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Drones struck an oil depot in Russia’s Belogorod as Ukraine launched a major aerial strike on occupied Crimea overnight, with local Russia-appointed officials saying the attack triggered evacuations.
The attack caused an explosion at the oil facility and set a tank ablaze in the depot, located near the Ukraine border, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Meanwhile, the Russia-installed governor of Sevastopol said the “massive” attack involved at least four drones as well as ATACMS missiles, and that the debris from their interception fell on residential areas.
It comes as Turkey has launched a newly built anti-submarine warship that is due to be delivered to Ukraine. The Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, attended the launch event of the Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi.
Ukraine this week received its first batch of long-awaited F-16 jets in a landmark moment for the war-torn country as it tries to rebuild its battered air force.
The fighter jets, built by Lockheed Martin, have been on Ukraine’s wish list for a long time because of their destructive power and global availability. The jets are equipped with a 20mm cannon and can carry bombs, rockets and missiles.
Key Points
- Kyiv targets occupied Crimea with ‘massive’ strike
- Who is Evan Gershkovich? The reporter falsely jailed by Russia at centre of US-Moscow prisoner exchange
- Turkey launches anti-submarine warship for Ukraine
- Biden and Harris welcome Americans freed from Russian prisons
- Putin’s troops advance on key city as Ukraine’s forces seek to push them back
Marc Fogel’s family left ‘heartbroken and outraged’ as jailed US teacher is left out of Russia prisoner swap
The release of several Americans and other westerners from Russian detention has been hailed as the biggest and most significant prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War.
But one family has been left “heartbroken and outraged” after their loved one was left out of the historic deal.
American teacher Marc Fogel, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been held in a Russian prison for the last three years after he was arrested in August 2021 for possession of 17 grams of medical cannabis.
Marc Fogel’s family ‘outraged’ as he’s left out of US-Russia prisoner swap
‘We feel that Marc has definitely been left behind,’ Marc Fogel’s wife of 27 years said
Maryam Zakir-Hussain3 August 2024 08:00 1722666651Kara-Murza thought he was being ‘led out to be executed’
Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was freed by Russia in the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, said he was unaware of the developments and thought he was being led to his death.
The British-Russian citizen told Sky News he knew nothing about a prisoner swap while being taken from his prison cell in Siberia to be transferred to Moscow.
“The night I was taken from my cell in Siberia, as I now know to be taken in preparation for this, I was almost certain I was being led out to be executed,” he said.
Kara-Murza was arrested in April 2022 for speaking out against the war in Ukraine, charged a year later then kept in solitary confinement, in a Siberian penal colony more than 9,000km from his family in the US state of Virginia, for a year until his eventual exchange.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar3 August 2024 07:30 1722664800Russia releases US journalist and other Americans and dissidents in massive 24-person prisoner swap
The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free, officials said.
The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia releases US journalist and other Americans and dissidents in massive 24-person prisoner swap
The United States and Russia have made their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history
Maryam Zakir-Hussain3 August 2024 07:00 1722664549Oil depot in Russia struck
Drones struck an oil depot in Russia’s Belogorod Oblast overnight, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The attack caused an explosion at the facility in the region’s Gubkinsky district, located near the Ukraine border.
A tank was also set alight by the explosion, the governor said, adding there have been no reports of casualties.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar3 August 2024 06:55 1722661200Turkey launches anti-submarine warship for Ukraine
Turkey has launched a newly built anti-submarine warship that is due to be delivered to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, attended the launch event of the Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said: “Corvettes Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi and [previously launched] Hetman Ivan Mazepa, which were built in Turkey due to Russian aggression, are equipped with cutting-edge weapons and will become a significant addition to our fleet.
“Ukraine has already broken the dominance of the Russian fleet at sea, destroying dozens of ships. We are actively expanding the capabilities of the Ukrainian navy in the Black and Azov seas.”
It remains uncertain when either warship will reach Ukraine, as the Montreux Convention generally restricts warring parties’ warships from entering or exiting the Black Sea through the Bosphorus, which is controlled by Turkey.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain3 August 2024 06:00 1722657600Russia launched more drone attacks than Russia in July
Ukraine launched more long-range drone attacks than Russia in July for the first time since the war began.
According to figures published by the Ukrainian army, Russia launched 426 Shahed-type drones into Ukraine and Kyiv hit back with over 520 drones.
It comes as Russia has faced destructive attacks on its oil refineries and other targets in recent months appearing less effective in shooting down the Ukrainian weapons.
The Ukrainian drone attacks were considerably more than 200 attacks in each of the previous two months.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain3 August 2024 05:00 1722654000
Drone fragments hit areas of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, governor says
Fragments from at least four drones downed by Russian air defences struck areas of the port of Sevastopol early on Friday in Russian-occupied Crimea, the Russia-appointed governor said.
Mikhail Razvozhaev, writing on Telegram, said no injuries were recorded. He said fragments of intercepted drones had landed on a street, on a lawn, on a roof and in a courtyard.
Ukrainian forces have claimed considerable success in their regular attacks on Crimea as part of what they see as a long-range drive to recapture the peninsula.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 following unrest which forced a Russia-friendly president from office in Kyiv. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin proclaimed Crimea part of Russia “forever”.
Ukraine‘s military has said its strikes have forced Russia‘s navy to reposition or withdraw vessels from parts of Crimea.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain3 August 2024 04:00 1722650400Inside the secret talks behind the biggest US-Russia prisoner swap since end of Cold War
The first photo released after Russian authorities on Thursday freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva shows the three aboard a US government jet, doing something they likely hadn’t done much of in a while: smiling.
Inside the secret talks behind the biggest prisoner swap since end of Cold War
The behind-the-scenes operation was documented meticulously by the Wall Street Journal, which has been unable to reveal its secrets until now
Maryam Zakir-Hussain3 August 2024 03:00 1722646800
Who is Vladimir Kara-Murza? The Putin critic involved in US-Russia prisoner swap
The British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza is one of the faces of the anti-Kremlin resistance. Following the death of Alexei Navalny in February, he became the best-known Putin critic imprisoned in Russia.
The 42-year-old University of Cambridge graduate was arrested in April 2022 hours after CNN broadcast an interview in which he said Russia was being run by a “regime of murderers”.
A year later, he was sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian penal colony in the Omsk region, where he was consigned to a punishment cell only three metres long and one and a half metres wide, nearly 6,000 miles from his wife and children living in the US. His fate was decried by governments across the West.
Who is Vladimir Kara-Murza? The Putin critic involved in US-Russia prisoner swap
Vladimir Kara-Murza was handed a 25-year sentence in a Siberian penal colony for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. He is now free
Maryam Zakir-Hussain3 August 2024 02:00 1722643200Putin’s troops advance on key city as Ukraine’s forces seek to push them back
Russian forces are advancing gradually towards the key strategic city of Pokrovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk, as Ukraine struggles with soldier shortages as delays in military aid from the West hold up the equipping of fresh brigades.
Pokrovsk, which serves as a key supply route for other Ukrainian outposts, has become the main focus of fighting in the last few weeks. Military analysts fear that Ukrainian equipment is insufficient to hold off the advance – although they expect the Russian offensive to slow down as it reaches more built-up areas.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed in the last few days it had taken control of Prohres and Yevhenivka - two villages to the east of Pokrovsk - with efforts now focussed on making a breakthrough closer to Pokrovsk.
Putin’s troops advance on key city as Ukraine’s forces seek to push them back
Dealys earlier this year in approval for fresh Western military aid have left some Ukrainian units struggling for equipment
Maryam Zakir-Hussain3 August 2024 01:00 Newer1 / 7OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
