Russia-Ukraine war – live: Zelensky hits out at ‘beasts’ who attacked Kharviv blood transfusion centre

Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned a Russian attack in the Kharkiv region which targeted a blood transfusion centre, leaving several dead and injured. ‘ Russia ‘s guided air bomb against a blood transfusion centre in Ukraine . This evening, the Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences! Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire,’ Mr Zelensky said without mentioning the exact death toll. ‘This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows to live. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life,’ he said. It comes as senior officials from some 40 countries including the United States, China and India have begun talks in Saudi Arabia that Kyiv and its allies hope will lead to agreement on key principles for a peaceful end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia is not attending, though the Kremlin has said it will keep an eye on the talks. Key Points Zelensky condemns Russian attack on blood transfusion centre Russia planning ‘false flag’ attack in Belarus, Ukraine warns Blasts and gunfire reported near Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk Exclusive: Olena Zelenska’s urgent plea to help her nation as war rages around her Explosions and drone debris hit Kyiv in overnight attacks Zelensky condemns Russian attack on blood transfusion centre 05:45 , Arpan Rai Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned a Russian attack in the Kharkiv region which targeted a blood transfusion centre, leaving several dead and injured. ‘Russia’s guided air bomb against a blood transfusion centre in Ukraine. This evening, the Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences! Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire,’ Mr Zelensky said without mentioning the exact death toll. ‘This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows to live. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life,’ he said. 08:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia ‘s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage. The Kremlin , in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin ‘s spurious war to ‘de-Nazify’ Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries. Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses. Russia destroys two drones over Bryansk region -local governor 07:39 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain Russia’s air defence system destroyed two aircraft-type drones over the Karachevskyi district in the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, governor of the Russian region that borders Ukraine, said on Sunday. ‘There were no damages or casualties,’ Bogomaz said on the Telegram channel. It was not clear who launched the drones, and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russia-controlled territory in Ukraine. Russian authorities say the Bryansk region – which borders both Ukraine and Belarus – has seen multiple attacks by Ukrainian forces and pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups in the 17 months since Russia launched its invasion on Ukraine. Half of 30,000 Russian paratroopers fighting in Ukraine likely killed or wounded, says UK MoD 07:01 , Arpan Rai At least 50 per cent of the 30,000 Russian paratroopers deployed in Ukraine last year have been killed or wounded, according to the figures shared by top Russian General, the British Ministry of Defence said today. It pointed to the annual celebrations of Russia’s Airborne Forces (VDV) Day earlier this week on Wednesday which the ministry says were overshadowed by an ‘apparently unsanctioned disclosure of the scope of the casualties the elite force has suffered in Ukraine’. ‘In a recorded address for VDV Day, the VDV’s Commander-in-Chief General Colonel Mikhail Teplinsky said that 8500 paratroopers had been wounded and later returned to duty or had refused to leave the front line at all,’ the British MoD said in its latest intelligence update. It added that the video was quickly deleted from the Russian MoD’s official channels and that General Teplinsky did not comment on how many troops had been killed or were too seriously wounded to return to duty. ‘However, extrapolating Teplinksy’s figures endorses the assessment that at least 50 per cent of the 30,000 paratroopers who deployed to Ukraine in 2022 have been killed or wounded,’ the ministry claimed. 06:47 , Arpan Rai Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage. The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to ‘de-Nazify’ Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries. Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses. Inside Russia’s torture chambers as investigators warn Kherson cells ‘tip of iceberg’ 05:05 , Arpan Rai An international team investigating the alleged war crimes has warned that the harrowing new accounts of Ukrainians being tortured during Russia’s eight-month occupation of Kherson are ‘just the tip of the iceberg’. The acts described by those detained in dozens of makeshift detention centres – including the use of sexual violence as a common tactic among Russian guards, and genital electrocution – are ‘evocative of genocide’, the team of lawyers and prosecutors said this week. The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Dr Alice Jill Edwards, told The Independent that similarities in the accounts of victims across several different regions of Ukraine ‘expose a deeper concern that torture and intimidation are a policy and strategy of the Russian state’. Andy Gregory reports: Inside Russia’s torture chambers as investigators warn Kherson ‘tip of iceberg’ Russia vows to punish Ukraine for attack near Crimean Bridge 04:37 , Arpan Rai Russia has vowed to punish Ukraine for using a sea drone to attack a civilian tanker near the Kerch Strait in what it said was a ‘terrorist act’ that threatened the lives of the crew and risked ‘a large-scale environmental disaster’. ‘The Kyiv regime, meeting no condemnation from Western countries and international organisations, is actively applying new terrorist methods, this time in the waters of the Black Sea,’ Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement. ‘There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished.’ Earlier yesterday, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev suggested Moscow would launch more strikes against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyiv’s attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea, and threatened to hand Ukraine ‘an ecological catastrophe’. Officials on both sides confirmed a Ukrainian sea drone full of explosives had struck a Russian fuel tanker overnight on Friday near a bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea, the second such attack in 24 hours. Blinken discusses Black Sea grain initiative with Turkish foreign minister, says State Department 04:04 , Arpan Rai US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a call yesterday with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, discussed the Black Sea grain initiative, peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Sweden’s entry into Nato, the State Department said. In a statement, Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the State Department, conveyed that Secretary Blinken expressed gratitude to Turkey for its prominent role in the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He also highlighted the pressing necessity to confront the Kremlin’s inhuman use of food as a weapon of war. The ‘Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports’ endorsed by the United Nations, was signed in July 2022 in Istanbul. This initiative aims to reestablish Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, even amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. ‘The secretary also thanked Turkiye for its commitment to send Sweden’s Nato accession protocol to the Turkish parliament for ratification,’ Mr Miller added. Russia official blames Ukraine cluster shells for Donetsk fire 03:42 , Arpan Rai A university building in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine was up in flames late last night following Ukrainian shelling, the Russian-installed mayor of the city said. ‘As a result of the latest attack on Donetsk, the first building of the university of economics and trade is on fire,’ Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-installed mayor said on Telegram. He said preliminary information indicated the cause of the fire was an attack by Ukrainian forces using cluster munitions. Reuters could not verify the details of his account. Ukraine, which received supplies of cluster munitions from the United States last month, has vowed to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers. 03:00 , Joe Middleton On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. And far from the fighting, a related and just as disorienting miasma afflicts those who seek to understand what’s happening in the vast war. Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed – and stay quiet about defeats. None of this is unique to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Any nation at war bends the truth – to boost morale on the home front, to rally support from its allies, to try to persuade its detractors to change their stance. 02:00 , Joe Middleton Soprano Anna Netrebko, once among the Metropolitan Opera’s biggest box office draws, sued the company and general manager Peter Gelb on Friday, alleging defamation, breach of contract and other violations related to the institution’s decision to drop her following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, asks for at least $360,000 in damages for lost performance and rehearsal fees. Netrebko claims the Met caused ‘severe mental anguish and emotional distress’ that included ‘depression, humiliation, embarrassment, stress and anxiety, and emotional pain and suffering.’ The Met dropped the Russian soprano from future engagements shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Gelb had demanded she repudiate Russia President President Vladimir Putin. 01:00 , Joe Middleton Pope Francis visited the Portuguese town of Fatima on Saturday to pray for peace at a shrine that has captivated Catholics for a century. The shrine is known for apocalyptic prophesies of hell, peace and Soviet communism that have found new relevance with Russia’s war in Ukraine. Francis was spending the morning at the Fatima shrine, praying with sick people and prisoners, alongside pilgrims who began filling Fatima’s central esplanade long before sunrise. As Francis’ military helicopter landed at the Fatima helipad, nearby wildfires turned the sky smoky black and sent ash flittering down on the crowd. Moment drone boat ‘hits Russian tanker’ near Crimea captured in dramatic footage Sunday 6 August 2023 00:10 , Joe Middleton What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know Saturday 5 August 2023 22:54 , Joe Middleton In a rare interview the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, has spoken to Independent TV about her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war, the pressures on her family and concerns for the future of her country. From the presidential palace, she told The Independent ‘s Bel Trew about the need to reconstruct cities despite the fighting raging on, about building cutting-edge facilities to treat the country’s’ war-wounded and fighting stigma on trauma around the country. Watch the full interview on Independent TV, across mobile and connected TV from Monday 7 August. What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know Zelensky claims Russian missile hits blood transfusion centre Saturday 5 August 2023 21:26 , Joe Middleton Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said a Russian guided aerial bomb hit a blood transfusion centre in the town of Kupiansk in eastern Kharkiv region late on Saturday. ‘There are dead and wounded,’ he said on his Telegram channel. Kupiansk is a railway hub fewer than 10 miles from the front. Zelenskiy said rescue workers were extinguishing a fire at the scene and described the strike as a ‘war crime.’ He did not say how many people were killed or wounded. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians in a full-scale invasion that has killed thousands of people, uprooted millions and destroyed cities. Saturday 5 August 2023 20:19 , Joe Middleton On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. And far from the fighting, a related and just as disorienting miasma afflicts those who seek to understand what’s happening in the vast war. Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed – and stay quiet about defeats. None of this is unique to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Any nation at war bends the truth – to boost morale on the home front, to rally support from its allies, to try to persuade its detractors to change their stance. Inside Russia’s torture chambers as investigators warn Kherson cells ‘tip of iceberg’ Saturday 5 August 2023 19:25 , Joe Middleton Harrow