Live blog: Ukraine plans counter offensive in Russian-occupied Kherson

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Ukraine plans counter-attacks in Russian occupied Kherson 

Ukraine's deputy prime minister has urged civilians in the Russian-occupied southern region of Kherson to urgently evacuate as Ukraine's armed forces were preparing a counter-attack there.

Ukraine lost control of most of the Black Sea region of Kherson, including its eponymous capital, in the first weeks after Russia's Feb. 24 assault.

"It's clear there will be fighting, there will be artillery shelling... and we therefore urge (people) to evacuate urgently," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on national television. She said she could not say when exactly the counter-offensive would happen. "I know for sure that there should not be women and children there, and that they should not become human shields," she said.

Death toll rises after strike on east Ukraine building 

A Russian missile struck an apartment building in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 15 people as Moscow's forces sought to consolidate their control over the Donbass region.

"During the rescue operation, 15 bodies were found at the scene and five people were pulled out of the rubble" alive in the town of Chasiv Yar, the local emergency service said on Facebook.

"At least 30 others are under the rubble" of the four-storey building after it was hit by a Russian Uragan missile, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said earlier on Telegram. 

Ukrainian soldiers train in UK  

The first cohort of Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom have no previous military experience, have arrived in the UK for combat training as the eastern European nation races to replace troops killed and wounded in the conflict with Russia.

The first few hundred recruits are receiving instruction at sites across Britain in the first phase of programme that aims to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in weapons handling, battlefield first aid and patrol tactics, the UK Ministry of Defence said. 

It is part of broader package of support for Ukraine that includes 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) of anti-tank weapons, rocket systems and other hardware.

Ukraine 'deeply disappointed' by Canadian decision to return turbine

Ukraine's energy and foreign ministries have said they were "deeply disappointed" by Canada's decision to hand back a repaired Siemens turbine used for the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline to Germany.

The statement, published on the energy ministry's website, called on the Canadian government to reverse its decision and said that returning the turbine would amount to adjusting the sanctions imposed on Moscow "to the whims of Russia."

Russian rockets wreck apartment block in Ukraine's Donbass, killing six

Russian rockets have hit the eastern Ukraine town of Chasiv Yar, destroying a five-storey apartment building and killing at least 10 people, officials have said.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, said about three dozen people could be trapped in the rubble. Rescuers have made contact with two people who are under the wreckage, he said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Ukrainian emergency services initially gave a death toll of six, but later said it has risen to 10. They did not say how many people may still be in the rubble. Kyrylenko said the town of about 12,000 was hit by Uragan rockets, which are fired from truck-borne systems.

Russia hits Ukrainian hangars storing US-made artillery weapons

Russian forces struck two Ukrainian army hangars storing US-produced M777 howitzers, a type of artillery weapon, near Kostantinovka in the Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry has said.

Russia restricts access to website of German daily Die Welt

Russia has restricted access to the website of Germany's Die Welt newspaper at the request of prosecutors, according to the country's communications regulator.

It was not immediately clear why prosecutors asked for the restriction in respect of welt.de page.

Since sending troops to the neighbouring country on February 24, Russia has blocked or limited access to BBC, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle and other media outlets. Russian officials accuse the West of spreading false information about what Moscow describes as a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Russian gas cutoff most likely scenario: French finance minister

The French government is preparing for a total cutoff of Russian gas supplies, which it sees as the most likely scenario in its forward planning, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said.

"I think that a total cutoff of Russian gas supplies is a real possibility ... and we need to prepare for this scenario," he said on the sidelines of a business and economics conference in southern France.

"It would be totally irresponsible to ignore this scenario," he said. Earlier in the conference he described such a Russian gas cutoff the "most likely scenario".

Canada sends turbines to Germany to increase Russian gas supply

Canada has decided to return to Germany turbines needed to maintain the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, with Russia waiting on the machine’s arrival before increasing supplies.

Germany is seeking to bolster waning energy supplies, but Ukraine has accused Berlin of giving in to Russian "blackmail" after Moscow blamed reduced supplies on the need for repairs, not market conditions amid the Ukraine war.

"Canada will grant a time-limited and revocable permit for Siemens Canada to allow the return of repaired Nordstream 1 turbines to Germany, supporting Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas," said Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

For live updates from Saturday (July 9), click here