Most of the news I have heard suggest it was Ukraine that blew the dam . But like I said , who knows for sure . Apparently the counter offensive has begun , good luck .
Omnibus Russia Ukraine crisis
- Thread starter B00Mer
- Start date
You mean the same news media that pumps up climate alarmism? Yeah, they're real reliable. Again, blowing the dam does nothing for the Ukrainians. But it DID divert plenty of resources, ie: soldiers to help rescue/relocate the people affected by the dam's destruction. It also prevents Ukraine from attacking into Crimea for at least a month. It also leaves the nuclear power plant with only three months of water, at best, to keep the fuel cool. The only people who would be fucking stupid enough to blow that dam would be the Bedpan regime. The Bedpan regime doesn't give a good goddam what it does. It's all about Bedpan, not Russia or its people.
It's based on deductive reasoning combined with an understanding of how Russia fights wars, and that strategically or tactically Ukraine has nothing to gain from it as far as I can see. And as I said previously, it fucks any shot at a counteroffensive towards Crimea for at least a month. The waters will recede in a few more days at most but the ground on either side of the Dnipro River will be impassible to heavy vehicles likely until the end of June/beginning of July. Never mind the potential nuclear disaster in about three months.
Now, I'm not 100% definitively stating that Russia absolutely for sure did it, but if I was a betting man I'd bet the farm on it, take out a loan and bet that too.
Also, Russia kind'a has a history of blowing up dams.
Little Potato Visits Kyiv!
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on a surprise visit to Kyiv, and has met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the Ukrainian military stepped up its long-anticipated counteroffensive to drive the Russian army out of occupied eastern and southern regions of the battered country.
Trudeau, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, arrived in the capital on Saturday as Zelenskyy's government struggles to assess the damage and mount further downstream evacuations following the destruction of the giant Nova Kakhovka dam.
Both Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for the collapse, which U.S. intelligence agencies and a Norwegian research foundation — citing seismic data — said on Friday was caused by some kind of explosion.
Trudeau's trip to Ukraine was planned under a strict news blackout.
It also came after a week of intense efforts to squelch raging wildfires in Quebec and elsewhere that have reduced air quality for tens of millions of people in Canada and the U.S.
In Kyiv, Trudeau started his visit by attending a sombre wreath-laying at the Wall of Remembrance, a unique, deeply personal collection of photos and inscriptions marking those who've fallen in the Russian-Ukrainian war. On his way to the wall, Trudeau at one point crouched down low to look inside one of the frames of burnt-out Russian tanks and
military vehicles that fill a public square.
Moments before the wreath-laying ceremony, a military funeral procession passed by. A coffin and mourners dressed head to toe in black marched into St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in central Kyiv to the mournful sound of bugles.
It was a stark reminder that this is a country at war.
Trudeau lays a wreath at the memorial wall outside of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv on Saturday to start his Ukraine visit. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)
In his last visit just over a year ago, he reopened the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv and met Zelenskyy in person for the first time since the war began. Trudeau and Zelenskyy also met last month on the margins of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where the president continued his campaign to shore up support among Western allies for the defence of his country.
Before the Canadian delegation's arrival Saturday, Zelenskyy briefed the prime ministers of Japan and the Netherlands on the rescue operations in the south and what kind of humanitarian assistance is needed.
They also spoke about further defence co-operation, Zelenskyy said in his nighttime address to his people.
He made no direct reference to the counteroffensive, which many Western intelligence agencies and media have said is underway.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits a city hospital with people suffering from flooding in Kherson on Thursday. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Zelenskyy addressed his comments to the soldiers.
"We see your heroism, and we are grateful to you for every minute of your life — a life that is truly the life of Ukraine," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears convinced the counteroffensive is underway. He made reference to it Friday in a video published on his Telegram channel.
"We can definitely state that this Ukrainian offensive has begun," he said.
WATCH | Fighting becomes more intense in east and south Ukraine:
Duration1:58
Fierce combat is escalating in the east and south as Ukrainian forces move into more offensive positions. Ukraine hasn’t confirmed if its expected counteroffensive against Russian forces has officially begun, but officials admit the country will need more Western military aid to win the war.
What the world is witnessing, he said, are probing attacks looking for weaknesses in the Russian lines. He insisted the decisive blows are yet to come.
"I suppose it could [go in a] few directions — two or three directions," said Musiienko, an adviser to the former defence minister.
The destruction of the hydroelectric dam and the resulting flooding along the Dnipro River gave the Russians a modicum of military relief in the southern region near Kherson, where the river has become wider and not as easily a passage for Ukrainian forces, he said.
Musiienko said it has allowed Moscow to move troops that would have been normally guarding the region and move them elsewhere.
"They did it just to move their forces. They just took them from the left bank of [the city of] Kherson and just moved the Zaporizhia direction and protected the defence lines there."
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk, left, shows Trudeau, right, and Freeland some burnt-out Russian tanks in Kyiv on Saturday.
Trudeau meets with Zelenskyy on surprise Kyiv visit as Ukraine's military steps up counteroffensive
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on a surprise visit to Kyiv, and has met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the Ukrainian military stepped up its long-anticipated counteroffensive to drive the Russian army out of occupied eastern and southern regions of the battered country.
Trudeau, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, arrived in the capital on Saturday as Zelenskyy's government struggles to assess the damage and mount further downstream evacuations following the destruction of the giant Nova Kakhovka dam.
Both Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for the collapse, which U.S. intelligence agencies and a Norwegian research foundation — citing seismic data — said on Friday was caused by some kind of explosion.
Trudeau's trip to Ukraine was planned under a strict news blackout.
- Trudeau and Polish PM discuss plugging the gaps in Russia sanctions ahead of NATO summit
- An 'embarrassing' gear shortage has Canadian troops in Latvia buying their own helmets
It also came after a week of intense efforts to squelch raging wildfires in Quebec and elsewhere that have reduced air quality for tens of millions of people in Canada and the U.S.
