Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
These images purport to show Ukrainian troops taking out Russian soldiers in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine.
The footage appears to show Ukrainian artillery targeting entrenched Russian positions in the area.
It is unclear where exactly in the Kherson Oblast region of southern Ukraine the images were filmed but they were obtained from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, which is part of the Ukrainian Navy, on the evening of Monday, 20th June, and they said: “The Nikolaev Marines are actively preparing to take part in the ‘Kherson referendum’!”
Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, has urged locals in the Kherson region to evacuate the area so as to help Ukrainian forces “deoccupy” the area.
She said: “Please go because our army will definitely deoccupy these lands. Our will to do so is unwavering. And it will be very, very difficult to open a humanitarian corridor when there are children there. It was difficult in Mariupol, and in the Kherson region it will be even harder.
“Because the enemy learns, becomes even more cynical, and uses human shields, especially children. We will know that there are children there, and we will be powerless, and we really don’t want that. Believe me, deoccupation will be very fast. There will definitely be a counteroffensive.”
The 36th Separate Marine Brigade added that the footage shows how the “art of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynsky once again denazified the occupiers’ command and observation post.”
They signed off by saying: “Glory to the Marines!”
The 36th Separate Marine Brigade, officially the ‘Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynskyi 36th Separate Marine Brigade’, was formed in 2015, mainly from Ukrainian marines who evacuated from Crimea following Russia’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014.
They were one of the two primary units – along with the Azov Battalion – that defended Mariupol until the city was taken by pro-Russian forces in May.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 118th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 21st June, Russia had lost about 34,100 personnel, 1,496 tanks, 3,606 armoured combat vehicles, 752 artillery units, 239 multiple launch rocket systems, 98 air defence systems, 216 warplanes, 181 helicopters, 611 drones, 137 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,537 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 59 units of special equipment.
Russia has conducted an anti-ship missile exercise in the Baltic Sea amid escalating tensions with NATO member Lithuania after the country blocked the transit of goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Ukrainian forces have said that they have been successfully thwarting fresh Russian attempts to advance in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine.
The new head of the British Army, Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, has told British forces that they need to be ready to face Russia on the battlefield and said the British Army now needs to be capable of defeating Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ukraine’s southern frontline as Ukrainian forces mount a counter attack in the region to push back Russian troops.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the war in Ukraine could last years, adding that while the costs were high, the cost of allowing Russia to achieve its military goals would be even greater.
United States President Joe Biden has promised Kyiv another USD 1 billion in security assistance and weapons. And US General Mark Milley says Russia has lost around 20 to 30 per cent of its armoured force during the ongoing invasion.
Former Russian president and staunch Vladimir Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev has derided French, German and Italian leaders visiting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as “fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi held talks in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with President Zelenskyy on 16th June.
President Zelenskyy said that a “historic week” has begun as Kyiv awaits a decision from Brussels regarding its EU candidate status.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Some 438 MEPs voted in favour of the resolution, with 65 voting against and 94 abstaining.
Independent Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov has auctioned off his Nobel Peace Prize medal for USD 103.5 million, with all the proceeds going to help Ukrainian refugees.
Muratov, 60, is the editor-in-chief of Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which he co-founded in 1993. The paper has regularly defied numerous threats and covered themes that make the Kremlin uneasy.
Novaya Gazeta has reported on Russian government corruption, human rights violations and police violence as well as published articles that are critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Muratov has been a vocal advocate for the freedom of the press and argued that it needs to remain independent from state influence.
