Ukraine news latest — Putin’s spy to be charged over deadly Kramatorsk missile strike as Zelensky’s troops make advances
VLADIMIR Putin's end is approaching as the "countdown has started" according to Ukrainian officials following the Wagner rebellion.
The Russia leader has faced a tough week and now an alleged spy is set to be charged in Ukraine in connection with the Kramatorsk missile strike that has killed 12.
A restaurant in Kramatorsk, Donetsk was destroyed leaving three teenagers dead, and 61 injured.
Vasyl Maliuk, head of the Secret Service of Ukraine, said in the statement: "The Russian agent will undoubtedly stand trial in a Ukrainian court. But this detention is also a signal to all other spotters and traitors working for Russia. Remember: punishment is inevitable!"
It comes as Ukrainian forces are advancing "slowly but surely" across frontlines in the east and southeast of the country according to senior military officials.
Read our Russia coup live blog below for the latest updates...
Death toll rises from last night's attack
At least nine people have been killed - including four children - after a horror Russian missile strike on a restaurant in Ukraine.
Terrified families were pulled from the wreckage in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine as rescuers continue to search for people trapped under the mountain of debris.
Mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko wrote on Telegram: "Rescuers pulled a boy's body from the rubble."
Putin’s ‘General Armageddon’ VANISHES in ‘Kremlin purge’
Putin's "General Armageddon" has reportedly vanished amid claims he was in on Wagner Group's armed revolt.
General Sergei Surovikin - renowned for his merciless manoeuvres - has known links to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner mercenary army chief behind Saturday's rebellion.
Russian MP claims Moscow are 'not attacking civilian infrastructure' despite recent attack
A Russian MP has claimed Moscow are "not attacking civilian infrastructure" despite the recent attack that has killed at least three children.
Speaking to Sky News after the attack in Kramatorsk on a pizza restaurant, Evgeny Popov said: " I don't have enough information about this exact case but the Russian army is not attacking civilian infrastructure and a Russian missile has attacked some of the military infrastructure in Kramatorsk."
Ukraine claims at least three children have died in attack
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has released a video detailing the devastation from the attack in Kramatorsk.
A statement accompanying the video said: "Russia is still targeting civilians in Ukraine.
"At least eight people, including three children, have died and 56, including an infant, have been injured."
Children seen covered in blood
The child who died in the horrific attack on a restaurant and shopping area in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine was thought to have been eating at the restaurant, local reports claim.
Video circulating on social media showed one of the wounded - an infant, born last year - covered in blood.
Other civilians were seen racing to the horror to rescue survivors in terrifying footage.
Two S-300 surface to air missiles are thought to be responsible for the attack.
Ukraine's interior ministry posted: "The bodies of three people, including a minor born in 2008, have been recovered from the rubble."
Putin’s deadly missile strike on Ukrainian civilians
Families were pulled from the wreckage of a Russian missile strike in Ukraine last night.
Four are feared dead - including a child - while 42 are injured following the horrific attack on a restaurant and shopping area in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine.
Desperate Putin ‘needs 7-million-strong army to replace Wagner’
Vladimir Putin will need to build an army of seven million men to replace the Wagner mercenary group a top politician in the Kremlin has claimed.
Leonid Slutsky said that Russia needs a contract army of at least seven million military on top of the current conscript army following Wagner's attempted coup.
The head of the Liberal Democratic party said on Telegram: "The country does not need any PMCs (private military companies) and their likes.
“There are problems in the regular army, but PMCs cannot solve them.”
Putin requested minute silence for troops killed in attempted coup
During his address, Vladimir Putin requested a minute of silence to honour pilots killed during Wagner’s attempted coup.
He said: “A number of our comrades have died in the process. They fulfilled the order and their military duty with honour.
“Our resolution and courage, as well as the consolidation of the entirety of Russian society, has been huge and has played a defining role in overcoming these obstacles and the mutiny.
“You can see the army, society and people were one. This has allowed us to overcome the extremely dangerous situation that the country was in.”
Russia was on brink of ‘CIVIL WAR’
Putin has told his troops they stopped a “civil war” as the trembling tyrant clings to power after the Wagner Group coup.
The 70-year-old despot addressed a carefully selected crowd of his generals and soldiers in the Kremlin’s sealed-off Cathedral Square in Moscow.
He insisted the rebel mercenaries “never had the support” of the people – despite pictures showing the Wagner troops being met by cheering crowds in Rostov.
“You de facto stopped civil war,” said Putin.
Vlad was speaking as the war of words continues between the Kremlin and Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin – who attempted to march on Moscow on Saturday.
Russian attack kills civilian in Zaporizhzhia
A Russian strike has killed an elderly man in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The attack killed a 77-year-old man in Orikhiv and injured six others, Governor Yurii Malashko said.
Among those injured was an 87-year-old woman.
UN slams 'summary execution of 77 Ukrainian civilians'
A United Nations mission in Ukraine has slammed the "summary execution of 77 Ukrainian civilians" by Russian forces.
“The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is gravely concerned by the summary execution of 77 civilians – 72 men and 5 women – while they were arbitrarily detained by the Russian Federation, and the further death of one detainee [a man] as a result of torture, inhumane detention conditions and/or denial of necessary medical care,” Al Jazeera sites the report as saying.
The report also highlights 864 instances of arbitrary detention by Putin's forces.
What is the Wagner Group?
The Wagner Group, officially known as PMC Wagner, is a Russian paramilitary organisation that was founded in 2014.
It is run by Putin’s former close ally Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Russia calls the Wagner Group a “private military company,” though it has been labled as a network of mercenaries by others.
It is believed that, as of December 2022, the Wagner Group had an estimated 50,000 personnel inside Ukraine.
This number was made up of around 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts from Russian prisons, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said via .
In the wake of the group’s rebellion against Putin, videos posted on social media showed banners urging people to join the Wagner Group being torn down in Russian cities.
Putin gives mercenaries major ultimatum
Vladimir Putin directly addressed the mercenaries in his speech on Monday.
The tyrant said they were now faced with a choice of either serving the Russian military by entering into a contract with the Ministry of Defence, or they could return home to their families.
He said: “It is the choice of each of you, a choice of the warriors of Russia who have acknowledged their fault.”
In pictures: President Zelensky meets soldiers in Donetsk
President Zelesnky was pictured meeting with Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk region yesterday.
This comes as Russia’s Vladimir Putin attempts to deal with the aftermath of the Wagner Group’s attempted coup against the Kremlin.
Putin might be setting a ‘trap’ for Wagner fighters
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has claimed Vladimir Putin might be setting a “trap” for Wagner fighters after presenting Belarus as a safe haven.
In the ISW’s latest update they said: “Putin may be presenting Belarus as a haven for Wagner fighters as a trap.
“Putin’s acknowledgement that he made a personal promise, presumably that Wagner personnel who went to Belarus would be safe there, was remarkable.
“The long-term value of that promise, Putin’s speech notwithstanding, is questionable.”
Russian plan to blow up Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant ‘drafted and approved’
A Ukrainian intelligence leader has claimed plans for Russia to blow up the largest nuclear power plant in Europe have already been approved.
Kyrylo Budanov’s chilling warning about the Zaporizhzhia plant comes as tensions between Russia and Ukraine heightened following an attempted coup in Moscow.
Budanov has claimed the cooling pond of the nuclear plant has been mined by Russian troops who occupy the area.
The spymaster said the plan is “drafted and approved”, and only needs an order to unfold.
He warned: “Then it can happen in a matter of minutes.”
And the intelligence director fears Russia would raise the voltage in the plant.
If the cooling mechanisms were destroyed, nuclear disaster could unfold in as little as ten hours.
Budanov told The New Statesman: “Technical means could be used to speed up the catastrophe.”
Wagner coup shows clear ‘divisions’ in Russia’s ranks, Macron claims
The recent revolt by the Wagner Group shows “divisions” in Russia’s ranks, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.
Wagner’s failed march on Moscow “shows the divisions that exist within the Russian camp, and the fragility of both its military and its auxillary forces,” he told the Provence newspaper.
Macron added that the situation is still “developing.”
Putin requested minute silence for troops killed in attempted coup
During his address, Vladimir Putin requested a minute of silence to honour pilots killed during Wagner’s attempted coup.
He said: “A number of our comrades have died in the process. They fulfilled the order and their military duty with honour.
“Our resolution and courage, as well as the consolidation of the entirety of Russian society, has been huge and has played a defining role in overcoming these obstacles and the mutiny.
“You can see the army, society and people were one. This has allowed us to overcome the extremely dangerous situation that the country was in.”
Russia was on brink of ‘CIVIL WAR’
Putin has told his troops they stopped a "civil war" as the trembling tyrant clings to power after the Wagner Group coup.
The 70-year-old despot addressed a carefully selected crowd of his generals and soldiers in the Kremlin's sealed-off Cathedral Square in Moscow.
He insisted the rebel mercenaries "never had the support" of the people - despite pictures showing the Wagner troops being met by cheering crowds in Rostov.
"You de facto stopped civil war," said Putin.
Vlad was speaking as the war of words continues between the Kremlin and Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin - who attempted to march on Moscow on Saturday.
US denies any involvement in Wagner Group coup
The White House has denied any involvement in the Wagner Group’s attempted coup.
“The United States was not involved and will not get involved in this situation. This was an internal Russian matter,” National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge said.
This comes after the Kremlin suggested Western influences could have contributed to the attempted rebellion.
What is the Wagner Group?
The Wagner Group, officially known as PMC Wagner, is a Russian paramilitary organisation that was founded in 2014.
It is run by Putin’s former close ally Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Russia calls the Wagner Group a “private military company,” though it has been labled as a network of mercenaries by others.
It is believed that, as of December 2022, the Wagner Group had an estimated 50,000 personnel inside Ukraine.
This number was made up of around 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts from Russian prisons, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said via .
In the wake of the group’s rebellion against Putin, videos posted on social media showed banners urging people to join the Wagner Group being torn down in Russian cities.
Russia drops charges against Wagner mercenary group
According to reports, Russian authorities have closed criminal investigations into the Wagner Group and their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin after their recent rebellion.
The Federal Security Service said its investigation found the group "ceased activities directed at committing the crime";.
Putin gives mercenaries major ultimatum
Vladimir Putin directly addressed the mercenaries in his speech yesterday.
The tyrant said they were now faced with a choice of either serving the Russian military by entering into a contract with the Ministry of Defence, or they could return home to their families.
He said: "It is the choice of each of you, a choice of the warriors of Russia who have acknowledged their fault."
'Ukraine forces making advances'
The UK's Ministry of Defence has released its latest update on the war in Ukraine.
The Ministry claimed that Ukraine's Airborne forces have "highly likely recaptured an area of territory occupied by Russia since 2014".
They said: "Ukrainian Airborne forces have made small advances east from the village of Krasnohorivka, near Donetsk city, which sits on the old Line of Control.
"This is one of the first instances since Russia’s February 2022 invasion that Ukrainian forces have highly likely recaptured an area of territory occupied by Russia since 2014.
"Recent multiple concurrent Ukrainian assaults throughout the Donbas have likely overstretched Donetsk People’s Republic and Chechen forces operating in this area."
Russian attack kills civilian in Zaporizhzhia
A Russian strike has killed an elderly man in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The attack killed a 77-year-old man in Orikhiv and injured six others, Governor Yurii Malashko said.
Among those injured was an 87-year-old woman.