Pskov Airfield: Sky glows orange during largest drone strike on Russian territory since war began
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A Ukrainian court has ordered the country’s richest tycoon Ihor Kolomoisk to be held in custody for two months on suspicion of fraud and money laundering.
The detention of the one-time supporter of president Volodymyr Zelensky, whose election he backed in 2019, comes as Kyiv is trying to signal progress during a wartime crackdown on corruption.
Following the arrest, Mr Zelensky made an oblique reference to the case and thanked law enforcement bodies for their work on long-running cases.
“I thank Ukrainian law enforcement officials for their resolve in bringing to a just outcome each and every one of the cases that have been hindered for decades,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has claimed to have broken through the first line of Russia’s defences in several locations in the south and made gains in the Zaporizhzhia region.
“There is an offensive in several directions and in certain areas. And in some places, in certain areas, this first line was broken through,” Hanna Maliar, deputy defence minister, told local TV on Friday night.
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1693713656Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky detained in fraud case
A Ukrainian court ordered tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky to be held in custody for two months on suspicion of fraud and money laundering yesterday, a striking move against one of the country’s most powerful businessmen.
The detention of Mr Kolomoisky, who is under US sanctions and is a one-time supporter of president Volodymyr Zelensky whose election he backed in 2019, comes as Kyiv is trying to signal progress during a wartime crackdown on corruption.
Defence lawyers said Mr Kolomoisky would appeal the ruling, questioning its legality, but that he would not post bail of almost $14 million in order to secure his release, broadcaster Radio Liberty reported.
After a hearing at a district court in Kyiv late yesterday, Mr Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine’s richest men, was shown being led away in a blue tracksuit jacket in television footage. He could not be reached for comment.
The Security Service of Ukraine announced the case against Mr Kolomoisky yesterday morning, publishing photographs on Telegram Messenger showing him being served documents by security officers and signing them.
“It was established that during 2013-2020, Ihor Kolomoisky legalised more than half a billion hryvnias ($14 million) by withdrawing them abroad and using the infrastructure of banks under (his) control,” the agency said in a statement.
Stuti Mishra3 September 2023 05:00
1693712008Two more ships pass through Black Sea corridor
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that two more ships had passed through a “temporary” Black Sea shipping corridor established since Russia withdrew from a UN-backed grain export deal in July.
“Two ships have successfully passed through our temporary ‘grain corridor’,” Mr Zelensky posted on X, previously known as Twitter.
The president did not identify the vessels involved or say when they had completed their passage. Officials on Friday said two vessels had cleared the corridor – bringing to four the number that have used it.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine was “restoring true freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. Freedom requires determination.”
On Friday, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister said two vessels had passed through the corridor from the port of Pivdenny: one flagged in Liberia, the other in the Marshall Islands. The vessels were carrying pig iron and iron concentrate.
Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in February 2022, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of the UN-backed deal.
Stuti Mishra3 September 2023 04:33
1693710056Crimean Bridge traffic resumes after brief suspension
Traffic on the main bridge linking the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula resumed after a brief suspension early today, the Russian-installed operator of the bridge said on the Telegram messaging app.
The administration did not disclose the reason for the suspension. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 in a move condemned by many Western governments as illegal.
The Crimean Bridge has been a target of increased air and sea drone attacks in recent months.
Stuti Mishra3 September 2023 04:00
1693708200What next for the Wagner Group in Russia?
The Wagner founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is confirmed to have died in a plane crash – a turn of events that appears to leave his Wagner Group fighters rudderless and facing a highly uncertain future.
Prigozhin, a convict, turned gourmet restaurateur, turned warlord, was onboard an Embraer private jet flying from Moscow to St Petersburg when it came down over the Tver region, killing everyone on board. Two other senior commanders, Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov, were also on the passenger list.
The crash came exactly two months after Prigozhin led his men in a mutiny that gravely embarrassed Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, his fighters leaving their posts in southern Ukraine to occupy the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don before marching on Moscow along the M4 highway.
What next for the Wagner Group in Russia?
Options for the mercenary group – in the wake of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s demise – include complete dissolution, nationalisation into the conventional Russian army or finding a new leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to hold the key to the future
Eleanor Noyce3 September 2023 03:30
1693706400Drone attacks inside Putin’s Russia will only increase, says senior Ukraine official
Drone strikes on Russian soil are only set to increase as Ukraine brings Moscow’s invasion home, a senior Kyiv official has said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it has increased strikes on Russian-occupied areas and would also ramp up attacks within Russia itself. Kyiv does not generally directly claim attacks outside of Ukraine, with Mr Podolyak saying such strikes would be carried out by “agents” or “partisans”.
