Outnumbered and outgunned, one front-line soldier has given a sobering account of Ukraine’s struggle to cling on to its foothold on the east bank of the vast Dnipro river. Several hundred Ukrainian soldiers have made it there as part of a counter-offensive launched six months ago. Under relentless Russian fire, the soldier spent several weeks…
Ukraine has launched an investigation after a video emerged purportedly showing Russian troops killing two Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered. Ukrainian prosecutors say the footage shows “a group of people in Russian uniforms” shooting the unarmed Ukrainians at close range. The prosecutors say the killing of prisoners of war is a “gross violation” of the…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree increasing Russian troop numbers by 15%. Some 170,000 will be added to the number of serving personnel in stages, bringing the total to 2,209,130. The defence ministry said the move was a response to an increase in threats, including from the expansion of Nato. Russia is thought…
Ukraine’s security service has blown up a rail connection deep inside Russia, a senior official has told the BBC. Successive explosions are said to have happened on trains running first through a tunnel and then on a bridge in Russia’s far east. Russia has opened an investigation into a “criminal case of terrorism” after the…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said defences must be quickly beefed up across the front line, after meeting commanders in some of the main pressure points in the south and east. “In all major sectors where reinforcement is needed, [we must] speed up building of structures,” he said in his nightly address. Russian forces are…
A Russian general has been killed after being blown up on a mine in Ukraine, several pro-Kremlin sources say. Maj-Gen Vladimir Zavadsky, 45, was deputy commander of the 14th army corps at the time of his death, they say. At least six other Russian generals are thought to have died since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine…
The wife of Ukraine’s spy chief, Lt Gen Kyrylo Budanov, has been poisoned with “heavy metals”, local media report citing sources. Marianna Budanova was taken to hospital after feeling unwell for a “prolonged period of time”, news website Babel said, quoting intelligence officials. Two other Ukrainian media outlets later published similar information, relying on their…
A historic collection of ancient treasures has been returned to Ukraine, after a nearly 10-year dispute over its ownership with Russia, Kyiv says. It says 565 items – including Scythian and Sarmatian jewellery, and sculptures – are back from the Netherlands. The collection, mostly from Crimean museums, was on loan to Amsterdam’s Allard Pierson Museum…
Snowstorms and strong winds have left more than 2,000 towns and villages without power across many regions of Ukraine, local officials say. They say 48 people, including children, have been evacuated from trapped vehicles in the worst-affected Odesa region in the south-west. At least six people have suffered from hypothermia. Traffic is currently blocked on…
How can you hold elections in a war? For months, Ukraine has been caught up in a heated debate over whether the country needs to hold a presidential election next year as originally scheduled. All elections – including presidential ones – are prohibited under the country’s current martial law, imposed after Russia launched its full-scale…