A senior adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Minister told CNN that the infamous Russian private military group Wagner was involved in an alleged assassination plot against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. “They wanted to assassinate the Ukrainian leadership: our President and Prime Minister. That was the goal and some of them were sent to Ukraine without success, “said Markian Lubkivskyi, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister. Lubkivskyi said the plan was confirmed by Ukraine’s intelligence service and special forces tasked with protecting Zelensky. “All these documents and the necessary evidence will be presented to the International Court of Justice,” he said, adding that he could not reveal more for business reasons. CNN could not independently confirm the allegations. The Wagner group first appeared during Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014. Since then, independent investigations and CNN investigations have found that the private military contractor operates in Syria and several African countries. They have been accused by US officials and human rights watchdogs of continuing to violate human rights. The group is believed to be linked to – and funded by – Yevgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch so close to the Kremlin known as Putin’s “chef”. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any connection to the group. Prigogine denies any involvement with Wagner. On Thursday, the United Kingdom became the last country to impose sanctions on Wagner. Lubkivskyi says the Ukrainian intelligence service has located the group inside and outside Ukraine and that several Wagner agents have been killed inside the country, who have been identified by their unique identities. Zelensky has repeatedly pledged to stay in Ukraine to co-ordinate the country’s defense during the war, now in his second month. “The morale of the army is very high because our president is in Kyiv, our prime minister and parliament are here. “This is very important for us to support the people on the ground, to support the Ukrainian army, and this is a very good message to the international community,” Lubkivsyi said.
title: “Live Updates Russia Invades Ukraine " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Ezequiel Ralph”
A Ukrainian counterattack that began Friday in the eastern city of Kharkiv has led to the recapture of several villages, according to the regional governor.
CNN has spotted and verified a video showing Ukrainian troops controlling Vilkhivka, one of the settlements about 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the Russian border in northeastern Ukraine.
Oleg Synegubov, Kharkiv regional governor, said some villages around Malaya Rogan had been recaptured by Ukrainian forces. The villages are about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the center of Kharkiv, which has been almost surrounded by Russian forces since the first weeks of the invasion.
Video shows shootings: An additional video, posted on the Telegram on Saturday, shows a fierce clash between Ukrainian forces – including members of the Azov Battalion – and Russian forces in the village of Vilkhivka. The Azov Battalion began as a supranational militia in eastern Ukraine and has since been absorbed by the Ukrainian army.
The video shows the ammunition between Russian and Ukrainian forces between the houses and the yards of the village. At one point, Ukrainian troops move towards the village school, where Russian forces appear to be stationed.
The soldier who uploaded the video edited the video, claimed in the Telegram that the battalion had killed “about 70 soldiers” and ordered a number of Russian military vehicles. CNN could not confirm the deaths of Russian soldiers or the seizure of vehicles.
Allegations of Russian prisoners: The soldier also claimed that the battalion had captured 27 Russian soldiers. In the edited video, several apparently captured Russian soldiers are blindfolded and some have been stripped of most of their clothes.
The video shows them being squeezed into the backs of cars and trucks and being removed by members of the battalion. Some were clearly injured.
Ukrainian counterattacks: The success of Ukrainian forces around Kharkiv is reflected further north, near the town of Sumy, where Ukrainian troops have liberated a number of settlements, according to videos identified and verified by CNN. A separate counterattack south, about 63 miles (103 kilometers) northwest of Mariupol, also resulted in the liberation of two villages by Russian forces, according to the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration.
