Sunday, August 13, 2023
1011 GMT -
Russian forces shelled two villages in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson on Sunday, killing seven civilians including a baby, Ukrainian authorities said.
A couple, their 23-day-old child and another man were killed in the village of Shyroka Balka, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. The couple's 12-year-old son was critically wounded and died in hospital, he added.
Two people were killed and one wounded in the neighbouring village of Stanislav, which Klymenko said was struck 12 times with artillery.
"The terrorists will never willingly stop killing civilians," Klymenko wrote in a Telegram post along with two photos of damaged houses. "The terrorists must be stopped. With force. They don't understand anything else."
Praising the success of Ukrainian forces against the Russians, President Zelenskyy said: “Every time we have something to thank our warriors for, Ukraine becomes closer to justice, closer to victory".
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0920 GMT — Ukrainian forces seek to pierce Russian lines in south, says Russian-backed official
Ukrainian forces have reportedly been trying to pierce Russian lines in the western parts of Donetsk region where waves of Ukrainian fighters were used to gain a foothold to the east of the town of Staromaiorske.
Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-backed official in parts of Zaporizhzhia controlled by Moscow, said that there had been intense fighting south of Velyka Novosilka - in that area - as Ukrainian troops try to pierce Russian lines to push down to the coast on the Sea of Azov.
"The enemy managed to enter and gain a foothold in the northern part of Urozhaine after two weeks of the heaviest and bloodiest battles for this settlement," Rogov said, referring to the same part of the frontline.
He said Russian soldiers still controlled the southern part of Urozhaine, adding that Ukrainian forces were clearly aiming to take control of a town further south, Staromlynivka.
2303 GMT — Ukraine border guards remind Russia Snake Island is again theirs
Ukrainian border guards have placed a new sign on Snake Island this weekend, recalling the early hours of Russia's offensive when a comrade on the strategic Black Sea outcrop refused to surrender to a warship.
"The next border sign will be installed in our Ukrainian Crimea after its liberation by the defence forces of Ukraine," a uniformed man said, standing before a post painted blue and yellow like the country's flag, in a video shared on Facebook by the head of the border service, Serhiy Deineko.
The tiny Snake Island became synonymous with Ukrainian resistance in the first hours of the February 24, 2022 attack, when Russian officers on the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva radioed Ukrainian guards stationed there and ordered them to surrender or die.
2200 GMT — Germany's Rheinmetall to deliver Luna drone system to Ukraine
Germany's Rheinmetall will deliver a Luna New Generation drone system to Ukraine by the year-end, Bild am Sonntag reported, citing company sources.
Ukraine is desperate to boost its weapons arsenal, from drones and munitions to tanks, as it battles to repel Russia's attack.
The "Drones Package" consists of a ground control station with several drones, a launch catapult and military trucks, Bild said, adding the drone system could be used as a reconnaissance system, provide an LTE network and intercept or jam communications.
The company was not immediately available for comment.
For our live updates from Saturday (August 12), click here.
