Government officials from dozens of nations are meeting on Thursday in the Netherlands to discuss with the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor how best to coordinate efforts to bring perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine to justice.
On Thursday, Ukrainian forces hit two military checkpoints and a landing pad in the second strike this week on a Russian-held area in southern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.
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Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said that Russian missile strikes in Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv killed at least five people, part of a series of artillery and missile barrages across the country in the past day that left at least 10 dead and dozens wounded in eastern and southern regions.
While Mykolaiv has repeatedly been the target of Russian fire in recent days, Russian missiles also struck the city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, an attack that could signal Moscow’s determination to hold onto territory in Ukraine’s south as it aims to fully conquer the east.
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Here are the latest updates:
Russian missile strike kills 12 south of Kyiv
Russian missiles struck the city of Vinnytsia Thursday, killing 12 people and wounding 25 more in what Ukraine’s President called “an open act of terrorism” on the country’s civilian population in areas with no military value.
Ukraine’s national police said three missiles hit an office building and damaged nearby residential buildings in the city located southwest of the capital Kyiv. The missile strike ignited a fire that expanded to engulf 50 cars in an adjacent parking lot.
Ukrainian military launch new attack on Russian forces in southern Ukraine
Ukrainian forces hit two military checkpoints and a landing pad on Thursday in the second strike this week on a Russian-held area in southern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.
The new attack on Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region killed 13 “occupiers”, Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa regional administration, quoted the Operational Command South as saying. He cited no evidence for the death toll. Russia’s Defence Ministry did not immediately comment. -Reuters
Nations discuss coordinating Ukraine war crimes probes
Government officials from dozens of nations are meeting on Thursday in the Netherlands to discuss with the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor how best to coordinate efforts to bring perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine to justice.
Breakthrough at Ukraine grain export talks as heavy shelling continues
Ukraine, the United Nations and Turkey hailed progress at talks aiming to resume Black Sea grain exports blocked by Russia and ease the risk of starvation faced by millions, but an end to the war remained far off as heavy shelling continued on Thursday. -Reuters
European Union, Azerbaijan plan gas deal in pivot away from Russia
The European Commission has proposed to EU countries a deal with Azerbaijan to increase imports of natural gas and support the expansion of a pipeline to do this, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
The draft memorandum of understanding, which needs approval from the governments involved and could still change, is part of European Union efforts to slash reliance on Russian gas following the war in Ukraine.
“The Sides aspire to support bilateral trade of natural gas, including through exports to the European Union, via the Southern Gas Corridor, of at least 20 billion cubic metres of gas annually by 2027, in accordance with commercial viability and market demand,” said the document, dated July 11.
The Trans-Adriatic pipeline, the final leg of the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline network, last year brought more than 8 bcm of Azeri gas into European countries such as Italy. -Reuters
U.S. calls for immediate halt to Russian deportations in Ukraine
The United States called on Russia to immediately release Ukrainians it has forced out of their home country and allow outside observers, citing reports Moscow was putting Ukrainian children up for adoption and “disappearing” thousands of others.
“The unlawful transfer and deportation of protected persons is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians and is a war crime,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Mr. Blinken said that Moscow was “deliberately separating Ukrainian children from their parents and abducting others from orphanages before putting them up for adoption inside Russia”, and also “detaining or disappearing thousands of Ukrainian civilians who do not pass ‘filtration.’” -Reuters
Water supplies in Ukraine’s Mariupol to resume this month -TASS
Water supplies will resume this month in the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Mariupol, state news agency TASS cited the Russian-designated mayor, Konstantin Ivaschenko, as saying.
Mr. Ivaschenko, whose appointment to the post has not been recognised by Ukraine, added in Wednesday’s comments that authorities plan to resume operation of the city’s passenger port that links to Russia’s Rostov-on-Don and Black Sea cities. -Reuters
France nods to Ukraine in Bastille Day military parade
Paris’s traditional Bastille Day military parade on Thursday is a salute to Ukraine, and to France’s eastern European allies who are among guests of honour, officials said.
French troops deployed close to Ukraine since the Russian assault in February have a special place at the event, attended by President Emmanuel Macron, his government and foreign leaders. “The parade is marked by, and takes account of, the strategic context,” an official in Mr. Macron’s office said. “The idea is to highlight the strategic solidarity with our allies.” -AFP
North Korea backs independence of breakaway regions in Ukraine
North Korea has become one of the few nations in the world to recognise the independence of two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine in support of Russia’s war against its neighbor.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry cut off diplomatic ties with North Korea in response and condemned Pyongyang’s decision as undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
North Korea has repeatedly blamed the United States for the crisis in Ukraine, claiming the West’s “hegemonic policy” justified Russia’s offensive in Ukraine to protect itself.
North Korea’s state media said on Thursday that the country’s Fforeign Minister, Choe Sun Hui, sent letters to leaders in the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk a day earlier to convey the North’s decision to recognise their independence and its willingness to develop diplomatic relations with both. -AP
At U.N., dozens of nations call on Russia to end war in Ukraine
Dozens of countries from around the world called on Russia on Wednesday to halt the war in Ukraine. They included the United States, member of the European Union, and countries in Asia.
U.N. sees progress in talks to free up Ukraine grain exports
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the first meeting in weeks between Russia and Ukraine took “a critical step” forward on July 13 to ensuring the export of desperately needed grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to help ease the global food crisis.
Published - July 14, 2022 09:21 am IST
