Live blog: Ukraine reports 'partial success' on southern front line

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Ukraine's military has said in a regular update of fighting and casualties that its forces had made progress near Robotyne on the front line in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also said children were among dead or wounded civilians following a day in which Russians launched six rockets and 36 air strikes and fired 32 rocket salvo fire systems at populated areas and Ukrainian troop positions.

It said 33 combat clashes had taken place and noted that Ukraine's defence forces continued an offensive operation in Melitopol and Berdyansk directions.

It said they had "partial success in the Robotyne area of the Zaporizhzhia region." It said the Ukrainians had dug in at the point of their advance and were conducting defensive attacks from there.

More updates 👇

1752 GMT — One killed, six wounded in Donetsk, says Russia-affiliated official

A civilian has been killed and six people have been wounded, including a 12-year-old girl, following intense Ukrainian shelling in Donetsk, including cluster munitions, a Russia-backed official in the eastern Ukrainian region said.

One civilian was killed in a district of the city of Donetsk, while the six wounded people were in Makiivka, which lies east of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the region, said on his Telegram channel.

"In total, the enemy fired 127 rounds of ammunition at peaceful cities and regions in the republic," Pushilin said, referring to the Donetsk People's Republic as Moscow calls the region it said last year it was annexing.

Pushilin said cluster munitions were among the artillery used. Both sides have used cluster munitions in the course of Russia's 17-month-old offensive in Ukraine. Kiev received cluster munitions from the United States last month and vowed to only use them against concentrations of enemy soldiers.

Reuters could not independently verify the information out of Donetsk, which had been partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

1413 GMT — Ukraine says Russia attacked city of Kryvyi Rih with ballistic missile

Ukraine has accused Russia of launching a strike in the city of Kryvyi Rih in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region.

"Missile strike on Kryvyi Rih. According to preliminary information, it was a ballistic missile. The important thing is it did not cause casualties. All details are being clarified now," Serhiy Lysak, head of the regional military administration, said on Telegram.

Separately, Kryvyi Rih defence council head Oleksandr Vikul said explosions were heard in the city.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said Ukraine's Ivan-Frankivsk airfield, one of the places from which Kiev reportedly launches its drone attacks on Russia, was struck.

The claims from both sides have not been independently verified.

1241 GMT — Russian Su-30 fighter jet crashes, killing entire crew

A Russian Su-30 fighter jet has crashed in the western Kaliningrad region, killing the entire crew, Russia’s Defence Ministry said.

The ministry did not specify how many people were on board. It said the accident happened during a training flight, adding the plane was unarmed.

According to preliminary information, the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction.

1221 GMT — Ukraine starts registering ships for Black Sea corridor - agency

Ukraine, which is seeking to form safe shipping routes in the Black Sea, has started registering ships willing to use the corridor it announced earlier this week, a local news agency said.

Ukraine on Thursday announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea to release cargo ships that have been trapped in its ports since Russia launched a full-scale offensive in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The corridor is a new test of Russia's de facto blockade since Moscow abandoned a deal last month to let Kiev export grain.

"Registration is now open and the coordinator is already working," Interfax Ukraine quoted Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk as saying.

1142 GMT — Russia accuses Ukraine of 'terrorist attack' on Crimean Bridge

Russia has said Ukraine attempted to strike the Crimean Bridge with a S-200 missile, adding the missile was detected and shot down.

“Today, the Kiev regime attempted to launch a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge with an air defence guided missile S-200, converted into a strike version.

The Ukrainian missile was promptly detected and intercepted in the air by Russian air defence systems. There were no damage and no injuries,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Separately, the head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said on Telegram that two missiles were shot down, repeating the Defence Ministry's statement that there was no damage to the bridge.

0916 GMT — Russian defence minister inspects Arctic military installations

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected troops deployed in the Arctic as well as preparations "to defend specially important installations" in this strategic zone, his ministry said.

Shoigu was accompanied by Alexey Likhachev, head of the state nuclear company Rosatom, and visited Novaya Zemlya, in Russia's extreme north, a statement said.

They also inspected a testing site for nuclear weapons used during the Soviet era, where "advanced tests for military weapons and equipment" were taking place, the defence ministry said, without giving details.

Russia had beefed up its military presence in the Arctic before it launched what Moscow terms a special military operation in Ukraine in February last year.

0753 GMT — Ukraine reports deaths, injuries following Russian shelling

An elderly woman and a police officer have been killed by Russian shelling on a settlement in Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia in the south, Ukrainian officials said.

"This morning, around 0210 GMT (5:10 am local time), the enemy fired on Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi village in Kupiansk district. A residential building was damaged. A 73-year-old woman died," Kharkiv governor Oleh Synehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.

In a separate attack on Orikhiv town in Zaporizhzhia region, one police officer was killed and 12 people, including four police officers, were injured, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram. He said Russian troops used a guided aerial bomb.

Eastern parts of Kharkiv region and most of Zaporizhzhia region are directly adjacent to the front line, and Ukrainian forces have reported an increase in Russian attacks there in recent weeks.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians during its invasion of Ukraine, which is now in its 18th month and has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, the uprooting of millions and the destruction of Ukrainian towns and cities.

0316 GMT — Russia downs score of Ukrainian drones over Crimea

Russian forces have destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched onto the Crimean Peninsula early in the day, Russia's defence ministry has said.

Fourteen drones were destroyed by air defence systems and six more were suppressed by electronic warfare, the defence ministry said on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties or damage.

It was not immediately clear what was targeted in the reported attacks on the Russian-annexed peninsula.

In Moscow, officials said on Friday that they had destroyed a drone aimed at the capital, the latest in a string of attacks on the city in recent days.

A Ukrainian drone was destroyed over the western outskirts of Moscow, the defence ministry said, adding there were no casualties or damage as a result of the incident.

2111 GMT — US open to training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets

The United States is open to training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets that NATO is in the process of providing to assist Kiev in its fight against Russia, the White House has said.

European allies are currently leading the training effort, but National Security spokesperson John Kirby said that if their capacity is reached "we are certainly open to doing the training for Ukrainian pilots here in the United States."

"The President approved providing Ukraine with these fourth-generation aircraft, and we've been eager to move forward with providing Ukraine that long-term capability."

Denmark and the Netherlands are playing a leading role among Western countries in training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

The UK is separately providing Ukrainian pilots with English-language training because the instrumentation and manuals of the aircraft are written in English.

2104 GMT — Ukrainian fatigue will be basis for victory: Zelenskyy

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukrainians are going through difficult trials amid the conflict with Russia.

"But it is precisely this fatigue that will be the basis of Ukraine's freedom and independence," Zelenskyy said during the Ukrainian Youth Forum "Recovery in Unity!"

"This tiredness of yours is your virtue, your achievement. It's evidence that you cannot be defeated."

He added that tiredness comes from the "unbreakable" who contribute for the sake of a joint victory.

"Now, I want to wish you all a decent fatigue. I wish you powerful results in life. Because your life is the life of future Ukraine," Zelenskyy said, concluding his speech by saying he has no doubt that Ukraine will defeat all its enemies.

For our live updates from Friday (August 11), click here.