In Kyiv, Trudeau started his visit by attending a sombre wreath-laying at the Wall of Remembrance, a unique, deeply personal collection of photos and inscriptions marking those who've fallen in the Russian-Ukrainian war. On his way to the wall, Trudeau at one point crouched down low to look inside one of the frames of burnt-out Russian tanks and
military vehicles that fill a public square.
Moments before the wreath-laying ceremony, a military funeral procession passed by. A coffin and mourners dressed head to toe in black marched into St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in central Kyiv to the mournful sound of bugles.
It was a stark reminder that this is a country at war.
Trudeau lays a wreath at the memorial wall outside of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv on Saturday to start his Ukraine visit. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)
'We see your heroism': Zelenskyy to soldiers
This is the second time Trudeau has made an unannounced visit to Ukraine since Russia began its large-scale invasion in February 2022.In his last visit just over a year ago, he reopened the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv and met Zelenskyy in person for the first time since the war began. Trudeau and Zelenskyy also met last month on the margins of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where the president continued his campaign to shore up support among Western allies for the defence of his country.
Before the Canadian delegation's arrival Saturday, Zelenskyy briefed the prime ministers of Japan and the Netherlands on the rescue operations in the south and what kind of humanitarian assistance is needed.
They also spoke about further defence co-operation, Zelenskyy said in his nighttime address to his people.
He made no direct reference to the counteroffensive, which many Western intelligence agencies and media have said is underway.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits a city hospital with people suffering from flooding in Kherson on Thursday. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Zelenskyy addressed his comments to the soldiers.
"We see your heroism, and we are grateful to you for every minute of your life — a life that is truly the life of Ukraine," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears convinced the counteroffensive is underway. He made reference to it Friday in a video published on his Telegram channel.
"We can definitely state that this Ukrainian offensive has begun," he said.
Heightened fighting could go in a 'few directions'
Oleksandr Musiienko, head of the Center for Military and Legal Studies in Kyiv, said he believes the intense fighting of the last week signals the "beginning" of the long-awaited drive.WATCH | Fighting becomes more intense in east and south Ukraine:
Fighting across Ukraine ramps up as talk of counteroffensive grows
4 days agoDuration1:58
Fierce combat is escalating in the east and south as Ukrainian forces move into more offensive positions. Ukraine hasn’t confirmed if its expected counteroffensive against Russian forces has officially begun, but officials admit the country will need more Western military aid to win the war.
What the world is witnessing, he said, are probing attacks looking for weaknesses in the Russian lines. He insisted the decisive blows are yet to come.
"I suppose it could [go in a] few directions — two or three directions," said Musiienko, an adviser to the former defence minister.
The destruction of the hydroelectric dam and the resulting flooding along the Dnipro River gave the Russians a modicum of military relief in the southern region near Kherson, where the river has become wider and not as easily a passage for Ukrainian forces, he said.
Musiienko said it has allowed Moscow to move troops that would have been normally guarding the region and move them elsewhere.
"They did it just to move their forces. They just took them from the left bank of [the city of] Kherson and just moved the Zaporizhia direction and protected the defence lines there."
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk, left, shows Trudeau, right, and Freeland some burnt-out Russian tanks in Kyiv on Saturday.
What a coincidence. There is a funeral at St Micheals every half hour 24/7/365
How much is he going to commit and what is the liberal party kick back ?Little Potato Visits Kyiv!
Trudeau meets with Zelenskyy on surprise Kyiv visit as Ukraine's military steps up counteroffensive
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on a surprise visit to Kyiv, and has met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the Ukrainian military stepped up its long-anticipated counteroffensive to drive the Russian army out of occupied eastern and southern regions of the battered country.
Trudeau, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, arrived in the capital on Saturday as Zelenskyy's government struggles to assess the damage and mount further downstream evacuations following the destruction of the giant Nova Kakhovka dam.
Both Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for the collapse, which U.S. intelligence agencies and a Norwegian research foundation — citing seismic data — said on Friday was caused by some kind of explosion.
Trudeau's trip to Ukraine was planned under a strict news blackout.
The visit has taken Trudeau away from Ottawa as the political crisis over alleged Chinese foreign interference in the last two federal elections took a dramatic turn with the abrupt resignation of special rapporteur and former governor general David Johnston.
- Trudeau and Polish PM discuss plugging the gaps in Russia sanctions ahead of NATO summit
- An 'embarrassing' gear shortage has Canadian troops in Latvia buying their own helmets
It also came after a week of intense efforts to squelch raging wildfires in Quebec and elsewhere that have reduced air quality for tens of millions of people in Canada and the U.S.
In Kyiv, Trudeau started his visit by attending a sombre wreath-laying at the Wall of Remembrance, a unique, deeply personal collection of photos and inscriptions marking those who've fallen in the Russian-Ukrainian war. On his way to the wall, Trudeau at one point crouched down low to look inside one of the frames of burnt-out Russian tanks and
military vehicles that fill a public square.
Moments before the wreath-laying ceremony, a military funeral procession passed by. A coffin and mourners dressed head to toe in black marched into St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in central Kyiv to the mournful sound of bugles.
It was a stark reminder that this is a country at war.
Trudeau lays a wreath at the memorial wall outside of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv on Saturday to start his Ukraine visit. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)
'We see your heroism': Zelenskyy to soldiers
This is the second time Trudeau has made an unannounced visit to Ukraine since Russia began its large-scale invasion in February 2022.
In his last visit just over a year ago, he reopened the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv and met Zelenskyy in person for the first time since the war began. Trudeau and Zelenskyy also met last month on the margins of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where the president continued his campaign to shore up support among Western allies for the defence of his country.
Before the Canadian delegation's arrival Saturday, Zelenskyy briefed the prime ministers of Japan and the Netherlands on the rescue operations in the south and what kind of humanitarian assistance is needed.
They also spoke about further defence co-operation, Zelenskyy said in his nighttime address to his people.
He made no direct reference to the counteroffensive, which many Western intelligence agencies and media have said is underway.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits a city hospital with people suffering from flooding in Kherson on Thursday. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Zelenskyy addressed his comments to the soldiers.
