116 soldiers returned to Ukraine in prisoner exchange, says Kyiv
The head of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, Andriy Yermak, has said that Ukraine has got 116 soldiers back as part of a prisoner of war swap.
Earlier on Saturday, Russia said it had got 63 PoWs back in an exchange.
Yermak posted a video of soldiers on a bus, along with them posing with flags in the snow outside. He said they were “defenders of Mariupol, Kherson partisans [and] snipers from Bakhmut vicinities”.
Another big POWs swap. We managed to get back 116 of our people. Those are the defenders of Mariupol, Kherson partisans, snipers from Bakhmut vicinities, and other heroes of ours. pic.twitter.com/DQFtjPC4E6
Ukraine has introduced emergency energy shutdowns in Odesa after a “technological accident” at a high-voltage electricity substation, which has previously been damaged by Russian attacks. Half a million people are without power and officials have warned repairs could take weeks. The government said it would appeal to Turkey for help and ordered the energy ministry’s stocks of high-power generators to be sent to the city.
Germany has collected evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, the country’s prosecutor general said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday, adding that he saw a need for a judicial process at international level. He said the amount of evidence was in the “three-digit” range.
Pete Reed, a US humanitarian medic, was killed during fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut when his evacuation vehicle was hit by a missile, according to Global Outreach Doctors, with whom he was working.
More than 18.1 million border crossings have taken place out of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, according to data from the United Nations.
The United States attorney general, Merrick Garland, has authorised the country to begin using seized Russian money to aid Ukraine, according to US media. The money would come from assets confiscated from Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev after his April indictment for alleged sanctions evasions, he added.
A prisoner exchange has seen the bodies of killed British volunteers Christopher Parry and Andrew Bagshawreturned by Russian troops. They were both killed in Ukraine last month. A total of 116 Ukrainian troops have come home after being captured, with 63 being sent back to Russia.
Portugal has become the latest country to say it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, prime minister António Costa said on Saturday. An inventory has been done of its stocks, with Lisbon asking Germany for parts to help repair them so they can be deployed to Ukraine.
The number of Russian soldiers around the southern city of Mariupol has increased by about 10,000 to 15,000, according to an adviser to the city’s mayor. Petro Andriushchenkowrote on Telegram that it means the total amount of troops is now about 30,000. They are stationed in villages in the district.
A World Health Organization report on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has said that 17.7 million people have been left in need of assistance and 7.5 million Ukrainian refugees have been displaced across Europe. It has triggered a dispute between the US and Russia, with the Kremlin saying it is politically motivated and Washington has said it needs to be updated, Reuters reports.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has spoken to UK prime minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday. Zelenskiy said he had thanked Sunak for the training of Ukrainian troops so they will be able to use British Challenger tanks.
Officials have warned repairs could take weeks after the fire at an overloaded electrical substation in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Saturday, leaving nearly 500,000 people without power.
The government said it would appeal to Turkey for help and ordered the energy ministry’s stocks of high-power generators to be sent to the city.
The CEO of the state grid operator, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, said critical equipment that had already been damaged several times by Russian missile strikes burst into flames when it could no longer “withstand the load”.
“(The equipment) has been struck so many times that its state leaves much to be desired,” Kudrytskyi told a briefing.
He added any further Russian missile or drone attacks could make the situation even worse.
“We will do everything we can for the improvement of the power supply situation to take days rather than weeks,” he said.
Ukraine’s ministry of defence has released footage on Twitter of the remains of the Mariupol Drama Theatre.
All that is left of the Mariupol Drama Theater, where hundreds of civilians died as a result of targeted barbaric bombing by the occupiers. They can destroy the crime scene, but war criminals cannot escape punishment. pic.twitter.com/XiUGRcoUfF
More than 18.1 million border crossings have taken place out of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, according to data from the United Nations.
The figure reflects cross-border movements out of the country and not individuals.
Just under 10 million people have crossed back into Ukrainian territory since 24 February last year.
Half a million people are without power following a “significant” accident at an electricity substation in Odessa, southern Ukraine.
Maksym Marchenko, a Ukrainian colonel, wrote on Telegram: “A serious accident occurred at one of the energy facilities of NPC Ukrenergo, which caused a fire.