“As for Russia … there is an increasing number of attacks by unidentified drones launched from the territory of the Russian Federation, and the number of these attacks will increase,” Mr Podolyak told Reuters. “This is the stage of the war when hostilities are gradually being transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Eleanor Noyce3 September 2023 03:00
1693702800Why did Russia invade Ukraine?
Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.
Eleanor Noyce3 September 2023 02:00
1693699200Two more ships pass through Black Sea corridor – Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that two more ships had passed through a “temporary” Black Sea shipping corridor established since Russia withdrew from a U.N.-backed grain export deal in July.
“Two ships have successfully passed through our temporary ‘grain corridor’,” Zelensky posted on X, previously known as Twitter.
The president did not identify the vessels involved or say when they had completed their passage. Officials on Friday said two vessels had cleared the corridor — bringing to four the number that have used it.
Zelensky said Ukraine was “restoring true freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. Freedom requires determination.”
On Friday, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister said two vessels had passed through the corridor from the port of Pivdenny: one flagged in Liberia, the other in the Marshall Islands. The vessels were carrying pig iron and iron concentrate.
Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in February 2022, and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of the U.N.-backed deal.
In response, Ukraine announced a “humanitarian corridor” hugging the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria.
The grain agreement had allowed Ukraine, a major agricultural exporter, to ship tens of millions of metric tons of produce to other countries during Russia’s invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Monday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as Ankara and the United Nations seek to revive the grain export deal.
Russia quit the deal in July after it had been in effect for a year, complaining that its own food and fertiliser exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.
Eleanor Noyce3 September 2023 01:00
1693695660More cargo ships from Ukraine use a civilian corridor despite Russian threats
Two cargo vessels have left Ukraine despite Russian threats and are in the Black Sea, maritime officials said Saturday.
The Anna-Theresa, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier carrying 56,000 tons of pig iron, left the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny on Friday and is now close to Bulgarian territorial waters, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
A second vessel — the Ocean Courtesy, traveling under a Marshall Islands flag — left the same port on Friday with 172,000 tons of iron ore concentrate. That ship arrived at the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta shortly before noon on Saturday, according to the global ship tracking website MarineTraffic. The website does not state whether the vessel is set to move on from the Romanian port.
Eleanor Noyce3 September 2023 00:01
1693692026Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky detained in fraud case – court
A Ukrainian court ordered tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky to be held in custody for two months on suspicion of fraud and money laundering on Saturday, a striking move against one of the country’s most powerful businessmen.
The detention of Kolomoisky, who is under U.S. sanctions and is a one-time supporter of President Volodymyr Zelensky whose election he backed in 2019, comes as Kyiv is trying to signal progress during a wartime crackdown on corruption.
Defence lawyers said Kolomoisky would appeal the ruling, questioning its legality, but that he would not post bail of almost $14 million in order to secure his release, broadcaster Radio Liberty reported.
After a hearing at a district court in Kyiv late on Saturday, Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine‘s richest men, was shown being led away in a blue tracksuit jacket in television footage. He could not be reached for comment.
The Security Service of Ukraine announced the case against Kolomoisky on Saturday morning, publishing photographs on Telegram Messenger showing him being served documents by security officers and signing them.
“It was established that during 2013-2020, Ihor Kolomoisky legalised more than half a billion hryvnias ($14 million) by withdrawing them abroad and using the infrastructure of banks under (his) control,” the agency said in a statement.
After the ruling, Zelensky appeared to allude obliquely to the case in his evening address, thanking law enforcement agencies for showing resolve in bringing long-running cases to justice.
“Without a doubt, there will be no more decades-long ‘business as usual’ for those who plundered Ukraine and put themselves above the law and any rules… The law must work,” he said.
Eleanor Noyce2 September 2023 23:00
1693688426Drone attacks inside Putin’s Russia will only increase, says senior Ukraine official
Drone strikes on Russian soil are only set to increase as Ukraine brings Moscow’s invasion home, a senior Kyiv official has said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it has increased strikes on Russian-occupied areas and would also ramp up attacks within Russia itself. Kyiv does not generally directly claim attacks outside of Ukraine, with Mr Podolyak saying such strikes would be carried out by “agents” or “partisans”.
“As for Russia … there is an increasing number of attacks by unidentified drones launched from the territory of the Russian Federation, and the number of these attacks will increase,” Mr Podolyak told Reuters. “This is the stage of the war when hostilities are gradually being transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Chris Stevenson has more:
Eleanor Noyce2 September 2023 22:00
