July 16, 2023 at 11:55 p.m
NU.nl regularly gives you an overview of the situation in Ukraine. With this time: the fighting in eastern Ukraine increases slightly, a murder plot against Russian journalists and a Ukrainian general who admits attacks on Russian territory.
Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops at the front in eastern Ukraine has become “slightly more intense”, a senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday.
Last month, Ukraine launched a counter-offensive to recapture territory held by the Russians. On the eastern and southern fronts, Ukraine has had minor successes in recent weeks.
Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram that Russian forces had been carrying out attacks near Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region for two days. “We are on the defensive,” said Maliar. “There is a lot of fighting, the positions of both sides change several times a day.” According to Maliar, fighting is also raging around Bakhmut and Ukraine is fending off Russian attacks around the city of Donetsk.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian army said in a statement Sunday that Ukrainian troops had advanced more than a kilometer near the southern front.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview on state television on Sunday that the Ukrainians are unable to break through the Russian defense line.
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Ukrainian General Admits Attacks on Russian Territory
In an interview with the Washington Post Ukraine’s top general Valery Zaluzhny acknowledges that his soldiers are carrying out attacks on Russian territory. He also expressed his frustration that he is not allowed to use weapons that come from the West. “Why do I have to ask someone for permission to do something on enemy territory to save my people?”
He states that the West is afraid that Russian President Vladimir Putin will then use nuclear weapons. “The children who die don’t care.”
There have been suspicions for some time that Ukraine is attacking targets on Russian territory, but this is normally formally denied. It mainly concerns attacks on Russian areas near the Ukrainian border. Ukraine has had to promise not to use Western weapons for this purpose. Partly because the weapons are intended for self-defense on its own territory, partly to prevent further escalation between Russia and the West.
The general also says he still intends to retake Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. “Once I have the resources, I take action. I don’t give a damn, nobody can stop me.”
‘Assassination plot’ against Russian journalists
The Russian intelligence service FSB is said to have stopped an ‘assassination plot’ on two prominent journalists. Five minors and two adults have been arrested who, according to Russia, planned to kill editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan of Russian state television RT and well-known TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak.
The Russian State Press Agency Interfax claims that those arrested admitted to the FSB that the order for the murders came from Kyiv and that they would receive 1.5 million Russian rubles (just under €15,000) per murder.
A court in Moscow has given permission to detain the seven at least until September 14. They are suspected of “attempted murder motivated by nationalistic hatred”.
It wouldn’t be the first time Russian media figures have been targeted. Earlier, a well-known journalist and a blogger were killed in bomb attacks. Both openly supported the invasion of Ukraine. A nationalist writer narrowly survived an attack on his car.
Moscow blamed Ukraine every time. Kyiv denies any involvement, saying the incidents are a result of internal settlements in Russia. The Ukrainian authorities have not yet responded to these arrests.
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2023-07-16 21:55:00
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