"We see your heroism, and we are grateful to you for every minute of your life — a life that is truly the life of Ukraine," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears convinced the counteroffensive is underway. He made reference to it Friday in a video published on his Telegram channel.
"We can definitely state that this Ukrainian offensive has begun," he said.
Heightened fighting could go in a 'few directions'
Oleksandr Musiienko, head of the Center for Military and Legal Studies in Kyiv, said he believes the intense fighting of the last week signals the "beginning" of the long-awaited drive.
WATCH | Fighting becomes more intense in east and south Ukraine:
Fighting across Ukraine ramps up as talk of counteroffensive grows
4 days ago
Duration1:58
Fierce combat is escalating in the east and south as Ukrainian forces move into more offensive positions. Ukraine hasn’t confirmed if its expected counteroffensive against Russian forces has officially begun, but officials admit the country will need more Western military aid to win the war.
What the world is witnessing, he said, are probing attacks looking for weaknesses in the Russian lines. He insisted the decisive blows are yet to come.
"I suppose it could [go in a] few directions — two or three directions," said Musiienko, an adviser to the former defence minister.
The destruction of the hydroelectric dam and the resulting flooding along the Dnipro River gave the Russians a modicum of military relief in the southern region near Kherson, where the river has become wider and not as easily a passage for Ukrainian forces, he said.
Musiienko said it has allowed Moscow to move troops that would have been normally guarding the region and move them elsewhere.
"They did it just to move their forces. They just took them from the left bank of [the city of] Kherson and just moved the Zaporizhia direction and protected the defence lines there."
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Oleksandr Polishchuk, left, shows Trudeau, right, and Freeland some burnt-out Russian tanks in Kyiv on Saturday.
Russian cargo plane seized by Canadian government at Toronto Pearson Airport
A Russian-registered cargo aircraft that has been grounded at Toronto Pearson Airport for more than a year was seized by the Canadian government Saturday afternoon and could now be redistributed to Ukraine.
Russian plane grounded at Toronto Pearson for more than a year seized by Canadian government
Russian-registered cargo aircraft that has been grounded at Toronto Pearson Airport for more than a year has been seized by the Canadian government, Global Affairs Canada announced Saturday.
The aircraft, an Antonov 124, is believed to be owned by a subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr Airlines LLC and Volga-Dnepr Group, two entities against which Canada recently imposed sanctions due to their actions in the war against Ukraine, according to a press release issued Saturday by Global Affairs. It has been grounded at Toronto Pearson Airport since February 2022.
The Russian plane initially planned to leave Toronto shortly after arriving from China, via the U.S. and Russia, but that flight was cancelled when the Canadian government closed the country’s airspace to Russian aircraft operators in February of last year, grounding it indefinitely.
The owner of the plane has been billed 74 cents per minute to park at Toronto Pearson, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) told CTV News Toronto in April 2022, which adds up to $1,065.60 for each 24-hour period, according to the GTAA.
According to Global Affairs, this seizure is the first in the Government of Canada’s plan of action to put pressure on Russia to stop its war against Ukraine by straining its economy and limiting its access to resources that fuel the war. This is the first physical asset seized by Canada under this regime and the second seized under the Special Economic Measures Act.
Global Affairs said the Canadian government will manage the seizure in accordance with federal legislation, and if forfeited to the Crown, could be redistributed to Ukraine.
“Should the asset ultimately be forfeited to the Crown, Canada will work with the Government of Ukraine on options to redistribute this asset to compensate victims of human rights abuses, restore international peace and security, or rebuild Ukraine,” reads the announcement.
“Today, Canada is sending a clear message to the Russian regime that there will be nowhere left to hide for those who support and profit from the Kremlin’s war of aggression,” Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in the press release. “Canada has been there to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom since day one and we will continue to be there through their victory to aid in their reconstruction efforts.”
That plane was a life line for the Arctic. Which Lib crony picked up their runs?Russian cargo plane seized by Canadian government at Toronto Pearson Airport
A Russian-registered cargo aircraft that has been grounded at Toronto Pearson Airport for more than a year was seized by the Canadian government Saturday afternoon and could now be redistributed to Ukraine.toronto.ctvnews.ca
Russian plane grounded at Toronto Pearson for more than a year seized by Canadian government
Russian-registered cargo aircraft that has been grounded at Toronto Pearson Airport for more than a year has been seized by the Canadian government, Global Affairs Canada announced Saturday.
The aircraft, an Antonov 124, is believed to be owned by a subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr Airlines LLC and Volga-Dnepr Group, two entities against which Canada recently imposed sanctions due to their actions in the war against Ukraine, according to a press release issued Saturday by Global Affairs. It has been grounded at Toronto Pearson Airport since February 2022.
The Russian plane initially planned to leave Toronto shortly after arriving from China, via the U.S. and Russia, but that flight was cancelled when the Canadian government closed the country’s airspace to Russian aircraft operators in February of last year, grounding it indefinitely.
The owner of the plane has been billed 74 cents per minute to park at Toronto Pearson, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) told CTV News Toronto in April 2022, which adds up to $1,065.60 for each 24-hour period, according to the GTAA.
According to Global Affairs, this seizure is the first in the Government of Canada’s plan of action to put pressure on Russia to stop its war against Ukraine by straining its economy and limiting its access to resources that fuel the war. This is the first physical asset seized by Canada under this regime and the second seized under the Special Economic Measures Act.
A Russian-registered Antonov AN-124 owned by Volga-Dneper sits on the tarmac at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Monday, March 21, 2022. (The Canadian Press)
Global Affairs said the Canadian government will manage the seizure in accordance with federal legislation, and if forfeited to the Crown, could be redistributed to Ukraine.
“Should the asset ultimately be forfeited to the Crown, Canada will work with the Government of Ukraine on options to redistribute this asset to compensate victims of human rights abuses, restore international peace and security, or rebuild Ukraine,” reads the announcement.
