, they are implementing a large-scale strategic offensive operation… We cannot cease fire when we are under attack,’ he said. Stuti Mishra 30 July 2023 05:00 1690686000 Ukrainian special forces have received training on Dartmoor in Britain. According to the Sunday Express, 2,000 soldiers arrived in a remote location for specialist exercises. Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov confirmed forces would enter Crimea ‘soon’. The operation will involve airstrikes we well as strikes on land and sea with Ukrainian commandos using technology to undermine and paralyse Russian troops. Matt Drake 30 July 2023 04:00 1690682400 Maria Zakharova said the US’ position against Russia is blocking the possibility of peace talks on Ukraine. Moscow’s foreign ministry spokeswoman told TASS that the Ukraine conflict is extremely profitable for the US. Speaking at the Russia-Africa Summit, she said: “This is a principled stance by the US administration which not simply thinks about but made it its mission – the necessity of not simply achieving results but a strategic defeat of our country on the battlefield.” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attends the plenary session of the second Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg Matt Drake 30 July 2023 03:00 1690678800 Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russia did not seek to seize property and that the country was friendly to partners who did not want to leave. He was speaking at a press conference after meeting African leaders in St Petersburg on Friday. Russia’s President Putin attends a press conference in St Petersburg Matt Drake 30 July 2023 02:00 1690675200 Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday signed a law moving the official Christmas Day holiday to Dec. 25 from Jan. 7, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church observes it. The explanatory note attached to the law said its goal is to ‘abandon the Russian heritage,’ including that of ‘imposing the celebration of Christmas’ on Jan. 7, and cited Ukrainians’ ‘relentless, successful struggle for their identity’ and ‘the desire of all Ukrainians to live their lives with their own traditions, holidays,’ fueled by Russia’s 17-month-old aggression against the country. Last year, some Ukrainians already observed Christmas on Dec. 25, in a gesture that represented separation from Russia, its culture and religious traditions. The law also moves the Day of Ukrainian Statehood to July 15 from July 28, and the Day of Defenders of Ukraine to Oct. 1 from Oct. 14. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday signed a law moving the official Christmas Day holiday to Dec. 25 from Jan. 7, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church observes it Matt Drake 30 July 2023 01:00 Kyiv’s forces are set to enter Russian-occupied Crimea ‘soon’, the head of Ukraine’s intelligence directorate has said REUTERS Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in