Live blog: Ukraine's Donetsk separatists unveil their embassy in Moscow

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Separatists in Ukraine unveil Moscow 'embassy' 

Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine have inaugurated their "embassy" in Moscow as the Kremlin presses ahead with its offensive.

President Vladimir Putin recognised the independence of Ukraine's breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk just days before he ordered the start of Moscow's intervention on February 24.

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic unveiled its "embassy" in central Moscow, next to diplomatic missions of several Western countries. Top Russian officials did not attend the ceremony amid a beefed-up police presence.

Five Ukrainians rescued in Kherson special op - military

Ukrainian military intelligence said that its troops have rescued five Ukrainians in a special operation in the Kherson region.

It said a military serviceman, a former police officer and three civilians were freed, and that one of those released has "a serious combat wound". 

Lego ceases Russian operations 'indefinitely'

The world's largest toymaker, Denmark's Lego, has said it would stop all its Russian operations, ending the employment of its Moscow staff and a partnership with a company operating 81 stores in Russia.

A Lego spokesperson said the company had decided to "indefinitely cease commercial operations in Russia given the continued extensive disruption in the operating environment". This included terminating the employment of most of the Moscow-based team and a partnership with Inventive Retail Group which "operated 81 stores on the brand's behalf", the spokesperson added.

Ukraine gets $1.7B in fresh aid to pay health care workers 

Ukraine is getting an additional $1.7 billion in assistance from the US government and the World Bank to pay the salaries of its beleaguered health care workers and provide other essential services.

The money coming from the US Agency for International Development, the Treasury Department and the World Bank is meant to alleviate the acute budget deficit caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "brutal war of aggression," USAID said in a statement. 

Viktor Liashko, Ukraine’s minister of health, said paying health workers' salaries is becoming more difficult each month "due to the overwhelming burden of war." "$1.7 billion is not just yet another financial support; it is an investment that makes us a step closer to victory," Liashko said in a statement. 

Ukraine hits Russian ammunition depot in south 

Ukrainian authorities have said that their forces targeted a Russian ammunition depot in southern Ukraine overnight, resulting in a massive explosion captured on social media.

The Ukrainian military’s southern command said a rocket strike targeted the depot in Russian-held Nova Kakhovka, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) east of the Black Sea port city of Kherson, which is also occupied by Russian forces.

The precision of the strike suggested Ukrainian forces used US-supplied multiple-launch High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, to hit the area.

Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and UN to discuss grain crisis

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has said that military delegations from Türkiye, Russia and Ukraine will meet with a United Nations delegation to discuss the safe export of Ukrainian grain.

"The meeting will take place on July 13 in Istanbul," Akar said.

Ukraine is a key agricultural exporter and its inability to ship vital grain supplies has caused a surge in food prices, aggravating concerns about a global food crisis. 

Russian forces encircling Ukraine's Sieversk

Russian and Russian-backed separatist forces are encircling the town of Sieversk in Ukraine's Donetsk region, the Russian state news agency TASS cited Rodion Miroshnik, an official from Moscow-backed forces, as saying.

Sieversk, which is claimed by the Moscow-backed forces, another breakaway territory that Moscow is trying to prise out of Kiev's control, lies on the frontline of the battle for Ukraine's eastern Donbass region after Ukrainian troops abandoned the city of Sievierodonetsk last month. 

EU freezes Russian assets worth $13.8 billion: commission

The European Union has frozen Russian assets worth $13.8 billion since Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has said.

"For the moment, we have frozen - coming from oligarchs and other entities - $13.8 billion (13.8 billion euros), so it's quite huge," Reynders told reporters in Prague.

"But I must say that a very large part of it is more than 12 billion...coming from five member states," he added ahead of an informal meeting of EU justice ministers held by the Czech presidency of the EU.

EU approves one billion dollars in financial aid to Ukraine

EU finance ministers has approved $1 billion ($1B euros) in financial aid to Ukraine, a first instalment of a promised nine-billion-dollar budget for Kiev agreed by European leaders in May.

"This will give Ukraine the necessary funds to cover urgent needs and ensure the operation of critical infrastructure," said Zbynek Stanjura, Minister of Finance from the Czech Republic, which holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Death toll from collapsed Donbass apartment block rises to 38 -emergency services

The death toll under a collapsed apartment block in the Donetsk region town of Chasiv Yar has climbed to 38, with rescue work still not over four days after the building was hit by Russian rocket fire, emergency services have said.

Over 320 tonnes of rubble had been cleared and 9 people rescued from under the ruins, the regional emergency services directorate wrote on Facebook.

Seven dead in Ukrainian strike on Russian-held town

At least seven people have been killed in an attack carried out by Ukrainian armed forces in the Russian-held town of Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine's southern Kherson region. 

"There are already seven dead for sure and about 60 wounded," TASS quoted Vladimir Leontyev, head of Russia-backed Kakhovka District military-civilian administration in the Kherson region, adding that homes have been hit.

"There are no military targets here... warehouses were hit, as were shops, a pharmacy, petrol stations and even a church," he said.

Ukraine says struck Russian ammunition depot in Kherson region

Ukraine has said it has struck Russian military units and an ammunitions depot in the Russian-controlled region of Kherson, where Moscow-backed authorities have claimed seven people have been killed.

Ukrainian military officials responsible for the south of the country said Ukrainian shelling and missiles had killed 52 Russian servicemen and destroyed artillery, armoured vehicles "and a warehouse with ammunition in Nova Kakhovka".

At least 12 wounded by shelling in Ukraine's Mykolaiv: governor

At least 12 people have been wounded in shelling of Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, the regional governor has said.

Rockets from multiple rocket launchers landed on two medical facilities and residential buildings, Vitaly Kim said.

"So far there are 12 wounded," Kim said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

UN to monitor violations against children in Ukraine fight

The United Nations has announced it will start monitoring the fighting in Ukraine and conflicts in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Africa's central Sahel region for violations against children, including killings, injuries, recruitment, rape and other forms of sexual violence.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his annual report to the Security Council on children and armed conflict that those four new conflicts have been added to 21 conflicts that the UN already is monitoring for violations of the rights of children. He said the latter conflicts saw "a high number of grave violations" in 2021.

The UN chief said the protection of children was severely affected by escalating conflicts, the multiplication of armed groups, land mines and improvised explosive devices, explosive weapons in populated areas, intensified humanitarian crises, and violations of humanitarian and human rights law.

For live updates from Monday (July 11), click here