Civilians fled intense fighting in eastern Ukraine on June 10 as Russian and Ukrainian forces engaged in a grinding battle of attrition for key cities in the country's industrial heartland.
Mostly women, children and elderly residents left on a special evacuation train that departed from the city of Pokrovsk and headed west.
Meanwhile, Moscow on Friday officially announced its withdrawal from the United Nations World Tourism Organization which suspended Russia in April over its military operation in Ukraine.
The government said it had "accepted a proposal from the Foreign Ministry... concerning the withdrawal of Russia" from the Madrid-based body, said a decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
The agency had suspended Russia on April 27, saying the Ukraine operation went against its "values".
Read more news on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis here.
Russia using more deadly weapons in war, says Ukraine
Ukrainian and British officials warned on Saturday that Russian forces are relying on weapons able to cause mass casualties as they try to make headway in capturing eastern Ukraine and fierce, prolonged fighting depletes resources on both sides.
Russian bombers have likely been launching heavy 1960s-era anti-ship missiles in Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry said. The Kh-22 missiles were primarily designed to destroy aircraft carriers using a nuclear warhead. When used in ground attacks with conventional warheads, they “are highly inaccurate and therefore can cause severe collateral damage and casualties,” the ministry said.
Czech citizen killed fighting in Ukraine - Foreign Minister
A Czech citizen has died in Ukraine, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Saturday, confirming media reports about the first casualty among Czech volunteers fighting in the country.
“I can confirm that a Czech citizen has died in the Donetsk region of Ukraine,” Lipavsky told reporters. “The body should be transported to Kharkiv region tomorrow.”
More than a hundred Czechs have joined Ukrainian armed forces, with the consent of Czech authorities, to help in Ukraine’s defence against the invasion launched by Russia on February 24.—Reuters
Ukraine in control of Sievierodonetsk plant sheltering hundreds, says governor
Ukraine remains in control of the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk where hundreds of civilians are sheltering, the region's governor said on Saturday, after a Russia-backed separatist claimed 300-400 Ukrainian fighters were also trapped there.
"The information about the blockade of the Azot plant is a lie," Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine reports deaths of 24 more children in Mariupol
The office of Ukraine‘s prosecutor general said on Saturday that it has learned about the deaths of 24 more children in Mariupol, the southeastern port that was besieged for weeks before Russian forces captured it in mid-May.
In total, the office said that at least 287 children have died since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th. More than 492 have been wounded. - Reuters
UK military: Russia using anti-ship missiles on land targets
Russian bombers have likely been launching 1960s-era heavy, anti-ship missiles meant to destroy aircraft carriers with nuclear warheads against land targets in Ukraine, a British military intelligence report said on Saturday.
It said the 5.5-ton Kh-22 missiles, when used in ground attacks with conventional warheads, are highly inaccurate and can cause severe collateral damage and casualties.- AP
French experts collect evidence of possible war crimes in Ukraine’s Chernihiv
Weapons experts from France are helping their Ukrainian counterparts collect evidence of possible Russian war crimes in the northern region of Chernihiv, Ukraine‘s prosecutor general said on Friday.
The French Gendarmerie’s experts, including specialists in drone modelling, ballistics and weapons of mass destruction, have been collecting evidence at sites of destruction from Russian shelling. - Reuters
Ukraine pleads for more weapons
Ukraine pleaded to Western countries for faster deliveries of weapons as better-armed Russian forces pounded the east of the country, and for humanitarian support to combat growing outbreaks of deadly diseases.
In Sievierodonetsk, the small city that has become the focus of Russia‘s advance in eastern Ukraine and one of the bloodiest flashpoints in a war well into its fourth month, further heavy fighting was reported. - Reuters
Zelensky didn’t want to hear US info, says Biden
President Joe Biden, speaking to donors at a Democratic fundraiser, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “didn’t want to hear it” when U.S. intelligence gathered information that Russia was preparing to invade.
The remarks came as Biden was talking about his work to rally and solidify support for Ukraine as the war continues into its fourth month. - AP
EU unity must not be compromised for Ukraine candidate status, French official says
A decision to give Ukraine candidate status to the European Union has to be done without weakening the bloc and to ensure Kyiv is not left in limbo for years, a French presidential official said on Friday.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, will give its opinion on Ukraine‘s candidacy request on June 17, with the bloc’s heads of state expected to discuss it at a summit a week later. Even if approved, the process to become a full member takes several years and can be vetoed by any member state. - Reuters
Russian-held Ukraine region scheming to sell grain to North America
Authorities in a part of Ukraine seized by Russia are using “cunning schemes” to avoid Western sanctions and sell grain to North America and other parts of the world, Russian state-run RIA news agency reported on Friday.
Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from the territories Moscow occupied since launching what it calls a special military operation in February. The war threatens to cause severe food shortages as Russia and Ukraine account for about 29% of global wheat exports. - Reuters
Russia labels anti-torture group as ‘foreign agent’
Russia on Friday labelled a non-governmental organisation fighting for investigations into allegations of torture as a “foreign agent” in its latest move to silence critics in the country.
The Committee Against Torture’s name appeared on the Justice Ministry’s updated website list of such black-listed entities. - AFP
Ukraine hits Russian targets, France offers Odessa help
Ukraine tried to push back Russian troops in the east and south on Friday as France offered to help ensure access to the port of Odessa and ease a global grain crisis.
The United Nations and Western countries meanwhile raised fresh concerns over death sentences handed by pro-Russian separatists to two Britons and a Moroccan who were captured while fighting for Ukraine. - AFP
Russia central bank: Sanctions impact unclear
The head of Russia’s central bank says it’s impossible to draw conclusions on the impact of Western sanctions at this stage.
“So far, the effects of the sanctions are less acute than we feared. This also shows the ability of companies to adapt. But it is premature to say that the full effect of the sanctions has manifested itself,” Elvira Nabiullina, chair of the Central Bank of Russia, said at a briefing, at which she also announced the lowering of interest rates to their pre-war levels. - AP
