Russia

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturdayused his first visit to Kyiv to announce a major new air defense package, as the country celebrated retaking the southern city of Kherson.Kyiv meanwhile said it was checking the authenticity of video footage Moscow says shows surrendering Russian soldiers being executed."I am here today to say that the U.K.
will continue to stand with you...
until Ukraine has won the peace and security it needs and deserves," Sunak told journalists at a news conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky.The British leader said the new package was worth 50 million ($60 million).This comprises "125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter deadly Iranian-supplied drones, including dozens of radars and anti-drone electronic warfare capability," said a Downing Street statement.It follows more than 1,000 new air-defense missiles announced by British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace earlier this week."It is deeply humbling to be with you in your country today.
The courage of the Ukrainian people is an inspiration to the world," Sunak told his host.Ukraine had requested more air defense systems to defend againstRussia's bombardment of its energy infrastructure."In years to come we'll tell our grandchildren of your story, how proud and sovereign people stood up in the face ofan appalling onslaught, how you fought, how you sacrificed, how you prevailed," said Sunak.In response, Zelensky praised a "meaningful and useful visit for both our countries," during which the two leaders had discussed how to protect "European and Ukrainian energy security" and defense cooperation."With friends like you by our side, we are confident in our victory," he added on Twitter.And in his evening address, Zelensky thanked Sunak "for your willingness to defend freedom even more strongly with us."Joyous scenesThere were emotional scenes in Kherson, where residents gathered in numbers to greet the first passenger train in eight months to pull in to reunite families divided by the conflict."I promised I would come back.
It happened so I kept my promise," said Anastasia Shevlyuga, 30, moments after stepping off the train and meeting her mother.The reunions came a day after a Yale University group researching war crimes said Russian forces had detained and forcibly disappeared hundreds of Ukrainians during their occupation of Kherson province.The Conflict Observatory said they had documented 226 extrajudicial detentions and forced disappearances.
Around a quarter of them were allegedly subjected to torture and four died in custody, it added."These findings demonstrate a range of alarming allegations about treatment of detainees, including allegations of deaths in custody; the widespread use of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, pillage from detainees (and) sexual and gender-based violence," the report said.And on Saturday, the Ukraine prosecutor general's office highlighted another cost of the war.It said 437 children had been killed most of them in the eastern Donetsk region -- and a further 837 wounded to date in the war.The figures were only provisional, said officials, as they continued to check the situation where fighting was still going on.Ukraine checks 'war crime' footageUkraine's military meanwhile said it was checking the authenticity of footage that Moscow has said proves Kyiv executed several surrendering Russian soldiers in what they have described as a "war crime."Videos circulated on Russian social media this week purporting to show the bodies of Russian servicemen apparently killed after having surrendered to Ukrainian troops."Before launching an investigation, there must be grounds for it," Ukraine's spokesman for the general staff BogdanSenyk told AFP.
"We are currently establishing whether these videos are fake," he said, adding they have been handed over to "specialists."In the footage, the soldiers who are giving themselves up lie down on the ground in the debris-filled backyard of a house before the video abruptly cuts off as shots are heard.More footage shows the bodies of around a dozen people surrounded by apparent blood stains."We are aware of the videos and we are looking into them," a UN spokesperson told AFP on Friday, calling for the perpetrators to be held to account.The Russian Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, has said it has opened a criminal case into the "execution of captured Russian servicemen."The incident was not "the first and not the only war crime" committed by Ukrainian forces, said a Russian Defense Ministry statement.





Unlimited Portal Access + Monthly Magazine - 12 issues


Contribute US to Start Broadcasting - It's Voluntary!


ADVERTISE


Merchandise (Peace Series)

 


Lavrov Names Sanctions Relief and Return of Frozen Assets as Preconditions for Ukraine Ceasefire


[Russia] - Former Russian National Guard Official Arrested on Bribery, Abuse of Power Charges


[Russia] - Black Sea Oil Spill Reaches Abkhazia's Shores


[Russia] - Russian Anti-Terrorism Police Warn of Foreign Spying Disguised as Photo Contests


Russian Army Says It Seized First Village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Region


[Russia] - Former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit Found Dead With Gunshot Wound After Being Sacked by Putin


[Russia] - Russia Targets Emigres in Kazakhstan With Back Tax Demands


Ukrainian Drone Attacks Trigger Major Flight Disruptions at Russia’s Busiest Airports


[Russia] - New Details Emerge in Bribery Case Against Rusagro Founder


[Russia] - Far-Flung Kamchatka Peninsula Restricts Mobile Internet to Thwart Alleged Ukrainian Sabotage


Rosstat Stops Publishing Monthly Population Data Amid War Deaths, Demographic Crisis


[Russia] - Russian Gold Mining Tycoon Barred From Leaving Country Amid Nationalization Efforts


Putin Sacks Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit


[Russia] - Ukraine Says 4 Killed, Over 30 Wounded in Russian Strikes


Russia Says Captured 2 More East Ukraine Settlements in Donetsk and Kharkiv Regions