title: “Live Updates Russia Invades Ukraine " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-11” author: “David Dixon”
Russia has revised its strategy for the war in Ukraine to focus on control of Donbass and other areas in eastern Ukraine with a target date of early May, according to several U.S. officials familiar with the latest US intelligence estimates. More than a month after the war, Russian ground forces were unable to maintain control of the areas where they were fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin is under pressure to prove he can win, and eastern Ukraine is where it is most likely to do so, officials say. US intelligence shows Putin is focusing on May 9, Russia’s “Victory Day,” according to a US official. May 9 is a prominent holiday in the Russian calendar, a day on which the country marks the Nazi surrender to World War II with a huge parade of troops and weapons in Red Square in front of the Kremlin. Officials say Putin wants to celebrate some victory in his war that day. But other officials note that even if there is a Russian holiday, a real victory may be far away. “Putin will have a victory parade on May 9, regardless of the status of the war or the peace talks,” said a European defense official. “On the other hand: a victory parade with which troops and vehicles?” However, US and European officials say any deadlines Moscow may set rhetorically do not change the fact that Russia appears to be preparing for the prospect of a full-blown conflict. A European diplomat said that while the Kremlin was optimistic, Putin was preparing for “a long, protracted Chechen war because, to some extent, he has nowhere else to go.” There are several reasons behind the May timetable, officials say. As the winter freezes over and the ground softens, it will be more difficult for heavy Russian ground units to maneuver, which means it is vital for these forces to take their place as soon as possible, the US intelligence services say. Russian-backed fighters have also been in the area for years. The Donbas region of eastern Ukraine is where Russian separatist forces took control of the territory in 2014. Ukrainian officials have also made the date public. “Ahead of May 9, Putin aimed for a victory parade for this war,” Ukrainian Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on Thursday. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Friday that Ukrainians believe they are facing a “very complicated and difficult month” as Putin tries to meet a deadline. “His ultimate goal is, was and will be to occupy Ukraine, but he failed. “It failed because of the very strong determination of the Ukrainian army and the very strong unity of Ukraine and the Western world, and the sanctions imposed by the United States and the G7 and the European Union,” Yatsenyuk said. “So now, from what I see, Putin has changed in Plan B. My view is that this Plan B has, in a way, a deadline.” The United States also estimates that Putin is now preparing, for the first time, to appoint a commander-in-chief of the war in order to achieve greater Russian success, two US officials have said. The United States has said Putin is likely to name a general in southern Ukraine because it’s a place where Russians have achieved their goals.
title: “Live Updates Russia Invades Ukraine " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Bella Eastman”
Ukrainian officials have told international media that five bodies have been removed from a basement in Bucha, a suburb of Kiev recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces.
A CNN team visited the basement and saw the bodies before removing them. It was in an advanced stage of decomposition.
Five men were tortured and executed by Russian soldiers, an adviser to Ukrainian Interior Minister Anton Gerastshenko told CNN on the spot. CNN can not independently verify Gerashchenko’s allegations.
The men were found in an area held by the Russian army until a few days ago. Several fox holes, trenches and places for armored vehicles were still visible around the site, as were other Russian diets. Several letters “V” – informal symbols for the Russian military campaign – were also painted at the entrance to the territory.
The dead had their hands tied behind their backs and most had multiple gunshot wounds, not only to the head but also to the lower extremities. There were many cases of cartridges on the floor next to the bodies.
The volunteers removed the corpses and placed them in bags, which were later removed.
One volunteer told CNN that they were retrieving corpses in large numbers, saying “there are hundreds, not dozens.” The volunteer and his unit showed CNN the bags of the bodies of at least 30 people who were retrieved on Sunday, plus nine more on Monday, including five found in the basement.
This unit is one of the many operating on the outskirts of Kiev.
title: “Live Updates Russia Invades Ukraine " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-12” author: “Michael Sparks”
Oleg Smaliychuk, owner of the group, opened the club’s offices as a resting place for hundreds of Ukrainian refugees. (CNN) “We left because of our children. We left our city because we were afraid of their psychological state. “We have a war there and we were very scared,” said Katia, a woman who currently lives at the football club with her sister-in-law and their four children, through a translator. CNN’s Jake Tapper visited Katya and her family, who fled Donetsk heading west in hopes of escaping the violence that plagued their city. “I miss my grandmother and I would like to return to my city. “Because everything here seems very unknown to me,” says 11-year-old Yegor, the eldest of the children. Smaliychuk, the team owner, told CNN that he has been so affected by the violence and terror that he is considering a new career. “I want to change profession. I bought a rifle. “I want to be a sniper,” he told Tapper. “I believe that after what we saw, what happened in Bucha, the number of people like me who want to join has increased 10 times.” As he interviewed Tapper, Smaliychuk did not stop as he heard the siren of the air raid, a very familiar reminder of the state of affairs in his country. Instead, he continued to load ammunition into his firearm, focusing on his new call. “I definitely want to go where I can take revenge on our children,” he said. Watch the CNN report from the ground:
