Kyiv - The African Mirror

May

2023

Russia says two of its commanders killed as Kyiv wages Bakhmut offensive

RUSSIA'S Defence Ministry said that two of its military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine, as Kyiv's forces renewed efforts to break through Russian defences in the embattled city of Bakhmut. In a daily briefing, the ministry said that Commander Vyacheslav Makarov of the 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade and Deputy Commander Yevgeny Brovko from a separate unit were killed trying to repel Ukrainian attacks. It said that Makarov had been leading troops from the front line and that Brovko "died heroically, suffering multiple shrapnel wounds". The defence ministry rarely announces the deaths of military command in its daily briefings. It…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Russia targets Kyiv on Victory Day, parade pared back amid shortages at the front

WORLD

RUSSIA fired cruise missiles at Kyiv and paraded troops across Red Square for its annual celebration of victory in World War Two, pared back amid shortages of manpower and weaponry at the front after a failed winter campaign in Ukraine. In a fiery 10-minute speech in front of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin thundered against "Western global elites" and said civilisation was at "a decisive turning point". "A real war has been unleashed against our homeland," said the Russian leader, who last year ordered what the West calls an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, destroying cities and killing thousands of civilians. Underlining how…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Kyiv compares Russia to Islamic State after beheading video

WORLD

UKRAINE compared Russia to Islamic State and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate after a video emerged online showing apparent Russian soldiers filming themselves beheading a Ukrainian captive with a knife. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity or provenance of the video on social media, which showed a man in uniform beheading a man who wears the yellow arm band used by Ukrainian soldiers. The Kremlin described the video as "awful" but said its authenticity needed to be checked. Moscow has denied in the past that its troops carry out atrocities during the conflict. "There is something…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Biden walks through Kyiv to show resolve ahead of war’s anniversary

WORLD

PAVEL POLITYUK and MAX HUNDER U.S. President Joe Biden walked around central Kyiv on an unannounced visit, promising to stand with Ukraine as long as it takes, on a trip timed to upstage the Kremlin ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion. Biden, in trademark aviator sunglasses, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in green battle fatigues, walked side-by-side to a gold-domed cathedral on a bright winter morning pierced by the sound of air raid sirens. "When (Russian President Vladimir) Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he…

Feb

2023

By TOM BALMFORTH and TATIANA GOMOZOVA

Zelenskiy wants tougher Europe, Putin evokes victory over Nazis

WORLD

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged European leaders visiting Kyiv to pile more sanctions on Russia, where President Vladimir Putin evoked a famous World War Two victory over the Nazis to rally his nation. The West has imposed sweeping punitive measures since Russia's nearly year-old invasion of Ukraine that has devastated cities, killed tens of thousands of people, forced millions to flee their homes and shaken the global economy. In the latest violence, a Russian missile destroyed apartments in Kramatorsk, killing at least three people and trapping others under rubble, police said. Moscow said it struck U.S.-made rocket launchers in the area about 55 km (34…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Putin ally says new weapons for Kyiv will lead to global catastrophe

WORLD

A close ally of President Vladimir Putin said that deliveries of offensive weapons to Kyiv that threaten Russia's territories will lead to a global catastrophe and make arguments against using weapons of mass destruction untenable. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Duma - Russia's lower house of parliament - warned that the United States and NATO's support of Ukraine is leading the world to a "terrible war". "If Washington and NATO countries supply weapons that will be used to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize our territories, as they threaten, this will lead to retaliatory measures using more powerful weapons,"…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

‘What ceasefire?’: shells fly at Ukraine front despite Putin’s truce

WORLD

HERBERT VILLARRAGA RUSSIAN and Ukrainian forces exchanged artillery fire at the front line in Ukraine, even after Moscow said it had ordered its troops to stop shooting for a unilateral truce that was firmly rejected by Kyiv. President Vladimir Putin ordered the 36-hour ceasefire from midday on Friday to observe Russian Orthodox Christmas. Ukraine has said it has no intention to stop fighting, rejecting the purported truce as a stunt by Moscow to buy time to reinforce troops that have taken heavy losses this week. "What ceasefire? Can you hear?" said a Ukrainian soldier, using the nom de guerre Vyshnya,…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Fighting rages in east Ukraine as Russia reaffirms demands for ending war

WORLD

DAN PELESCHUK and HERBERT VILLARRAGA RUSSIAN forces shelled and bombed towns and cities in eastern and southern Ukraine, a day after Russia's foreign minister said Kyiv must accept Moscow's demands for ending the war or else suffer defeat on the battlefield. Those demands include Ukraine recognising Russia's conquest of a fifth of its territory. Kyiv, armed and supported by the United States and its NATO allies, has vowed to recover all occupied territory and to drive out all Russian soldiers. Britain's defence ministry said in its latest update of the situation in Ukraine that fighting was particularly intense around the…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Russian ‘kamikaze’ drones hit Kyiv, Putin arrives in ally Belarus

WORLD

TOM BALMFORTH and VALENTYN OGIRENKO RUSSIA hit key infrastructure in and around Kyiv in a "kamikaze" drone attack, hours before President Vladimir Putin arrived in Belarus, fuelling fears he will pressure his ally to join a new offensive on Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defences shot down 30 drones in what was the third Russian air strike on the Ukrainian capital in six days and the latest in a series of assaults since October targeting the Ukrainian energy grid, causing sweeping blackouts amid sub-zero temperatures. Officials said at least three people were injured and nine buildings were damaged…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Heating restored in freezing Kyiv, Mayor Klitschko says

WORLD

HEATING has been fully restored to Kyiv after the latest Russian bombardment that targeted water and power infrastructure, the capital's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. "The city is restoring all services after the latest shelling," Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. "In particular, the capital's heat supply system was fully restored. All sources of heat supply work normally." Ukrainian officials said Russia fired more than 70 missiles on Friday in one of its heaviest barrages since the Kremlin's Feb. 24 invasion, forcing emergency blackouts nationwide and cutting access to heat and water. Temperatures in Kyiv and many places across Ukraine…