According to Russian reports, the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in the city of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, which is claimed by Ukraine, was attacked with a drone. Five people were injured on Sunday, said the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Rasvozhayev, in his blog on the Telegram news channel. The drone had hit a courtyard in the headquarters. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
“Early this morning, Ukrainian nationalists decided to spoil our Navy Day,” Razvozhayev wrote. Celebrations of the day observed in many regions of Russia have been canceled for Sevastopol. Russian authorities in regions bordering Ukraine repeatedly complain of attacks from the neighboring country.
According to preliminary information, the object of the attack was a drone, Rasvoschajew said. The injured are staff members of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. There are no dead. “I ask that you remain calm and stay at home if possible,” Rasvozhayev wrote. The domestic secret service FSB is working on the clarification of the case.
Russian President Vladimir Putin inspects a parade of warships, airplanes and thousands of soldiers on Sunday in Saint Petersburg for “Navy Day”. The Kremlin chief also used the traditional event as a demonstration of power a good five months after the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Parades honoring the naval forces and their various fleets are planned in several regions of Russia.
In view of the massive attacks by the Russian army in the east of the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on people to leave the Donetsk region. “In the Donbass there are hundreds of thousands of people, tens of thousands of children, many refuse to leave,” said Zelenskyy in his evening video address on Saturday. He urged residents of Donbass to make this decision. “Believe me,” said in a pleading tone. “The more people leave Donetsk region, the fewer people the Russian army can kill.” Sunday is the 158th day of the war.
The Ukrainian government had previously ordered a mandatory evacuation on the grounds that the citizens had to get to safety in good time before the start of the heating season, as the gas pipelines in the Donetsk region had been destroyed by the war. Selenskyj now emphasized that everything is being organized for people to flee from the areas still controlled by Ukraine.
A Syrian-flagged ship carrying a cargo of grain was arrested in Lebanon on Saturday at the request of the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut. Prosecutor Ghassan Queidat has commissioned the police to investigate the cargo of the “Laodicea” that arrived in the port of Tripoli, a judicial officer said. He “ordered the seizure of the ship pending the investigation.”
According to Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Ostash, the loaded grain came from Russian-occupied areas of his country. The diplomat contacted Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Thursday about the ship’s “illegal” cargo. According to the judicial officer, the Lebanese police have been instructed to cooperate with the Ukrainian embassy in their investigation.
According to the first findings, the shipping company of the “Laodicea” belongs to a Turkish national and the grain to a Syrian trader, as the official explained. Part of the cargo should therefore be unloaded in Lebanon, the rest was destined for Syria. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is “barley and flour”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his condolences to his Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba after the attack on the prison camp in Olenivka that killed more than 50 people. In a phone call on Friday, Blinken reiterated the US determination to hold Russia accountable for atrocities committed by its forces against the people of Ukraine. The US State Department announced on Saturday.
Blinken reported that Kuleba spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, emphasizing “the unwavering support of the United States for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” Blinken and Lavrov had spoken to each other on Friday for the first time since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression.
Russian President Vladimir Putin inspects a parade with warships, airplanes and thousands of soldiers on “Navy Day” on Sunday in Saint Petersburg. Parades honoring the naval forces and their various fleets are planned in several regions of Russia. 40 warships, including submarines, are to take part. According to the Kremlin, Russia is also planning a naval parade in the Syrian port of Tartus in the Mediterranean Sea. Russia is in the war in Syria with President Bashar al-Assad.
After a long wait, the first Gepard anti-aircraft tanks have arrived from Germany. The Ukrainian military says it bombed a Russian-held bridge in Kherson. All news about the war in Ukraine can be found here in the ticker.
Ukraine’s three ports intended for the export of grain resumed work on Wednesday, according to the Navy. The federal government approves the sale of 100 modern self-propelled howitzers to Kyiv. All voices and developments on the Ukraine war in the ticker.
