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Ukraine updates: Kyiv claims Crimea bridge strike
Published 3 hours agoPublished 3 hours agolast updated 51 minutes agolast updated 51 minutes ago
Ukraine said its forces struck and damaged the Chongar road bridge connecting mainland Ukraine with Crimea, and a smaller bridge connecting the city of Henichesk with the northeastern coast of the peninsula. DW has more.
https://p.dw.com/p/4UqMq
Angriff Tschonhar-Brücke / Krim
Image: Acting Kherson Region Governor/ITAR-TASS/IMAGO
Skip next section What you need to know
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Ukraine confirmed that it struck and damaged two road bridges connecting Russian-occupied areas in mainland Ukraine with Crimea, including the Chongar bridge, which is important for the Russian military.
The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 and is of military importance to Moscow, as well as a popular tourist destination for Russians.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Kaluga region, less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Moscow.
Here’s an overview of some of the main stories concerning Russia’s war in Ukraine on Monday, August 7:
Skip next section Ukraine says 22 soldiers return in latest prisoner swap with Russia
51 minutes ago51 minutes ago
Ukraine says 22 soldiers return in latest prisoner swap with Russia
Russia and Ukraine carried out the latest in a series of prisoner exchanges on Monday, with 22 Ukrainian soldiers returning home, a senior Ukrainian official said.
Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, said the released servicemen included two officers, sergeants and privates who fought in different parts of the front. Some of them were wounded.
“Today, we have returned 22 Ukrainian fighters home from captivity,” Yermak said, adding the oldest was 54 years old and the youngest 23.
There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Russia and Ukraine have periodically exchanged groups of prisoners during the course of the war, now in its 18th month.
https://p.dw.com/p/4Uqf2
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Skip next section Ukraine grain exports expand year-on-year
2 hours ago2 hours ago
Ukraine grain exports expand year-on-year
Ukraine’s grain exports have risen to 2.56 million metric tons so far in the 2023/24 July-June season, compared with the 2 million tons recorded at the same time of the season last year, according to Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry.
However, most of the grain was exported under a deal allowing for the export of Ukrainian grain via Black Sea ports that Russia quit last month.
Exports will likely be hit by Russia’s pullout from the deal, but he ministry data did not give a breakdown of how exports so far have been affected.
Grain exports: What is Ukraine’s plan B?
03:15
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Skip next section Russia says it destroyed Ukrainian drone near Moscow
3 hours ago3 hours ago
Russia says it destroyed Ukrainian drone near Moscow
Russia claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone southwest of Moscow. The incident, which happened in the Kaluga region, less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Moscow, “affected neither people nor infrastructure,” regional governor Vladislav Shapsha wrote on Telegram.
He said the drone was shot down by the anti-aircraft defense system in the Ferzikovsky district overnight.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian drone attacks have increased on Russian territory, often targeting Moscow and the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Sunday that a drone targeting the Russian capital had been shot down by the city’s air defenses.
According to the authorities, Moscow has suffered several drone attacks in the past week, including one that damaged an office building in the main business district, which was targeted twice in the space of a few days.
Drone strikes in Russia part of Ukraine’s counteroffensive?
26:06
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Skip next section Two people killed in Russian shelling of Kharkiv region
3 hours ago3 hours ago
Two people killed in Russian shelling of Kharkiv region
Two people were killed in Russian shelling of border areas of the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, officials said.
According to the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, two civilians were killed and three others wounded during Russian shelling of the village of Kucherivka.
Russia also hit the city of Kharkiv with a missile, but there were no casualties, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian military has reported increased Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region in recent days. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that Russian troops were trying to retake positions lost last autumn.
Life and death in Kharkiv
05:40
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Skip next section Ukraine says woman killed in Russian shelling of Kherson
3 hours ago3 hours ago
Ukraine says woman killed in Russian shelling of Kherson
A woman was killed early on Monday when Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, regional officials said.
“A difficult night for Kherson … The Russian army continued to shell Kherson residents’ homes in the central part of the city,” governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app. He said the shelling started around midnight and lasted for several hours.
Ukraine recaptured Kherson city and parts of the Kherson region in November after months of Russian occupation, but Russian forces regularly shell the city and surrounding areas from across the Dnipro River.
https://p.dw.com/p/4UqPP
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Skip next section Ukraine confirms strikes damaged 2 bridges in Crimea
3 hours ago3 hours ago
Ukraine confirms strikes damaged 2 bridges in Crimea
Ukraine said Monday its forces struck and damaged the Chonhar road bridge connecting Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine’s Kherson region with Crimea.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine Strategic Communications Directorate confirmed the strike damaged the road surface of the bridge, which lies on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under its control. The Chonhar bridge was earlier hit in June.
The directorate added Ukrainian strikes had also damaged the smaller Henichesk bridge connecting the city of Henichesk with the northeastern coast of the Crimean peninsula, but provided no further details.
“The enemy launched a missile strike in the area of the Chonhar bridge in the north of Crimea,” Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of Crimea, wrote on Telegram on Sunday.
The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 and which is of military importance to Moscow as well as a popular tourist destination for Russians.
A bridge with broken pavement and flames A bridge with broken pavement and flames
The Henichesk bridge damaged after a Ukrainian strikeImage: Acting Kherson Region Governor/TASS/IMAGO
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Skip next section Russian Air Force has no decisive operational effect in Ukraine — UK
3 hours ago3 hours ago
Russian Air Force has no decisive operational effect in Ukraine — UK
The British Ministry of Defense said Monday that although the Russian Air Force continues to deploy considerable resources in support of land operations in Ukraine, they are having little decisive operational effect.
Over the summer, Russian tactical combat aircraft have typically carried out over 100 sorties a day, the ministry said in its regular intelligence update.
However, their sorties are almost always restricted to operating over Russian-controlled territory due to the threat from Ukrainian air defenses, it added.
According ministry assessment, Russia has attempted to overcome this issue by increasingly using basic free-fall bombs with range-extending glide attachments, “but they have yet to demonstrate consistent accuracy.”
The update added that at the start of Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive from June 2023, Russian attack helicopters proved effective, but in recent weeks “Russia appears to have been less able to generate effective tactical airpower in the south.”
dh/wmr (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