UN Condemns Russia's Largest Drone Assault on Ukraine


Trump Says He’s ‘Very Unhappy’ With Putin Call, Hints at New Sanctions


Russia Removes Peace Symbol from School Textbook Cover


[Russia] - Head of Moscow Region's Azerbaijani Diaspora Stripped of Russian Citizenship


Russia Adds 14-Year-Olds to ‘Terrorists and Extremists’ List


[Russia] - What Ukraine Is Missing as U.S. Holds Back Air Defense and Battlefield Weapons


[Russia] - Russian Firms Seek North Korean Translators to Support Influx of Workers


[Russia] - Dutch and German Intelligence Say Russia Increasingly Uses Chemical Weapons in Ukraine


[Russia] - Russia Carries Out 8th Prisoner Exchange With Ukraine Since Istanbul Talks


[Russia] - Professionals: Russia Recognizing Taliban Rule in Afghanistan Largely a Symbolic Move


Storm Batters St. Petersburg With High Winds, Rising Water Levels


St. Petersburg Naval Parade Canceled Over Security Concerns – Fontanka


[Russia] - Russian Car Market Expected to Contract by 24% This Year


[Russia] - Transneft Vice President Dies in Apparent Fall From Window, Reports Say


Russia Launches Largest Air Attack Since Invasion as Ukrainian Drone Strike Kills Woman in Rostov


Russia Becomes First Country to Recognize Taliban Government


Chechnya's Dependence on Federal Funding Hits New High


No Way Home: The Exiled Russian Speakers Fighting Their Own War in Syria


[Russia] - Russian Tycoons Earn Record $20 Billion in Dividends Amid Recession Worries


[Russia] - Russians Report Nighttime Police Raids in Azerbaijan as Tensions Flare


Former Kremlin-Backed Mayor of Luhansk Killed in Explosion


Putin Congratulates Trump on U.S. Independence Day During Hourlong Call


[Russia] - Russian-Made Jet Prices Soar as Moscow Struggles to Ditch Boeing and Airbus


Teen Facing Death Threats From Family Disappears in Ingushetia, Rights Group Says


Britain Links Azerbaijani Traders With Rosneft Ties to Russia’s Shadow Fleet


[Russia] - Russian Deputy Navy Commander Killed in Kursk Region


Russia Moves to Nationalize Country’s Third-Largest Gold Mining Firm


Orenburg Mayor Resigns to Continue Military Service in Ukraine


Durov Hints at Anti-Telegram Smear Campaign as Russia Readies Homegrown Competitor


FSB Arrests Woman Who Tried to Place Bomb Under Defense Worker’s SUV


[Russia] - Elderly Woman Killed in Ukrainian Drone Strike on Lipetsk Region


Emergency Contraceptives Disappear from Russian Pharmacies – Vyorstka


[Russia] - Putin Signs Decree Seeking to Lure Foreign Investors Into Russian Stock Market


Khakassia Governor Vetoes Local Government Reform Bill


[Russia] - From Plane Crash to Deadly Arrests: What's Behind the Russia-Azerbaijan Standoff


[Russia] - Kids of Russian Soldiers Increasingly Placed in State Care, Regional Officials Say


Russian Companies See Sharp Rise in Wage Arrears


Putin Praises Kyrgyzstan for ‘Special Status’ of Russian Language


Azerbaijani and Russian Investigators in ‘Constant Contact’ Amid Diplomatic Crisis


Russia’s Natural Gas Exports to Europe Plunge to Historic Lows


Security Forces Raid Russia's Third-Largest Gold Producer Over Environmental, Safety Violations


[Russia] - Kremlin Welcomes Halt in U.S. Arms Shipments to Ukraine


Fatal Car Crash Sparks Anti-Roma Protests in Saratov Region


Foreign Automakers Scale Back New Model Launches in Russia


Anti-War University Student in St. Petersburg Released From Prison


Russia Eyes Industrial Levy to Shield Domestic Producers and Plug Budget Gaps


[Russia] - Yekaterinburg Court Places 6 Azerbaijanis in Pre-Trial Detention Amid Cold-Case Probe


[Russia] - Macron Urges Ukraine Ceasefire in First Call With Putin Since 2022


[Russia] - Taliban Diplomat to Take Role as Moscow Ambassador


Russia’s VTB Reports Increase in Overdue Retail Loans


[Russia] - Kremlin Launches Online Bot Campaign to Defend Steep Utility Rate Increases


[Russia] - Su-34 Crashes During Training Flight in Central Russia


[Russia] - Russia to Disconnect Foreigners Who Have Not Submitted Biometric Data From Mobile Internet


[Russia] - Ex-Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison


Kremlin Dismisses Trump Envoy’s Claim That It Is Stalling Peace Talks


[Russia] - Russian Manufacturing Activity Sees Sharpest Decline Since Early Months of Ukraine Invasion


[Russia] - Azerbaijan Launches Murder Probe After Autopsy Finds Brothers Died From Beatings in Russian Police Custody


[Russia] - Russia's Top Ferroalloy Producer to Cut Workweek Amid Metallurgy Crisis


[Russia] - Russia Now Occupies All of Ukraine's Luhansk Region, Kremlin-Installed Official Says


[Russia] - Ukrainian Drone Attack on Izhevsk Kills 3 and Wounds Dozens More