“Today, Canada is sending a clear message to the Russian regime that there will be nowhere left to hide for those who support and profit from the Kremlin’s war of aggression,” Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in the press release. “Canada has been there to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom since day one and we will continue to be there through their victory to aid in their reconstruction efforts.”
German shepherd Rambo wounded in Ukraine gets new start as Hungarian police dog
Rambo had his jaw reconstructed, his right ear amputated and several teeth removed
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Justin Spike
Published Jun 12, 2023 • 2 minute read
Rambo, a German Shepherd, who was injured in Ukraine's embattled Kharkiv region
Rambo, a German Shepherd, who was injured in Ukraine's embattled Kharkiv region and was later adopted by the Budapest Police's dog squad is photographed, in Budapest Hungary. June 6, 2023. PHOTO BY BELA SZANDELSZKY /AP
BUDAPEST, Hungary — After a rocket attack in eastern Ukraine, half of Rambo’s face was mangled and bloody. Shrapnel had ravaged the right side of his head, and it was uncertain if he would survive.
The 3-year-old German shepherd, who had accompanied Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines of the war, underwent emergency surgery that saved his life. Now, Rambo is training with the Budapest police department in neighboring Hungary and serving as a reminder that dogs — and people — with disabilities can do great things.
Recovered from his brush with death in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv province, Rambo is learning how to interact with children, older adults and disabled people at police demonstrations and rehabilitation institutions, according to Lt. Col. Maria Stein with the Budapest Metropolitan Police.
Demonstrating the tasks performed by canine units is part of the department’s crime prevention program, with a goal of teaching young people to be more tolerant and to respect one another’s differences, Stein said.
“Nowadays, unfortunately, it happens that children mock each other because they wear glasses, because they have braces, because their ears look funny or whatever — because they’re different,” she said. “With Rambo, we might be able to sensitize these children a little and show them that, yes, he is injured, he’s different, but he can do the same things as other dogs.”
Rambo’s journey to police service didn’t come easy. Last year, shrapnel from the rocket attack, which also injured some Ukrainian soldiers, blew away pieces of skull, damaging his jaw and severely mangling his right ear.
After his initial surgery, Rambo was taken to safety in western Ukraine. Violetta Kovacs, head of a Hungarian organization dedicated to rescuing German shepherds, soon collected him and brought him to a rehabilitation center near Budapest.
Rambo, a German Shepherd,
Rambo, a German Shepherd, who was injured in Ukraine’s embattled Kharkiv region and was later adopted by the Budapest Police’s dog squad identifies a drug sample, in Budapest Hungary. June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
“The dog needed immediate help,” Kovacs, head of the German Shepherd Breed Rescue Foundation, said. “We had to operate again here in Hungary because several of his teeth were causing him great pain because of the injury, which required immediate intervention.”
Rambo spent eight months at the center, where his jaw was reconstructed, his right ear amputated and several teeth removed. He underwent training to be socialized with other dogs, Kovacs said, but his fondness for children was clear from the start.
Gyula Desko, a lieutenant colonel with the Budapest Metropolitan Police, then adopted Rambo, providing him with further training and a home.
He called Rambo a “very friendly, good-natured dog” who is making good progress in his training and whose survival was “a miracle.”
“Working with him requires more patience and more attention, as we do not know what kind of mental problems his head injury caused him,” Desko said, but Rambo is “so open with people and accepts them, despite his injuries and the shock that befell him.”
It’s those qualities, Desko said, that the police force hopes will inspire those who meet Rambo to open themselves to kindness and acceptance.
“As a police dog, one can see through him that you can live a full life even when injured, and can be a useful member of society and do very diverse things,” Desko said.
![CP167249917-scaled[1].jpg](https://forums.canadiancontent.net/data/attachments/16/16741-6421c67a5908a019df7d32035ddd1246.jpg "CP167249917-scaled[1].jpg")
torontosun.com
Rambo had his jaw reconstructed, his right ear amputated and several teeth removed
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Justin Spike
Published Jun 12, 2023 • 2 minute read
Rambo, a German Shepherd, who was injured in Ukraine's embattled Kharkiv region
Rambo, a German Shepherd, who was injured in Ukraine's embattled Kharkiv region and was later adopted by the Budapest Police's dog squad is photographed, in Budapest Hungary. June 6, 2023. PHOTO BY BELA SZANDELSZKY /AP
BUDAPEST, Hungary — After a rocket attack in eastern Ukraine, half of Rambo’s face was mangled and bloody. Shrapnel had ravaged the right side of his head, and it was uncertain if he would survive.
The 3-year-old German shepherd, who had accompanied Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines of the war, underwent emergency surgery that saved his life. Now, Rambo is training with the Budapest police department in neighboring Hungary and serving as a reminder that dogs — and people — with disabilities can do great things.
Recovered from his brush with death in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv province, Rambo is learning how to interact with children, older adults and disabled people at police demonstrations and rehabilitation institutions, according to Lt. Col. Maria Stein with the Budapest Metropolitan Police.
Demonstrating the tasks performed by canine units is part of the department’s crime prevention program, with a goal of teaching young people to be more tolerant and to respect one another’s differences, Stein said.
“Nowadays, unfortunately, it happens that children mock each other because they wear glasses, because they have braces, because their ears look funny or whatever — because they’re different,” she said. “With Rambo, we might be able to sensitize these children a little and show them that, yes, he is injured, he’s different, but he can do the same things as other dogs.”
Rambo’s journey to police service didn’t come easy. Last year, shrapnel from the rocket attack, which also injured some Ukrainian soldiers, blew away pieces of skull, damaging his jaw and severely mangling his right ear.
After his initial surgery, Rambo was taken to safety in western Ukraine. Violetta Kovacs, head of a Hungarian organization dedicated to rescuing German shepherds, soon collected him and brought him to a rehabilitation center near Budapest.
