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Russia-Ukraine war: at least 12 Russians killed in strike on Nova Kakhovka base, says Ukraine – as it happened

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Footage on Telegram showed numerous burnt out trucks, collapsed buildings, and debris. This blog is now closed

 Updated 
Wed 17 Aug 2022 14.09 EDTFirst published on Wed 17 Aug 2022 00.35 EDT
Smoke rises after an explosion at an ammunition depot in Crimea on Tuesday.
Smoke rises after an explosion at an ammunition depot in Crimea on Tuesday. Photograph: AP
Smoke rises after an explosion at an ammunition depot in Crimea on Tuesday. Photograph: AP

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Explosions heard in occupied city of Melitopol, says mayor

Explosions have been heard near a Russian command centre in the occupied city of Melitopol, according to the city’s mayor.

Writing on Telegram, Ivan Fedorov said that a “loud explosion rang out near the enemy’s lair” in the centre of the city.

“Let me remind you that one of the commandant’s offices of the occupiers is located here,” he said.

“The earth will burn under the occupiers - this unshakable truth is proven every day by our soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the south of Ukraine.”

Melitopol is located in the southern Zaporizhzhia region near Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.

Fedorov added that he was still waiting for further details of any losses sustained by Russian forces.

Russia has not yet commented on the explosions and the Guardian was not able to independently verify the claims.

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The top official in Russian-annexed Crimea has claimed the FSB security service has broken up what he described as a six-person terrorist cell of a banned Islamist group.

It comes a day after a series of strikes in the region destroyed a key railway junction used for supplying Russian troops and a military airbase.

“All of them are detained. The activities of the terrorists were coordinated, as one would expect, from the territory of the terrorist state of Ukraine,” said Sergei Aksyonov on Telegram.

He claimed the detainees were members of Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia.

Russia earlier said the strikes had been carried out by saboteurs.

The attack followed similar strikes last week on a Russian military base in Crimea, with satellite images showing around nine warplanes had been damaged or destroyed.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, but speaking about them to the Guardian a key adviser to President Zelenskiy said that “Crimea occupied by Russians is about warehouse explosions and high risk of death for invaders and thieves”.

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The mayor of the village of Verkhnyo Rogachytsk in the Kherson region has been kidnapped, the deputy chair of the regional council has said.

Writing on Telegram, Yuri Sobolevsky said Svitlana Ivanivna was taken from her home at around 11am on Tuesday.

He said it was not known where she had been taken, though speculated it would be the nearby port city of Kakhovka.

“She rejected all offers to cooperate with the orcs,” he added.

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Summary

It is just past 1pm in Ukraine. Here is what you may have missed:

  • Russian military leaders are likely to be “increasingly concerned” about security in Crimea after reported explosions yesterday, a British intelligence update said. Posting on Twitter, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that both Russian and Ukrainian authorities admitted that an ammunition dump exploded on Tuesday near Dzhankoi in the north of the region and that a nearby railway and sub-station were also damaged. The update said that the Russian media also reported smoke rising near the Gvardeyskoye Airbase. And while the “the cause of these incidents and the extent of the damage is not yet clear”, Russian commanders are likely to be “increasingly concerned” with security in the region that Russia annexed in 2014.

  • In the Donetsk region at the forefront of the Russian offensive, two civilians were killed and seven others were wounded by recent Russian shelling of several towns and villages. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, confirmed the latest casualties on Telegram. The area has been the subject of heavy shelling by the Russian military in recent weeks as they try to make tactical advances in the Donbas region.

  • A recreation centre has been destroyed and three people injured after Russian shelling in Odesa, a top official has said. Sergey Bratchuk, a representative of the Odessa military administration, said a fire broke out and nearby buildings were damaged after the attack. In a post on the Telegram messaging app he said the damage was caused by two enemy rockets. A rescue operation is continuing, he added.

  • Mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovyi has warned residents in the western city to prepare for a tough winter. In a video posted to his social media accounts, he said: “It’s likely that we’re in for a difficult winter. It’s logical - there can’t be anything simple in a country that fights for its independence. But we have to be prepared for everything.” He added that the city’s authorities have worked on an action plan for any emergencies “that may arise as a result of an enemy attack.”

  • Ukraine has hinted it was behind a series of mysterious and devastating strikes in occupied Crimea that destroyed a key railway junction used for supplying Russian troops and a military airbase. Several explosions on Tuesday appeared to have destroyed a Russian ammunition depot and an electricity substation about 125 miles (200km) from the frontline with Ukrainian forces. Russia blamed saboteurs for orchestrating the series of explosions.

  • There could be more attacks in the “next two or three months” similar to the strikes in Crimea, a key adviser to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in an exclusive interview with the Guardian. Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine is engaged in a counteroffensive aimed at creating “chaos within Russian forces” by striking at the invaders’ supply lines deep into occupied territories.

  • The leaders of Ukraine, Turkey and the UN are set to meet to review the grain export deal in Lviv on Thursday. UN secretary-general António Guterres, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan will also discuss “the need for a political solution to this conflict” and the situation at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

  • Ukraine’s nuclear operator reported what it called an “unprecedented” cyberattack on its website, but said its operations have not been disrupted. “On August 16, 2022, the most powerful cyberattack since the start of the Russian invasion occurred against Energoatom’s website,” the operator said, adding it “was attacked from Russian territory”.

  • North Korea and the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk region of Ukraine will develop “equally beneficial bilateral cooperation”, Donetsk leader Denis Pushilin said in a letter to Kim Jong Un, North Korean state media reported on Wednesday.