“Because of this, the Odessa region and the city of Odessa were almost completely de-energized. As of now, almost 500,000 subscribers have no electricity.”
Mourners carry the coffin of Eduard Lobov, who was killed in the Donetsk region, after a memorial service at the Cathedral of St Alexander, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Lobov, originally from Belarus, had been reportedly fighting with Ukrainian forces since 2015. Photograph: Roman Pilipey/Getty Images
As it approaches 6pm in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, here’s a round-up of today’s news from the conflict.
Ukraine has introduced emergency energy shutdowns in Odesa after a “technological accident” at a high-voltage electricity substation, which has previously been damaged by Russian attacks. The prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said on his Telegram page: “The situation is complex, the scale of the accident is significant, it is impossible to quickly restore power supply, in particular to critical infrastructure.”
Germany has collected evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, the country’s prosecutor general said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday, adding that he saw a need for a judicial process at international level. He said the amount of evidence was in the “three-digit” range.
Pete Reed, a US humanitarian medic, was killed during fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut when his evacuation vehicle was hit by a missile, according to Global Outreach Doctors, with whom he was working.
The United States attorney general, Merrick Garland, has authorised the country to begin using seized Russian money to aid Ukraine, according to US media. The money would come from assets confiscated from Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev after his April indictment for alleged sanctions evasions, he added.
A prisoner exchange has seen the bodies of killed British volunteers Christopher Parry and Andrew Bagshawreturned by Russian troops. They were both killed in Ukraine last month. A total of 116 Ukrainian troops have come home after being captured, with 63 being sent back to Russia.
Portugal has become the latest country to say it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, prime minister António Costa said on Saturday. An inventory has been done of its stocks, with Lisbon asking Germany for parts to help repair them so they can be deployed to Ukraine.
The number of Russian soldiers around the southern city of Mariupol has increased by about 10,000 to 15,000, according to an adviser to the city’s mayor. Petro Andriushchenkowrote on Telegram that it means the total amount of troops is now about 30,000. They are stationed in villages in the district.
A World Health Organization report on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has said that 17.7 million people have been left in need of assistance and 7.5 million Ukrainian refugees have been displaced across Europe. It has triggered a dispute between the US and Russia, with the Kremlin saying it is politically motivated and Washington has said it needs to be updated, Reuters reports.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has spoken to UK prime minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday. Zelenskiy said he had thanked Sunak for the training of Ukrainian troops so they will be able to use British Challenger tanks.
I’m handing over to my colleague Nadeem Badshah, who will be keeping you up to date over the next few hours.
A World Health Organization report on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has said that 17.7 million people have been left in need of assistance and 7.5 million Ukrainian refugees have been displaced across Europe.
It has triggered a dispute between the US and Russia, with the Kremlin saying it is politically motivated and Washington has said it needs to be updated, Reuters reports.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s report was presented to the organisation’s executive board, on which both Russia and the United States sit.
It covered events in the first nine months of 2022 and classed the situation in Ukraine as one of eight acute global health emergencies.
The report documented more than 14,000 civilian casualties. Of 471 attacks with heavy weapons on healthcare facilities globally, 448 occurred in Ukraine, the WHO report said.
Russia’s representative to the WHO board called it politicised and one-sided and described its references to Ukraine as unfounded accusations.
Moscow has denied targeting civilians in Ukraine since it began its invasion.
Sheba Crocker, the US representative to the UN, called for an updated report to document incidents in Ukraine since September.
“Russia’s attacks … have caused unspeakable harm to civilians and critical infrastructure in Ukraine,” she told the board meeting, according to a statement from her office.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has spoken to UK prime minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday.
Zelenskiy said he had thanked Sunak for the training of Ukrainian troops so they will be able to use British Challenger tanks.
In a statement the No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister said he was focused on ensuring the UK’s defensive military equipment reached the frontline as quickly as possible.”
The Ukrainian president also continued to lobby for support that Russia should be banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the Games in Paris next summer.
