There was Explosions in Russia-annexed Crimea early Sunday, according to Russian and Ukrainian media. Russian social media reported that air defense systems repelled attacks. Baza, a Telegram channel with ties to Russian law enforcement, reported that Ukraine had sent drones to the Crimean peninsula, with Russian air defenses shooting down at least one over the port of Sevastopol. According to preliminary information from the broadcaster, there were no injuries.
A prominent Russian nationalist writer, Zakhar Prilepin, was wounded in a car bomb attack that killed his driver. The attack happened on Saturday in the Nizhny Novgorod region, about 400 kilometers east of Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry blamed Ukraine, while Ukraine’s security services refused to confirm or deny involvement. A senior Ukrainian official accused Russia of orchestrating the attack.
Ukrainian officials on Saturday night issued airstrike warnings for areas covering about two-thirds of the country. The warnings extended from the capital Kiev and the regions west of it, through all regions in the east and south to the Kherson region and the Crimea annexed by Russia.
Ukraine welcomed the return of 45 Azov Battalion fighters captured during the Battle of Mariupol, while Russia said three of its pilots had been released by Kiev. The freed Ukrainian prisoners included 42 men and three women from the Azov battalion, said Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office.
Russia is accused of attacking the besieged city of Bakhmut with phosphorus incendiary weapons, reported BBC News. Ukraine’s military shared drone footage of what appeared to be fires in Bakhmut as white phosphorus rained down.
The Ukrainian Air Force claims to have shot down a Russian hypersonic missile over Kiev using newly acquired American Patriot defense systems, the first known time that the country was able to intercept one of Moscow’s most advanced missiles. Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile was intercepted over the Ukrainian capital during the week.
Russian shelling killed six Ukrainian deminers in the southern Kherson region, Ukrainian emergency services said. Two other members of the team, along with a nurse, were injured and treated in hospital.
A 56-hour curfew is in place in Kherson, with some residents leaving the southern Ukrainian city on Friday before it went into effect. The announcement of the curfew, which will last until Monday morning, sparked speculation in the city that it could serve as a launch pad for Ukraine’s much-anticipated counterattack.
Concerns among Russian leaders about vulnerability to attack and the possibility of public protests against the Ukraine war have contributed to the decision to cancel many Victory Parades, said the British Ministry of Defense. Six Russian regions, occupied Crimea and 21 cities canceled their parades next Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said.
Russia is “still not satisfied” with how the issue of Russian agricultural exports will be resolved under the Black Sea Grains AgreementTass news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin as saying on Saturday after the latest talks with a senior UN official.
Poland will demand EU sanctions for imports of Russian agricultural products, its ambassador to the EU said. “Europe is not now threatened by disruptions in the supply chain of agricultural products – on the contrary, we have a surplus problem,” Andrzej Sadoś was quoted as saying by the PAP news agency. “We are solving a problem of increased imports of agricultural products from Ukraine.”
The Swiss parliament has approved a request from the Ukrainian authorities for Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The invitation comes amid pressure on the Swiss government to break with a centuries-old tradition of neutrality and lift a ban on Swiss arms exports to conflict zones like Ukraine.
Ukraine sent its First Lady Olena Zelenska and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to London on Saturday to represent the country at the coronation of King Charles. Zelenska wrote on Facebook: “It is an honor for us and Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal to attend the coronation … on behalf of all Ukraine to wish the country good governance and prosperity.”