‘Tank graveyard’ develops in Bucha
Ukraine says Russian naval ship has ‘begun to sink’
Ukraine’s southern military command said the Russian warship it allegedly hit in the Black Sea earlier on Thursday has “begun to sink.”
The “Moskva” missile cruiser had received “significant damage” and a fire ignited onboard, the military command wrote in a statement on Facebook. The strike also forced the crew to evacuate the vessel, according to earlier statements by Ukrainian officials.
“Other units of the ship’s group tried to help, but a storm and a powerful explosion of ammunition overturned the cruiser and it began to sink,” the military command wrote in a statement on Facebook.
Russia’s defense ministry, meanwhile, said the cruiser remained buoyant and that “measures are being taken to tow the cruiser to the port.” It added that “the causes of the fire are being established.”
NBC News was unable to verify the reports.
Ukraine warns that deported children face ‘threat of illegal adoption’ in Russia
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday it has appealed to the U.N. to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children who have been “illegally deported from Ukraine.”
“The threat of illegal adoption of Ukrainian children by Russian citizens without following all the necessary procedures set out in Ukrainian law is glaring,” the statement said. NBC News was unable to verify these claims.
“In violation of international humanitarian law and basic standards of humanity, Russia is engaged in state-organized kidnapping of children and the destruction of future of the Ukrainian nation,” it said.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of forcefully moving thousands of civilians from the besieged eastern city of Mariupol to Russia. Kremlin has denounced the accusation, alleging Kyiv has hindered evacuation efforts.
Attacks on residential areas in Kharkiv kill 4, governor says
Russian forces continued shelling residential areas in Kharkiv, according to its governor, killing four people and injuring 10 others on Thursday.
“Today during the day the occupiers continued to fire on residential areas of Kharkiv, where there is no military infrastructure. These are brutal deliberate attacks on civilians,” Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov wrote on his Telegram channel.
Syniehubov described “intense artillery strikes” on four separate residential districts. Humanitarian aid to the city of Zolochiv have also been suspended due to the shelling, the governor said.
He urged civilians to heed air raid signals, warning Russian forces were “constantly and chaotically striking at residential areas.”
Russia preparing for new offensive in eastern Ukraine: U.K. officials
Russian forces are attacking Ukrainian troops in a region in the eastern part of the country on the border with Russia in preparation for a “renewed offensive,” Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
The towns of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka in the Donbas region are likely to be targeted with indiscriminate attacks and similar violence seen in other urban centers throughout the conflict, the ministry in its latest intelligence report.
“The combination of widespread missile and artillery strikes and efforts to concentrate forces for an offensive represents a reversion to traditional Russian military doctrine,” the ministry said.
It added such an offensive would require a large number of troops, and a significant number Russian troops and equipment are tied up in and around the besieged city of Mariupol.
31,000 people arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday as 71,000 left, officials say
More than 31,000 people crossed the border into Ukraine on Wednesday, including 27,000…
Read More: Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Russia evacuates flagship after Black Sea blast