Speaking with @RishiSunak, I thanked for start training 🇺🇦 crews on Challengers. We talked about further expanding the capabilities of the 🇺🇦 army, all-round support for Ukraine in the short & long term. I emphasized: representatives of the aggressor have no place at @Paris2024.
If the worst happens, Taras, 23, Vladyslav, 21, and their commander, Olexiy, 39, are well aware that the Ukrainian government will deny any knowledge of them. In western capitals, there is a collective shudder at the very thought of them.
They are members of the Bratstvo battalion, a volunteer group of Ukrainian special forces taking the fight against Vladimir Putin beyond the frontlines of the war in Ukraine, past the occupied areas of their country – and deep into Russia.
Their work ranges from the kidnapping of senior Kremlin officials, to the destruction of key military infrastructure and the downing of enemy aircraft on Russian territory.
It might seem odd for a battalion such as theirs to allow their stories to be told in public. But that is to misunderstand their purpose. In everything they do, there is a single message they want to send. “It is very easy for us to cross the Russian border,” says Vladyslav, the youngest of the three, with a smile.
'Significant accident' at Odesa power substation causes emergency electricity shutdown
Ukraine has introduced emergency energy shutdowns in Odesa after a “technological accident” at a high-voltage electricity substation, which has previously been damaged by Russian attacks.
The prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said on his Telegram page: “The situation is complex, the scale of the accident is significant, it is impossible to quickly restore power supply, in particular to critical infrastructure.”
Outages had been reported earlier on Saturday.
Shmyhal said they were working to revive “critical infrastructure”, especially as Ukraine is in the middle of a cold snap that means heating is crucial. A special council has ordered generators to be brought to the area, and a gas turbine given by the US will be taken to the southern city.
Earlier on Saturday, the Nexta news agency published footage that purports to show the Usatovo substation on fire.
The number of Russian soldiers around the southern city of Mariupol has increased by about 10,000 to 15,000, according to an adviser to the city’s mayor.
Petro Andriushchenkowrote on Telegram that it means the total amount of troops is now about 30,000. They are stationed in villages in the district.
He added that some bomb-damaged areas were being cleared to build new homes.
Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov, who wrote Death and the Penguin, has written an opinion piece for the Guardian about hope for Ukrainians amid the blackouts during the war against Russia.
Ukraine has entered 2023 as if going into a dark room where it is impossible to turn on the light. It seems that there are windows, but there is darkness behind them too. We must wait for the dawn or the restoration of the power supply. While there is neither one nor the other, darkness provokes a feeling of deep fatigue.
The Lviv University teacher and well-known Ukrainian poet Galina Kruk has noticed an unsettling pattern in her life – during a blackout, the power banks and batteries that feed her torches and lamps stop working about half an hour before the electricity comes back on. Then there is pitch darkness, which seems even thicker than when the lights first went out – that “early” darkness with which it was still possible to somehow cope.
These half-hour periods of impenetrable darkness, during which a person feels completely helpless, are the most difficult, both psychologically and physically. The time stretches to infinity – space shrinks and becomes terribly cramped. You feel acute hunger and a desire for sleep. Your muscles lose strength and physical movements require energy that is no longer there. For Galina, this state repeats itself every day and already she dreads these half hours without light.
In complete darkness, without additional sources of energy, a person indeed becomes defenceless. You might have a candle, but it gives just enough light to see your fear in the mirror, your inner condition written on your face, welling up in your eyes. After all, electricity allows communication with relatives and friends and the surrounding world in general. It is impossible to communicate with the help of a candle, except to send a signal from the window – “I am alive!”
Portugal has become the latest country to say it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Prime Minister António Costa said on Saturday.
Costa said Portugal was in talks with Germany to obtain parts needed for the repair of unusable Leopard tanks in Portugal’s armed forces. He did not say how many would be sent.
“We are currently working to be able to dispense some of our tanks,” Costa told Lusa news agency during a trip to the Central African Republic. “I know how many tanks will be [sent to Ukraine] but that will be announced at the appropriate time.”
Costa’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Admiral António Silva Ribeiro, the head of the Portuguese armed forces, said last month Portugal had 37 Leopard 2 tanks but it has been widely reported by local media that most are inoperable.