Rambo, a German Shepherd,
Rambo, a German Shepherd, who was injured in Ukraine’s embattled Kharkiv region and was later adopted by the Budapest Police’s dog squad identifies a drug sample, in Budapest Hungary. June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
“The dog needed immediate help,” Kovacs, head of the German Shepherd Breed Rescue Foundation, said. “We had to operate again here in Hungary because several of his teeth were causing him great pain because of the injury, which required immediate intervention.”
Rambo spent eight months at the center, where his jaw was reconstructed, his right ear amputated and several teeth removed. He underwent training to be socialized with other dogs, Kovacs said, but his fondness for children was clear from the start.
Gyula Desko, a lieutenant colonel with the Budapest Metropolitan Police, then adopted Rambo, providing him with further training and a home.
He called Rambo a “very friendly, good-natured dog” who is making good progress in his training and whose survival was “a miracle.”
“Working with him requires more patience and more attention, as we do not know what kind of mental problems his head injury caused him,” Desko said, but Rambo is “so open with people and accepts them, despite his injuries and the shock that befell him.”
It’s those qualities, Desko said, that the police force hopes will inspire those who meet Rambo to open themselves to kindness and acceptance.
“As a police dog, one can see through him that you can live a full life even when injured, and can be a useful member of society and do very diverse things,” Desko said.
German shepherd Rambo wounded in Ukraine gets new start as Hungarian police dog
Rambo spent eight months at the center, where his jaw was reconstructed, his right ear amputated and several teeth removed
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UN atomic watchdog chief visits Ukraine nuclear plant threatened by war with Russia
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jamey Keaten
Published Jun 15, 2023 • 2 minute read
KYIV, Ukraine — The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog visited Europe’s largest atomic power plant Thursday in southern Ukraine, where a recent dam burst and the start of a counteroffensive in the war by Kyiv’s forces have heightened safety risks.
The visit was announced by Ukraine’s national nuclear energy company, Energoatom, in a Telegram post.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief, met Tuesday in Kyiv with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss concerns about the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
The IAEA has repeatedly expressed alarm about the facility, which is one of the 10 biggest in the world, amid fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe. The agency has officials stationed at the plant, which is still run by its Ukrainian staff.
The plant has repeatedly been caught in the crossfire since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.
Last week, the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Kherson region added a new concern. The dam, further down the Dnieper River, helped keep water in a reservoir that cools the plant’s reactors.
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.
Ukraine recently said it hoped to place the last functioning reactor in cold shutdown. The process inserts control rods into the reactor core to stop the nuclear fission reaction and the generation of heat and pressure.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that areas of the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line in Ukraine are witnessing “fierce fighting” after Kyiv’s long-anticipated launch of its counteroffensive using Western-supplied weapons.
He said Ukrainian forces “are making gains.” Even so, Western analysts and military officials have cautioned that a campaign to drive the Kremlin’s forces out of Ukraine could take a long time.
Meanwhile, Russian forces kept up their aerial attacks on Ukraine. They launched four cruise missiles and 20 Iranian Sahed exploding drones overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.
Ukrainian air defenses downed all the drones and one cruise missile, it said.
Russian missiles hit industrial facilities in the latest strike on the southeastern city of Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, wounding one person, local officials said.
An airstrike also hit downtown Kherson city in the early hours of Thursday, punching a hole an office building.
Russia also attacked Kharkiv and Odesa with drones overnight, but regional authorities said they were all shot down.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jamey Keaten
Published Jun 15, 2023 • 2 minute read
KYIV, Ukraine — The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog visited Europe’s largest atomic power plant Thursday in southern Ukraine, where a recent dam burst and the start of a counteroffensive in the war by Kyiv’s forces have heightened safety risks.
The visit was announced by Ukraine’s national nuclear energy company, Energoatom, in a Telegram post.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief, met Tuesday in Kyiv with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss concerns about the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
The IAEA has repeatedly expressed alarm about the facility, which is one of the 10 biggest in the world, amid fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe. The agency has officials stationed at the plant, which is still run by its Ukrainian staff.
The plant has repeatedly been caught in the crossfire since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.
Last week, the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Kherson region added a new concern. The dam, further down the Dnieper River, helped keep water in a reservoir that cools the plant’s reactors.
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.
Ukraine recently said it hoped to place the last functioning reactor in cold shutdown. The process inserts control rods into the reactor core to stop the nuclear fission reaction and the generation of heat and pressure.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that areas of the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line in Ukraine are witnessing “fierce fighting” after Kyiv’s long-anticipated launch of its counteroffensive using Western-supplied weapons.
He said Ukrainian forces “are making gains.” Even so, Western analysts and military officials have cautioned that a campaign to drive the Kremlin’s forces out of Ukraine could take a long time.
Meanwhile, Russian forces kept up their aerial attacks on Ukraine. They launched four cruise missiles and 20 Iranian Sahed exploding drones overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.
Ukrainian air defenses downed all the drones and one cruise missile, it said.
Russian missiles hit industrial facilities in the latest strike on the southeastern city of Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, wounding one person, local officials said.
An airstrike also hit downtown Kherson city in the early hours of Thursday, punching a hole an office building.
Russia also attacked Kharkiv and Odesa with drones overnight, but regional authorities said they were all shot down.
UN atomic watchdog chief visits Ukraine nuclear plant threatened by war with Russia
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog visited Europe's largest atomic power plant Thursday in southern Ukraine
Streets of Russia awash with rapists, killers back from Ukraine war
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Jun 22, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 1 minute read
The hope was for something like the Dirty Dozenski but Russian despot Vladimir Putin may have gotten more than he bargained for.
Once the Russian invasion of Ukraine hit a brick wall, the Kremlin became desperate for cannon fodder to go to war in the increasingly losing battle.
With the army obliterated, Wagner mercenary group recruited thousands of rapists, killers and other jailbirds for the fight in Ukraine with the promise of freedom — if they survived a tour of duty.
Now, according to the Moscow Times, more than 32,000 former prisoners have returned to the streets of Russia — and are ready to lay waste.
