At least 15 killed and more than 20 trapped after rocket attack in eastern UkraineAt least 15 people have been killed and more than 20 are trapped under the rubble of an apartment block in eastern Ukraine that was hit by a Russian rocket attack in the night, as reported by Reuters.
The five-storey building in the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region was struck by rockets late on Saturday, the officials said.
On Sunday afternoon, the regional emergency service said that 24 more people could still be trapped.
A local resident, Ludmila, 24, told Reuters:
We ran to the basement, there were three hits, the first somewhere in the kitchen.
The second [strike], I do not even remember, there was lightning, we ran towards the second entrance and then straight into the basement. We sat there all night until this morning.
The emergency service said rescuers were in verbal contact with three people under the rubble.
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The Russian Tennis Federation was quick to claim Elena Rybakina as “our product” on her run to the women’s title at Wimbledon, reported Associated Press.
They then praised her training program in the country after she became Wimbledon champion while representing Kazakhstan.
Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpishchev told sports website Championat said:
It’s the Russian school, after all. She played here with us for a long time, and then in Kazakhstan.
The 23-year-old Rybakina was born on Moscow and played in the Russian system until 2018, when financial issues led to her nationality switch.
There’s been no official reaction from the Kremlin on Rybakina’s Wimbledon success, but some commentators have claimed her victory as a Russian achievement and a symbolic snub to the All England Club’s ban on players representing Russia and Belarus.
Players from those countries were banned from the Wimbledon tournament because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Alex Lawson
Our energy correspondent Alex Lawson on the gas supply crisis that could hit Europe:
He is the man charged with keeping the lights on this winter. A seasoned civil servant, Jonathan Mills was last month named director general for energy supply in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
In a blog entitled: “What do policymakers do all day?” – a nod to the children’s author Richard Scarry – he set out his approach to working in government earlier this year. “The way that I now think of a policy professional is as an ‘orchestrator’,” he said. Mills, who previously oversaw labour market policy, and before that electricity market reform, now faces the orchestration job of his life.
His appointment reflects the growing concerns over Britain’s energy supplies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, Russia is closing Nord Stream 1, its main gas pipeline into Germany. The shutdown has been presented as a planned 10-day maintenance period, but there are fears the pipeline will not reopen, plunging Europe’s largest manufacturing nation into an energy crisis. Although Britain is not reliant on Russian gas, if supply drops, prices will rise even further.
National Grid has pledged to set out its winter plans this month, with the annual exercise brought forward from the autumn in 2020 due to Covid.
Read more of the piece by clicking the link below:
Rescue efforts are under way after Russian rockets destroyed a five-storey apartment building in the eastern Ukraine town of Chasiv Yar, killing at least 15 people.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk oblast, said the missile struck on Saturday evening.
Five people were reportedly pulled from the rubble alive and the regional emergency service said that 24 more people could still be trapped.
Chasiv Yar is about 20km (12 miles) south-east of Kramatorsk, a city that is expected to be a major target of Russian forces as they move west.
Ukraine: rescue efforts under way after Russian rockets hit apartment block – videoThe Kyiv Independent is reporting a poll that 44% of Ukrainian businesses think the country’s active war will end by the winter.
However, more than one-third think active combat will continue into 2023.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, last month called on leaders at the G7 to help his country end the war with Russia by winter.
⚡️ Poll: 49% of Ukrainian businesses expect war’s active phase to end this winter.
35% of respondents believe active hostilities will stretch until the end of 2023 or longer. The survey, by the polling agency Gradus, is based on the answers of 104 Ukrainian business owners.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 10, 2022 World Central Kitchen, a rapid non-profit founded by the celebrity chef José Andrés to provide meals to victims and emergency services at the site of disasters, has posted pictures on Twitter of the tean delivering food to the village of Tsyrkuny outside Kharkiv.
