Ukraine war briefing: Two people killed as Russia pounds Zaporizhzhia
www.theguardian.com
Sat, 22 Mar 2025 04:24:36 +0200
Southeastern Ukrainian city struck more than 10 times, while three people die in attacks on Sumy and Donetsk Germany approves 3bn in new military aid for Ukraine.
What we know on day 1,123See all our Ukraine war coverageRussian attacks killed two people in Ukraines southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia late on Friday.
The Zaporizhzhia regional governor, Ivan Fedorov, said on Telegram the city had been struck more than 10 times, killing two people and injuring nine.
The injured included a ninemonthold infant and a woman in serious condition.
Pictures posted online showed rescue teams sifting through rubble and apartment blocks and homes with windows and facades badly damaged.
Fires burned amid piles of rubble.Two people were reported killed in the Sumy region, on Ukraines northern border with Russia, after Russian forces dropped at least six guided bombs on the village of Krasnopillia, while in the eastern Donetsk region, Russia dropped three bombs on the town of Kostiantynivka, close to the frontlines, killing one person.Germany on Friday approved 3bn 2.5bn in new military aid for Ukraine, including artillery munitions and air defence systems, government officials have said.
The funds were released after months of delay and come on top of 4bn in Ukraine military aid already planned in the budget for 2025.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the latest package would include units of the Germanmade IrisT air defence systems that had yet to be built and would be delivered over the next two years.The UK is to accelerate the pace and scale of its military planning to be ready to support Ukraine, with No 10 saying all options, including troops on the ground, are possible.
Keir Starmers spokesperson said thousands of troops would be needed to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire and agreement to end the war with Russia, whether by sea, on land or in the air.
Not all the countries in the coalition will have capabilities for Ukraine but might have the capability for other deployments, which would free up other nations to deploy to Ukraine, the prime ministers spokesperson said.The UK said on Friday it had frozen more than 25bn in Russian assets since the start of the war in Ukraine three years ago.
In a report, the UK treasury also said it had sanctioned 2,001 individuals and entities in the period between Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and March 2024.
The economic secretary to the treasury, Emma Reynolds, said Working with our allies, we have deprived Russia of over 400bn the equivalent to four years of Russias military spending.A Sovietera dissident has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia for his antiwar views.
Alexander Skobov, 67, was sentenced on Friday over a social media post supporting Ukraines 2022 strike on the Crimea Bridge, as well as his alleged involvement with the foreignbased opposition group the Free Russia Forum.
In a final statement before sentencing, Skobov accused the Putin regime of waging an aggressive war and of committing war crimes in Ukraine.Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of illegally pressuring Ukrainians in occupied territory to change their legal status or leave, and said it would report the practice to the international criminal court.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, issued a decree on Thursday saying Ukrainian citizens living in Russia without legal grounds should regulate their status by 10 September.
Heorhii Tykhyi, a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman, said Russia was conducting the forced displacement of Ukrainian citizens from their homeland, or forcing them to acquire foreigner status.
Putins decree affects Ukrainians who live in the Crimean peninsula, as well as occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.The North Korean leader, Kim Jongun, expressed his unwavering support for Russias war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russias security council secretary, Sergei Shoigu, in Pyongyang on Friday.
North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency said Kim during the meeting said his government would invariably support Russia in the struggle for defending the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests.
Shoigu expressed gratitude for North Koreas solidarity with Russias position on all critical geopolitical issues, particularly on the Ukrainian issue, according to his televised comments.
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