“As of June 18, 2023, 32,000 persons previously convicted and who took part in the special military operation among the ranks of the Wagner PMC went home at the end of their contracts,” founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said, using the Kremlin’s term for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Already, there are reports on social media that the reintegration into Russian society been bloody.
One convicted killer recently pardoned by Putin went on a rampage on a passenger train as he returned from fighting in Ukraine.
The man slashed one person’s throat and stabbed another in the head, killing both.
However, Prigozhin claimed that fewer than 1% of Wagner’s criminal recruits have committed crimes after completing their contracts and being released.
“Persons released from prison during the same period without a Wagner PMC contract committed 80 times more crimes,” Prigozhin boasted.
Wagner began recruiting prisoners in Russia’s sprawling penal system last summer as the war went south, offering convicts a pardon if they survived six months in Ukraine.
Prisoner’s rights activist Olga Romanova claimed the notorious private army had recruited up to 49,000 convicts. In April, she told the Times she believed at least 30,000 of the ill-trained conscripts had been killed in action.
Romanova said Prizoghin’s figures are exaggerated. Wagner said it ended its prisoner recruitment initiative in February.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Jun 22, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 1 minute read
The hope was for something like the Dirty Dozenski but Russian despot Vladimir Putin may have gotten more than he bargained for.
Once the Russian invasion of Ukraine hit a brick wall, the Kremlin became desperate for cannon fodder to go to war in the increasingly losing battle.
With the army obliterated, Wagner mercenary group recruited thousands of rapists, killers and other jailbirds for the fight in Ukraine with the promise of freedom — if they survived a tour of duty.
Now, according to the Moscow Times, more than 32,000 former prisoners have returned to the streets of Russia — and are ready to lay waste.
“As of June 18, 2023, 32,000 persons previously convicted and who took part in the special military operation among the ranks of the Wagner PMC went home at the end of their contracts,” founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said, using the Kremlin’s term for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Already, there are reports on social media that the reintegration into Russian society been bloody.
One convicted killer recently pardoned by Putin went on a rampage on a passenger train as he returned from fighting in Ukraine.
The man slashed one person’s throat and stabbed another in the head, killing both.
However, Prigozhin claimed that fewer than 1% of Wagner’s criminal recruits have committed crimes after completing their contracts and being released.
“Persons released from prison during the same period without a Wagner PMC contract committed 80 times more crimes,” Prigozhin boasted.
Wagner began recruiting prisoners in Russia’s sprawling penal system last summer as the war went south, offering convicts a pardon if they survived six months in Ukraine.
Prisoner’s rights activist Olga Romanova claimed the notorious private army had recruited up to 49,000 convicts. In April, she told the Times she believed at least 30,000 of the ill-trained conscripts had been killed in action.
Romanova said Prizoghin’s figures are exaggerated. Wagner said it ended its prisoner recruitment initiative in February.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
Streets of Russia awash with rapists, killers back from Ukraine war
The hope was for something like the Dirty Dozenski but Russian despot Vladimir Putin may have gotten more than he bargained for.
Ukraine's president tells countries to act before Russia attacks nuclear plant
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Susie Blann
Published Jun 23, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine wants other countries to heed its warning that Russia may be planning to attack an occupied nuclear power plant to cause a radiation disaster, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Members of his government briefed international representatives on the possible threat to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, whose six reactors have been shut down for months. Zelenskyy said that he expected other nations to “give appropriate signals and exert pressure” on Moscow.
“Our principle is simple: The world must know what the occupier is preparing. Everyone who knows must act,” Zelenskyy said late Thursday. “The world has enough power to prevent any radiation incidents, let alone a radiation catastrophe.”
The Kremlin’s spokesman has denied the threat to the plant is coming from Russian forces.
The potential for a life-threatening release of radiation has been a concern since Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year and seized the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station. The head of the UN’s atomic energy agency spent months trying to negotiate the establishment of a safety perimeter to protect the facility as nearby areas came under repeated shelling, but he has been unsuccessful.
The International Atomic Energy Agency noted Thursday that “the military situation has become increasingly tense” while a Ukrainian counteroffensive that got underway this month unfolds in Zaporizhzhia province, where the namesake plant is located, and in an adjacent part of Donetsk province.
Although the last of the plant’s six reactors was shut down last fall to reduce the risk of a meltdown, experts have warned that a radiation release could still happen if the system that keeps the reactors’ cores and spent nuclear fuel cool loses power or water.
During months of fighting, Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over which side was increasing the threat to the plant. On Friday, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with the head of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom in the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia to discuss the conditions at the plant. Rosatom director Alexey Likachev and other officials “emphasized that they now expect specific steps” from the UN agency to prevent Ukrainian attacks on the plant and its adjacent territory, said a statement from the Russian corporation, whose divisions build and operate nuclear power plants.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of mining the plant’s cooling system, already under threat from a dam collapse earlier this week that drew down water in a reservoir that the power station uses.
Elsewhere in the southern Zaporizhzhia province, Gov. Yuriy Malashko reported Friday that Russian shelling killed two people in the past day. And in the Kherson province, a Russian attack that hit a transportation company in the capital killed three people, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Russia also fired 13 cruise missiles overnight at a military airfield in the western Khmelnytskyi province, but Ukrainian air defences intercepted them all, according to the air force. The attack came after Russia-appointed officials said that Ukrainian-fired missiles damaged a bridge that serves as a key supply link to occupied areas of southern Ukraine. Photos showed that the Russians had erected a pontoon bridge as a bypass. Ukrainian authorities reported striking Russian soldiers holed up in a nearby former wine factory in Henichesk. Russia’s state news agency Tass reported two killed in the attack.
Russia’s air-launched Kh-101 and Kh-555 missiles were sent from the Caspian Sea, the air force said. It didn’t identify the targeted airfield, but Ukraine has an air base near the Khmelnytskyi region’s town of Starokostiantyniv.
The base houses fighter jets and bombers, and five years ago hosted a training exercise with air force personnel from the United States, Ukraine and seven European countries. It has come under Russian attack previously, including within the last month.
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Friday that Russia has beefed up its defence forces in southern Ukraine in response to the early counteroffensive and intensified its efforts to take more ground in the east. Asked if the Ukrainian military’s initial attacks set the stage for a larger assault, Maliar told Ukrainian television: “We are yet to see the main events, and the main blow. And indeed, a part of reserves will be used later.”
Ukrainian forces so far have made only incremental gains in Zaporizhzhia province, one of four regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last year. Putin has pledged to defend the regions as Russian territory.
Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine is fighting to force Russian troops out of those regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014 and is using as a staging and supply route in the 16-month-old war. If the counteroffensive breaks the Russian defences in the south, Ukrainian forces could attempt to reach a pair of occupied port cities on the Sea of Azov and break Russia’s land bridge to Crimea.
The Ukrainian leader’s nighttime remarks Thursday on a possible attack on the nuclear power plant carried a tone of frustration with “countries that are pretending to be neutral even now” in the war. He accused “anyone who turns a blind eye to Russia’s occupation of such a facility” of enabling Moscow to commit an act of evil and terror.
“Obviously, radiation does not ask who is neutral and can reach anyone in the world. Accordingly, anyone in the world can help now, and it is quite clear what to do,” Zelenskyy said.
On Friday, Russia said that it was the target of “an information and propaganda campaign to discredit the country in the international arena.” Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, said that five people were arrested for trying to smuggle a kilogram of the radioactive isotope Cesium-137 out of the country under the direction of a Ukrainian citizen.
The FSB said the material was to be used for “organizing staged scenes of the use of weapons of mass destruction.” Cesium-137 is often mentioned as of potential use in making a ”dirty bomb“ that could contaminate a wide area.
Ukrainian officials didn’t comment on the announcement, one of many the FSB has made about allegedly preventing terrorism by Ukrainian saboteurs.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Susie Blann
Published Jun 23, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine wants other countries to heed its warning that Russia may be planning to attack an occupied nuclear power plant to cause a radiation disaster, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Members of his government briefed international representatives on the possible threat to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, whose six reactors have been shut down for months. Zelenskyy said that he expected other nations to “give appropriate signals and exert pressure” on Moscow.
“Our principle is simple: The world must know what the occupier is preparing. Everyone who knows must act,” Zelenskyy said late Thursday. “The world has enough power to prevent any radiation incidents, let alone a radiation catastrophe.”
The Kremlin’s spokesman has denied the threat to the plant is coming from Russian forces.
The potential for a life-threatening release of radiation has been a concern since Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year and seized the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station. The head of the UN’s atomic energy agency spent months trying to negotiate the establishment of a safety perimeter to protect the facility as nearby areas came under repeated shelling, but he has been unsuccessful.
The International Atomic Energy Agency noted Thursday that “the military situation has become increasingly tense” while a Ukrainian counteroffensive that got underway this month unfolds in Zaporizhzhia province, where the namesake plant is located, and in an adjacent part of Donetsk province.
Although the last of the plant’s six reactors was shut down last fall to reduce the risk of a meltdown, experts have warned that a radiation release could still happen if the system that keeps the reactors’ cores and spent nuclear fuel cool loses power or water.
During months of fighting, Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over which side was increasing the threat to the plant. On Friday, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with the head of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom in the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia to discuss the conditions at the plant. Rosatom director Alexey Likachev and other officials “emphasized that they now expect specific steps” from the UN agency to prevent Ukrainian attacks on the plant and its adjacent territory, said a statement from the Russian corporation, whose divisions build and operate nuclear power plants.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of mining the plant’s cooling system, already under threat from a dam collapse earlier this week that drew down water in a reservoir that the power station uses.
Elsewhere in the southern Zaporizhzhia province, Gov. Yuriy Malashko reported Friday that Russian shelling killed two people in the past day. And in the Kherson province, a Russian attack that hit a transportation company in the capital killed three people, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Russia also fired 13 cruise missiles overnight at a military airfield in the western Khmelnytskyi province, but Ukrainian air defences intercepted them all, according to the air force. The attack came after Russia-appointed officials said that Ukrainian-fired missiles damaged a bridge that serves as a key supply link to occupied areas of southern Ukraine. Photos showed that the Russians had erected a pontoon bridge as a bypass. Ukrainian authorities reported striking Russian soldiers holed up in a nearby former wine factory in Henichesk. Russia’s state news agency Tass reported two killed in the attack.
Russia’s air-launched Kh-101 and Kh-555 missiles were sent from the Caspian Sea, the air force said. It didn’t identify the targeted airfield, but Ukraine has an air base near the Khmelnytskyi region’s town of Starokostiantyniv.
The base houses fighter jets and bombers, and five years ago hosted a training exercise with air force personnel from the United States, Ukraine and seven European countries. It has come under Russian attack previously, including within the last month.
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Friday that Russia has beefed up its defence forces in southern Ukraine in response to the early counteroffensive and intensified its efforts to take more ground in the east. Asked if the Ukrainian military’s initial attacks set the stage for a larger assault, Maliar told Ukrainian television: “We are yet to see the main events, and the main blow. And indeed, a part of reserves will be used later.”
Ukrainian forces so far have made only incremental gains in Zaporizhzhia province, one of four regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last year. Putin has pledged to defend the regions as Russian territory.
Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine is fighting to force Russian troops out of those regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014 and is using as a staging and supply route in the 16-month-old war. If the counteroffensive breaks the Russian defences in the south, Ukrainian forces could attempt to reach a pair of occupied port cities on the Sea of Azov and break Russia’s land bridge to Crimea.
The Ukrainian leader’s nighttime remarks Thursday on a possible attack on the nuclear power plant carried a tone of frustration with “countries that are pretending to be neutral even now” in the war. He accused “anyone who turns a blind eye to Russia’s occupation of such a facility” of enabling Moscow to commit an act of evil and terror.
“Obviously, radiation does not ask who is neutral and can reach anyone in the world. Accordingly, anyone in the world can help now, and it is quite clear what to do,” Zelenskyy said.
