Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv was yesterday hit by more deadly shelling, while Ukrainian forces made some gains in the surrounding region and Washington slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “depravity.”
Although Ukraine has retained control of Kharkiv, the city has been repeatedly battered by Moscow’s forces and still faces daily attacks.
One person was killed and five were injured in artillery and mortar strikes, Kharkiv’s regional military administration said on Telegram.
Photo: AP
“The situation in the Kharkiv region is tough, but our military, our intelligence, have important tactical success,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a televised address.
Ukrainian forces said they had recaptured the village of Ruska Lozova near Kharkiv, which had been occupied by Russian troops for two months, and evacuated hundreds of civilians.
“It was two months of terrible fear. Nothing else, a terrible and relentless fear,” Natalia, a 28-year-old evacuee from Ruska Lozova, said.
Photo: Reuters
“We were in the basements without food for two months, we were eating what we had,” said Svyatoslav, 40, who did not want to give his full name, his eyes red with fatigue.
Oleksandr Skachko, a resident of nearby Slatyne, which was also recaptured by Ukrainian troops, said 15 people from the village had been killed.
Addressing Russians, the 47-year-old said: “Your army has invaded our land and is killing our children. No matter what anyone says, no matter what Putin says, our people are dying here.”
Thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Friday briefly choked with emotion as he described the destruction in Ukraine and slammed Putin’s “depravity.”
Ukrainian prosecutors say they have pinpointed more than 8,000 war crimes carried out by Russian troops and are investigating 10 Russian soldiers for suspected atrocities in Bucha near Kyiv.
Russia is now intensifying operations in the eastern Donbas region, making some territorial advances, and tightening its stranglehold on the devastated southern port city of Mariupol.
Ukrainian authorities said they planned to evacuate civilians on Friday from the besieged Azovstal steel plant, the last holdout in Mariupol where hundreds are sheltering with Ukrainian troops.
However, Denis Pushilin, leader of the breakaway eastern region of Donetsk, accused Ukrainian forces of “acting like outright terrorists” and holding civilians hostage in the steel plant.
From Mariupol’s badly damaged port zone, Agence France-Presse on Friday heard heavy shelling coming from Azovstal during a media trip organized by the Russian army, with explosions only a few seconds apart.
Kyiv has said that Russian forces have captured a string of villages in the Donbas region.
However, a senior NATO official said Russia had made only “minor” and “uneven” advances.
The Pentagon also said the Kremlin’s eastern offensive was “behind schedule.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS