An early morning Russian missile attack in the Odesa region of Ukraine on Friday killed at least 17 people. Dozens of people were injured in the strike. At least one of the targeted sites was a residential building.
Russia's Ministry of Defense said Thursday that it had withdrawn from Ukraine's Snake Island, which has been a symbol of Ukraine's resistance since the invasion of Moscow four months ago.
Russia occupied the island of the Black Sea in the early stages of the war, launched an attack on Ukraine from there, monitored shipments from Ukrainian ports, and then in the Black Sea near the port city of Odesa. I used it as a stage on the island.
However, Ukraine confirmed that the Russian troops had withdrawn, and after the Ukrainian troops attacked the island overnight with missile and artillery strikes and escaped the remaining Russian troops on two speedboats. Said it happened.
Andrey Jermac, head of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, confirmed the withdrawal of Russian troops from the island. "There are no more Russian troops on Snake Island. Our troops did a great job," Yermak said in a Twitter post.
When Russia's flagship Moscow approached and demanded the surrender of Ukrainian troops, one of the first chapters of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion was unfolded on Snake Island. Their reaction, "Russian warship, do it yourself," led to bombardment from the ship, forcing Ukrainian troops to surrender the island.
Ukraine then sank Moscow in a missile attack, and Kieu used the slogans of warships and Snake Island as motifs for stamps issued during the war.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have left the small island "as a symbol of goodwill" after completing its mission. World monitors say this is not the case, but said the departure showed that Russia did not interfere with Ukraine's grain exports. In developing countries, especially the Middle East, wheat depends on Ukraine and Russia.
Ukrainian officials in one region said a 7,000-tonn grain-filled cargo ship left the Russian-occupied Berdyans'k port on Thursday for the first time in months. Officials said it was government-owned grain and the ship was sailing towards a "friendly country."
At a joint news conference in Moscow on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said he would guarantee the safety of ships carrying grain from Ukraine. If Ukraine dug up the port.
Ukraine says it has mined a port to protect itself from Russians, saying that Russia continues to invade Ukraine, making it vulnerable to Russian operations at the port. Feared, he stated he was reluctant to mine them. ..
Putin told reporters late Wednesday that the war plan had "nothing changed" and the ultimate goal was to "liberate" the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, primarily to protect Russian-speaking people. He emphasized that it remains what he characterized. And "creation of conditions that guarantee the safety of Russia itself".
At a NATO meeting in Madrid, Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden, declared their continued military and humanitarian support for Ukraine.
The UK announced an additional $ 1 billion on Thursday, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said the money would go to air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, and critical equipment of the Ukrainian army. I did.
"This is the first to allow Ukraine to go beyond brave defenses against Russia's illegal aggression and launch offensive operations against the Russian Army to restore Ukraine's sovereignty. It represents a step, "the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. ..
Zelenskyy called Britain a "true friend and strategic partner" and said he was grateful for his security support.
"Thanks for the consistent leadership support for (Ukraine) to counter the Russian invasion," Zelensky tweeted.
Some information in this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.