On Friday, Russia said that it was the target of “an information and propaganda campaign to discredit the country in the international arena.” Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, said that five people were arrested for trying to smuggle a kilogram of the radioactive isotope Cesium-137 out of the country under the direction of a Ukrainian citizen.
The FSB said the material was to be used for “organizing staged scenes of the use of weapons of mass destruction.” Cesium-137 is often mentioned as of potential use in making a ”dirty bomb“ that could contaminate a wide area.
Ukrainian officials didn’t comment on the announcement, one of many the FSB has made about allegedly preventing terrorism by Ukrainian saboteurs.
Ukraine's president tells countries to act before Russia attacks nuclear plant
Ukraine wants countries to heed warning that Russia may be planning to attack an occupied nuclear power plant to cause a radiation disaster
Oh crap! I wonder if any will make it across the Southern border to raise hell in the U.S. & Canada. Just wondering....Ukraine's president tells countries to act before Russia attacks nuclear plant
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Susie Blann
Published Jun 23, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine wants other countries to heed its warning that Russia may be planning to attack an occupied nuclear power plant to cause a radiation disaster, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Members of his government briefed international representatives on the possible threat to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, whose six reactors have been shut down for months. Zelenskyy said that he expected other nations to “give appropriate signals and exert pressure” on Moscow.
“Our principle is simple: The world must know what the occupier is preparing. Everyone who knows must act,” Zelenskyy said late Thursday. “The world has enough power to prevent any radiation incidents, let alone a radiation catastrophe.”
The Kremlin’s spokesman has denied the threat to the plant is coming from Russian forces.
The potential for a life-threatening release of radiation has been a concern since Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year and seized the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station. The head of the UN’s atomic energy agency spent months trying to negotiate the establishment of a safety perimeter to protect the facility as nearby areas came under repeated shelling, but he has been unsuccessful.
The International Atomic Energy Agency noted Thursday that “the military situation has become increasingly tense” while a Ukrainian counteroffensive that got underway this month unfolds in Zaporizhzhia province, where the namesake plant is located, and in an adjacent part of Donetsk province.
Although the last of the plant’s six reactors was shut down last fall to reduce the risk of a meltdown, experts have warned that a radiation release could still happen if the system that keeps the reactors’ cores and spent nuclear fuel cool loses power or water.
During months of fighting, Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over which side was increasing the threat to the plant. On Friday, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with the head of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom in the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia to discuss the conditions at the plant. Rosatom director Alexey Likachev and other officials “emphasized that they now expect specific steps” from the UN agency to prevent Ukrainian attacks on the plant and its adjacent territory, said a statement from the Russian corporation, whose divisions build and operate nuclear power plants.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of mining the plant’s cooling system, already under threat from a dam collapse earlier this week that drew down water in a reservoir that the power station uses.
Elsewhere in the southern Zaporizhzhia province, Gov. Yuriy Malashko reported Friday that Russian shelling killed two people in the past day. And in the Kherson province, a Russian attack that hit a transportation company in the capital killed three people, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Russia also fired 13 cruise missiles overnight at a military airfield in the western Khmelnytskyi province, but Ukrainian air defences intercepted them all, according to the air force. The attack came after Russia-appointed officials said that Ukrainian-fired missiles damaged a bridge that serves as a key supply link to occupied areas of southern Ukraine. Photos showed that the Russians had erected a pontoon bridge as a bypass. Ukrainian authorities reported striking Russian soldiers holed up in a nearby former wine factory in Henichesk. Russia’s state news agency Tass reported two killed in the attack.
Russia’s air-launched Kh-101 and Kh-555 missiles were sent from the Caspian Sea, the air force said. It didn’t identify the targeted airfield, but Ukraine has an air base near the Khmelnytskyi region’s town of Starokostiantyniv.
The base houses fighter jets and bombers, and five years ago hosted a training exercise with air force personnel from the United States, Ukraine and seven European countries. It has come under Russian attack previously, including within the last month.
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Friday that Russia has beefed up its defence forces in southern Ukraine in response to the early counteroffensive and intensified its efforts to take more ground in the east. Asked if the Ukrainian military’s initial attacks set the stage for a larger assault, Maliar told Ukrainian television: “We are yet to see the main events, and the main blow. And indeed, a part of reserves will be used later.”
Ukrainian forces so far have made only incremental gains in Zaporizhzhia province, one of four regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last year. Putin has pledged to defend the regions as Russian territory.
Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine is fighting to force Russian troops out of those regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014 and is using as a staging and supply route in the 16-month-old war. If the counteroffensive breaks the Russian defences in the south, Ukrainian forces could attempt to reach a pair of occupied port cities on the Sea of Azov and break Russia’s land bridge to Crimea.
The Ukrainian leader’s nighttime remarks Thursday on a possible attack on the nuclear power plant carried a tone of frustration with “countries that are pretending to be neutral even now” in the war. He accused “anyone who turns a blind eye to Russia’s occupation of such a facility” of enabling Moscow to commit an act of evil and terror.
“Obviously, radiation does not ask who is neutral and can reach anyone in the world. Accordingly, anyone in the world can help now, and it is quite clear what to do,” Zelenskyy said.
On Friday, Russia said that it was the target of “an information and propaganda campaign to discredit the country in the international arena.” Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, said that five people were arrested for trying to smuggle a kilogram of the radioactive isotope Cesium-137 out of the country under the direction of a Ukrainian citizen.
The FSB said the material was to be used for “organizing staged scenes of the use of weapons of mass destruction.” Cesium-137 is often mentioned as of potential use in making a ”dirty bomb“ that could contaminate a wide area.
Ukrainian officials didn’t comment on the announcement, one of many the FSB has made about allegedly preventing terrorism by Ukrainian saboteurs.
Ukraine's president tells countries to act before Russia attacks nuclear plant
Ukraine wants countries to heed warning that Russia may be planning to attack an occupied nuclear power plant to cause a radiation disaster