Kate & the WCK team delivered 715 meals to the village of Tsyrkuny outside Kharkiv. This area was long occupied, and since liberation is constantly under fire. Many are afraid to go outside, so we delivered street by street—and neighbors helped bring food to those unable to walk. pic.twitter.com/LaUrqSgWFP
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) July 9, 2022 Families here are grateful that they have not been forgotten. Some were crying, some were happy—and some people wanted to say thank you and gave us local berries, which our WCK restaurant partner will use to prepare something delicious for the children! 🍒 #ChefsForUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/ITszRPjNOX
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) July 9, 2022 At least 15 killed and more than 20 trapped after rocket attack in eastern UkraineAt least 15 people have been killed and more than 20 are trapped under the rubble of an apartment block in eastern Ukraine that was hit by a Russian rocket attack in the night, as reported by Reuters.
The five-storey building in the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region was struck by rockets late on Saturday, the officials said.
On Sunday afternoon, the regional emergency service said that 24 more people could still be trapped.
A local resident, Ludmila, 24, told Reuters:
We ran to the basement, there were three hits, the first somewhere in the kitchen.
The second [strike], I do not even remember, there was lightning, we ran towards the second entrance and then straight into the basement. We sat there all night until this morning.
The emergency service said rescuers were in verbal contact with three people under the rubble.
In case you missed it earlier, British forces have begun training Ukrainian soldiers in a new programme to help in their fight against Russia.
The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, visited the military camp in the north-west where up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers will arrive for specialist military training
Ben Wallace visits Ukrainian soldiers training at British military camp – video
Kate Connolly
There have been mixed reactions in Germany to the news that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has recalled the country’s outspoken ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk. Zelenskiy described the withdrawal in his video message on Saturday evening, as a “normal procedure”.
Melnyk had been stationed in Germany since 2015, almost twice the length of regular diplomatic postings. He had stoked controversy in Germany for refusing to mince his words over what he saw as reluctance on the part of the German government to arm Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Even before the war, he was an outspoken critic of the German establishment, accusing it of pandering to Russia, attacking in particular president Frank-Walter Steinmeier in 2021 for defending the now defunct Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as one of the last bridges between Germany and Russia.
He was referred to as an “undiplomatic diplomat” after calling the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, an “offended liver sausage” after Scholz refused to travel to Kyiv after Steinmeier was uninvited over his pipeline remarks.
At the same time the 46 year old also won many plaudits for the staunch and passionate way in which he stood up for his country, becoming a regular and popular guest on TV chat shows.
But more recently Melnyk himself came under fire for praising the ultra nationalist and anti-Semite Stepan Bandera, who headed an organisation which was responsible for massacres and ethnic cleansing and collaborated with Nazi Germany. He is celebrated as a freedom fighter in western Ukraine. Critics in Germany have been quick to interpret Zelenskiy’s withdrawal of Melnyk as a reaction to the criticism.
Tributes to Melnyk have come from across Germany, including from the leading Green politician and deputy president of the Bundestag, Katrin Göring-Eckardt, who said he had earned Germans’ respect. “Andriy Melnyk has thrown his entire energy into his commitment to his country.
He is an unmistakable and tireless voice for a free Ukraine,” she said. But she added she did not share his views on Bandera. “But independently of that, I wish him all the best for him personally and for his future service and above all for his country,” she said.
Melnyk, an active Twitter user, has yet to comment on his withdrawal. However, he has been tipped for a post in the foreign ministry in Kyiv, with some reports out of Ukraine saying he may even be destined for the job of deputy foreign minister.
Pictures sent on the news wire on Sunday show the rescue operation underway after Russian rockets hit an apartment block in Chasiv Yar.
At 10 people have been killed and dozens are thought to be trapped beneath the rubble.
A rescue operation is underway after a missile strike on an apartment building in Chasiv Yar that has killed at least 10 people. Handout via REUTERS. Photograph: Donetsk Region Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko/ReutersEmergency services search for survivors beneath the rubble in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine. Handout via REUTERS Photograph: Donetsk Region Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko/ReutersSummaryHere is a brief summary of the most recent developments:
Russian rockets hit the eastern Ukraine town of Chasiv Yar, destroying a five-storey apartment building and killing at least 10 people, officials said Sunday.
