Russian opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman was shown being detained at his home in a video published on social media on Wednesday. Video of the arrest showed Roizman, former mayor of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, being taken away by law enforcement officials. Roizman was seen in the video telling reporters that he was being investigated under a law against discrediting the armed forces. He said he was being arrested “basically for one phrase, ‘the invasion of Ukraine’”.
Pope Francis has called for “concrete steps” to end the war in Ukraine and avert the risk of a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, reports Reuters. IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, said on Tuesday it would visit the Russian-occupied plant in Ukraine within days if talks to gain access succeed. Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of firing at the facility, the largest of its kind in Europe and which pro-Moscow forces took over soon after the 24 February invasion. The United Nations has called for the area to be demilitarised.
A Russian-installed head of the town of Mykhailivka in the Russian-controlled part of the Zaporizhzhia region in south-eastern Ukraine was killed in a car bomb on Tuesday, an official said. Ivan Sushko was critically injured when a bomb placed under his car exploded, Zaporizhzhia region administration member Vladimir Rogov said on Telegram.
Norway and Britain will jointly supply micro drones to Ukraine to aid in its war with Russia, reports Reuters. The cost of the Teledyne Flir Black Hornet drones, used for reconnaissance and target identification, will be up to 90m Norwegian crowns (£7.4m), the Norwegian defence ministry said in a statement.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainians on Wednesday in an emotional speech to mark 31 years of independence that Ukraine was reborn when Russia invaded and would recapture annexed Crimea and occupied areas in the east. In the recorded speech aired on the six-month anniversary of Russia’s 24 February invasion, Zelenskiy said Ukraine no longer saw the war ending when there was peace, but when Kyiv was actually victorious.
Former Conservative leadership contender Tom Tugendhat has disclosed he is in Kyiv as Ukraine marks 31 years since it declared independence from the Soviet Union. “Here in Kyiv we’re in shelters after being woken by the air raid siren,” the Commons foreign affairs committee chairman tweeted in response to a post by British journalist John Sweeney. He later posted a video of himself next to destroyed tanks in the centre of Kyiv and praised the commitment of Britain in helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Ukraine is bracing for possible Russian strikes as it marks its independence day and 31 years since the end of Soviet rule. Authorities have cancelled celebrations in Kyiv as officials warn that Russia is preparing to attack the capital. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he had information from Ukraine’s intelligence services and international partners that there was an increased threat, as the US said it believed Russia would target civilian and government infrastructure in the next few days. Ukraine’s defence ministry advised Ukrainians to be especially careful, citing the threat of missile attacks and “provocations” from Russia.
Many civilians were attempting to leave Kyiv amid fears of a Russian attack, according to an adviser to Ukraine’s president. Alex Rodnyansky said people were worried and that there was “certainly some concern” an attack may strike the centres of decision-making on Wednesday. Russia and the Putin regime “are really obsessed with dates and symbols, so it would be logical to be on the lookout and be prepared for independence day to be attacked”, said Andriy Yusov, the head of the ministry’s intelligence directorate.
Zelenskiy has warned Russia of a strong response to any independence day attacks. Russia “will receive a response, a powerful response”.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine will not agree to any proposal to freeze the current frontlines in order to “calm” Moscow, which controls about 22% of Ukraine including Crimea. “At the point where we are, we are not ready for a ceasefire. We explained that there will be no Minsk-3, Minsk-5, or Minsk-7. We will not play these games, we have lost part of our territories this way … it is a trap,” he said during a press conference after a summit of the Crimea Platform in Kyiv.
Zelenskiy also vowed to return Crimea to Ukraine, saying it would become part of the EU along with the rest of the country. “We will return Crimea, because it is our territory. In any way we decide. We will decide it on our own, without consulting any other state. It all began with Crimea, and it will end with Crimea.”
The UN nuclear watchdog said it would visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine “within the next few days if ongoing negotiations succeed”.
The US is set to announce a fresh security assistance package for Ukraine of about $3bn (£2.5bn), officials have said, to equip it for a war of attrition and secure its medium- to long-term defence posture. The money will fund contracts for as many as three types of drones, and other weapons, ammunition and equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two, US officials told the Associated Press.
Hundreds of people gathered in Moscow for the funeral of Darya Dugina. Dugina, daughter of ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin, was killed on Saturday in a car bomb attack outside Moscow. Russia’s FSB security service has accused Ukrainian intelligence agencies of ordering her killing, which Kyiv denies.