  • The first ship to depart Ukraine under a grain export deal docked in Syria on Tuesday, according to a shipping source and satellite data. Another ship carrying the first cargo of food aid bound for Africa also left Ukraine’s ports.

  • Russia’s defence ministry has warned Britain against a planned spy plane flight over Russian territory, saying its air force has been given orders to prevent an intrusion. The ministry said the UK sent a notice informing about a planned flight of an RC-135 reconnaissance plane along a route that partly passes over Russian territory. “We regard this action as a deliberate provocation,” the ministry said.

  • Estonian authorities removed a Soviet-era tank from its pedestal in the eastern city of Narva, the most significant removal yet out of an estimated 200 to 400 such monuments that the government has pledged to take down by the end of the year. “No one wants to see our militant and hostile neighbour foment tensions in our home,” prime minister, Kaja Kallas, said on Tuesday. Estonia will also this week close its border to more than 50,000 Russians with previously issued visas.

  • Finland announced it will cut the number of visas it issues to Russians to 10% of current volumes from 1 September after Russian tourists begun using the country as a gateway to European holiday destinations. Finland will also join the Baltic states in jointly proposing the discontinuation of an EU visa facilitation agreement with Russia that makes it easier and cheaper for Russians to travel to and within the EU, foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, said.

Donald McRae
Donald McRae

Donald McRae interviews Ukrainian heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk as he prepares to face Britain’s Anthony Joshua in a rematch on Saturday:

It was the day she turned 12 and so of course she cried a bit,” Oleksandr Usyk says quietly as he remembers how his daughter Yelizaveta’s birthday was overshadowed earlier this year, on 24 February, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. The world heavyweight champion runs his hand through his damp hair, which is cut in the style of a Cossack warrior, and for a moment it feels as if he is back home on that terrible winter morning when the first bombs rained down.

“My wife spoke to her, explaining what had happened, and soon my daughter understood very well what we are all facing in Ukraine,” Usyk says. “It was difficult but she got it and the main thing is that she is safe now. She will be OK.”

On a ferociously hot Saturday evening for him in Dubai, almost six months since that abandoned birthday party, the ominous shadow of war still hangs over Usyk as he prepares to defend his IBF, WBA and WBO titles against Anthony Joshua. This coming Saturday night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Usyk and Joshua will step into the ring for their fascinating rematch.

Read more here: Oleksandr Usyk: ‘In the first month of war I lost 10lb, but now feel incredibly strong’

Russian military leaders 'increasingly concerned' about Crimea security, says UK defence ministry

Russian military leaders are likely to be “increasingly concerned” about security in Crimea after reported explosions yesterday, a British intelligence update said.

Posting on Twitter, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that both Russian and Ukrainian authorities admitted that an ammunition dump exploded on Tuesday near Dzhankoi in the north of the region and that nearby railway and sub-station were also damaged.

The update said that the Russian media also reported smoke rising near the Gvardeyskoye Airbase.

Dzhankoi and Gvardeyskoye house two key Russian military airfields in Crimea, the update added.

And while the “the cause of these incidents and the extent of the damage is not yet clear”, Russian commanders are likely to be “increasingly concerned” with security in the region that Russia annexed in 2014.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 17 August 2022

Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/donFcuoRUL

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/AlVp64C9Bn

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 17, 2022
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Two civilians killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk

In the Donetsk region at the forefront of the Russian offensive, two civilians were killed and seven others were wounded by recent Russian shelling of several towns and villages.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, confirmed the latest casualties on Telegram.

The area has been the subject of heavy shelling by the Russian military in recent weeks as they try to make tactical advances in the Donbas region.

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These latest pictures from the newswires show the damage from the Russian missile attacks on the southern region of Odesa we reported earlier.

Sergey Bratchuk, a representative of the Odessa military administration, said three people were injured, a fire broke out and nearby buildings were damaged after the attack overnight.

Buildings hit by a Russian missile strike in a resort area in Odesa region. Press service of the Operational Command South of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS Photograph: Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters
A burning building hit by a Russian missile strike in a resort area in Odesa region
Press service of the Operational Command South of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS
Photograph: Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters
Buildings hit by a Russian missile strike in a resort area in Odesa region. Press service of the Operational Command South of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS Photograph: Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters

Dan Sabbagh and Luke Harding report for us from Kyiv:

Ukraine is engaged in a counteroffensive aimed at creating “chaos within Russian forces” by striking at the invaders’ supply lines deep into occupied territories, according to a key adviser to the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Mykhailo Podolyak told the Guardian there could be more attacks in the “next two or three months” similar to Tuesday’s mysterious strikes on a railway junction and an airbase in Crimea, as well as last week’s hit on Russian warplanes at the peninsula’s Saky aerodrome.

Russia said a fire on Tuesday had set off explosions at a munitions depot in the Dzhankoi district of Crimea – an incident that Podolyak said was a reminder that “Crimea occupied by Russians is about warehouse explosions and high risk of death for invaders and thieves”.

Read more: Ukraine aiming to create chaos within Russian forces, Zelenskiy adviser says

United States defence secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Twitter that he spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov to discuss US support for the country.

Earlier today, I again spoke with my good friend and 🇺🇦 Ukrainian counterpart @oleksiireznikov to discuss U.S. support for Ukraine as Russia’s brutal invasion nears its sixth month. pic.twitter.com/ppFn23th4Q

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) August 17, 2022

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