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. Russia has restricted access to the website of Germany’s Die Welt newspaper, Reuters reports.This has come at the request of prosecutors according to Roskomnadzor, the country’s communications regulator. It was not immediately clear why prosecutors asked for the restriction in respect of welt.de page. Russian forces have most likely made some small territorial advances around Popasna, the latest intelligence update from the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday. It said that the Russian military continues to strike the Sloviansk area of the Donbas from around Izium to the north and near Lysychansk to the east.The update added that the E40 – which links Donetsk and Kharkiv – is likely to be an important objective for Russian forces as it advances through Donetsk Oblast. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday that a cutoff of Russian gas shipments was currently the most likely scenario, Reuters reported. He told a business and economics conference:”Let’s prepare for a cut off Russian gas. Today it’s the most likely scenario.” Zelenskiy said on Saturday night the Russian army had attacked the cities of Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kryvy Rih, and communities of Zaporizhzhia region, covering a broad swathe of the country. The governor of the Luhansk region said Russian forces were creating “hell” in shelling the eastern region of Donetsk. Serhiy Haidai said Russian forces fired eight artillery shells, three mortar shells and launched nine rocket strikes overnight. At least five people were killed on Saturday, and seven others injured, by renewed Russian shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine officials said. A missile attack in Druzkivka, northern Donetsk, tore apart a supermarket. US secretary of state Antony Blinken said his country’s “commitment to the people of Ukraine is resolute” while announcing more than $360m in additional aid. At least five people were killed on Saturday, and seven others injured, by renewed Russian shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine officials said. A missile attack in Druzkivka, northern Donetsk, tore apart a supermarket. At least 10 dead after Russian rockets destroy apartment buildingEarlier we reported that Russian rockets destroyed a five-story apartment building in the eastern Ukraine town of Chasiv Yar.
Ukrainian emergency services initially gave a death toll of six, but later said it has risen to at least 10.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, said about three dozen people could be trapped in the rubble, Reuters reported.
Rescuers have made contact with two people who are under the wreckage, he said on the Telegram messaging app.
Kyrylenko said the town of about 12,000 was hit by Uragan rockets, which are fired from truck-borne systems.
Chasiv Yar is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Kramatorsk, a city that is expected to be a major target of Russian forces as they move westward.
Emily Dugan
A talented 17-year-old violinist living on the frontline in south-east Ukraine has been left waiting three months for a British visa, revealing serious flaws in government promises to help unaccompanied children.
Anastasiia, who lives in the Russian occupied Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting has been intense, has faced constant shelling while waiting to join a family in Hertfordshire.
“There are so many bombs and rockets and buildings on fire now,” she said. “They are fighting every day. I can go out but it is also very dangerous.”
The Guardian is not publishing her surname as she will need to cross checkpoints to escape.
Anastasiia is one of about 1,000 unaccompanied children who applied to Britain under the Homes for Ukraine scheme and were left in limbo after the government changed its policy and said children had to travel with parents or guardians.
Russia has restricted access to the website of Germany’s Die Welt newspaper, Reuters reports.
This has come at the request of prosecutors, according to Roskomnadzor, the country’s communications regulator.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine it has regularly accused the west of spreading false information and has blocked or limited access to the BBC, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle and other media outlets.
It was not immediately clear why prosecutors asked for the restriction in respect of welt.de.
Roskomnadzor did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Here are some of the latest pictures of the impact of the war in Ukraine and beyond.
A cyclist emerges from a sandbagged tunnel next to the Dnipro River in Kyiv, Ukraine on Sunday. Photograph: Cara Anna/APA school building heavily damaged by a Russian military strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photograph: ReutersPeople march during a rally against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, near the Russian embassy in Seoul, South Korea. Photograph: Ahn Young-joon/AP