Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) – Russia has begun transferring the bodies of Ukrainian fighters killed at the Azovstal steel plant, a fortress-like plant in the ruined city of Mariupol, where their latest position has become a symbol of resistance to Moscow’s invasion.
Dozens of bodies of fighters found by the Russian-occupied ruins of the bombed factory have been transferred to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where DNA testing is under way to identify the remains.
According to Maxim Jorin, a military commander and former commander of the Azov Regiment, who was among the Ukrainian units that defended the plant for nearly three months before surrendering.
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Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) – The British government said Monday that the missile launchers it offers Ukraine will bring a “significant boost” to the country’s efforts to counter Russia’s invasion that looms over the celebrations. Day D. in northern France.
“If the international community continues to support, I believe that Ukraine can win its war against Russia,” said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace in a statement.
The statement came after comments Sunday from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who warned the West not to send longer-range missile systems to Ukraine, where the war was in its 103rd day.
The British government described the M270 weapon system as an “advanced” military asset that could hit targets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) “with extreme precision”. The system is operated by three artillerymen and is mounted on an armored launcher with caterpillars.
The United Kingdom promised to send arms last week. Did not give details of delivery dates.
Last week, the United States announced plans to deliver $ 700 million in security aid to Ukraine, including four precision-guided medium-range missile systems, as well as helicopters, Javelin anti-tank systems, radars, tactical vehicles and more.
Washington and London hope that the supplies will help Ukraine reverse the course of the war in its eastern Donbass, which Russia appears to intend to take completely.
However, they are unlikely to have an immediate impact. The Pentagon said last week that it would take at least three weeks to bring U.S. weapons to the battlefield. Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian government since 2014 in Donbas.
The United States has stopped offering Ukraine longer-range weapons – those up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) long – that could fire deep into Russia and inflame tensions with Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned the West that if it provides Ukraine with long-range missiles, Moscow will respond by taking over larger territories from Ukraine.
Speaking at an online news conference Monday, Lavrov said that “the longer the range of weapons you supply, the farther away the line where neo-Nazis can threaten the Russian Federation will be.” Moscow says it is fighting neo-Nazis in Ukraine, a false statement ridiculed by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, a Jew who lost relatives in the Holocaust.
Ukraine’s struggle was at the forefront of comments from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and was warmly welcomed by Day D veterans who gathered in Normandy on Monday.
“The battle in Ukraine is in honor of these World War II veterans,” said Army General Mark Millie at the American Cemetery in Colville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach.
“It’s about maintaining the so-called international order, based on global rules, which was created by the dead who are buried here in this cemetery,” he said.
D-Day American veteran Charles Shay, 97, was on Omaha Beach to mark the 78th anniversary of the June 6, 1944, landing and pay tribute to those who fell that day.
Asked about his feelings about the war on the European continent, Shay told the Associated Press that “the situation is very sad.”
“In 1944, I landed on these beaches and we thought we would bring peace to the world. But it is not possible, “he added with regret.
Meanwhile, Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, attacked the refusal to let his plane fly to Serbia on Sunday as “cynical” and “unthinkable”. Reports say Serbia’s neighbors, Bulgaria, northern Macedonia and Montenegro, have refused to allow the plane to fly through their airspace to reach Serbia.
“A sovereign state is deprived of its right to pursue foreign policy,” Lavrov told an online news conference.
He blamed NATO allies – with whom Moscow is in conflict – for developing the flight ban, saying it revealed that the main goal of the alliance’s enlargement was to try to isolate Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian missile use in Ukraine continued to hit targets, with the Russian military saying on Monday that it had hit a Ukrainian factory repairing armor.
Russian warplanes fired long-range missiles to destroy a plant near the town of Lozova in the northeastern Kharkiv region that was repairing armored vehicles, said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov.
Russian aircraft have hit 73 areas of concentration of Ukrainian troops and equipment, and Russian artillery has hit 431 military targets, Konashenkov said. His allegations could not be verified independently.
Putin has promised to strike deeper into the heart of Ukraine if the West sends longer-range missile systems to Kyiv. In a demonstration of force Russian missiles hit the capital of Ukraine Kyiv on Sunday.
The General Staff of Ukraine announced that the Russian forces fired five X-22 cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea to Kyiv, and one was destroyed by the air defense. Four other missiles hit “infrastructure”, but Ukraine said there were no casualties.
Prior to Sunday’s early morning attack, Kyiv had not faced such Russian air strikes since UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ April 28 visit.
On Sunday, Zelensky visited the command posts and front positions of the Ukrainian troops in Donetsk and Luhansk, which make up Donbass.
Ukraine’s regional governor said Monday that the situation in a key eastern city has worsened for the defending troops.
Luhansk Governor Sergei Haidai said on Monday that fierce fighting continues in the city of Severodonetsk, which is at the epicenter of Russia’s offensive.
He described the fighting situation as “quite dynamic”, adding that Ukrainian forces had lost some of their achievements over the weekend, but held their ground in the city’s industrial zone.
“Our defenders managed to carry out a counter-offensive and liberate almost half of the city, but now the situation has worsened again,” Haidai told the Associated Press in written answers to questions.
“The shelling of Severodonetsk has intensified, (the Russians) are destroying everything in accordance with their burnt land tactics,” he said. The Russians “have a huge amount of equipment and personnel. They have amassed a lot of reserves, “he added.
Russian forces are focusing on the conquest of Severodonetsk and Lisichansk.
West of these cities, in the cities of Slavyansk and Bakhmut, cars and military vehicles are moving towards the city from the front line. Dozens of military doctors and ambulances worked Sunday to evacuate civilian and Ukrainian servicemen, many of whom were wounded by artillery fire.
Western military intelligence reports say Ukraine’s counterattacks in Severodonetsk are likely to halt the operational momentum of Russian forces previously gained by concentrating its fighting forces and firepower in the area.
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David Keaton and Hannah Archive contributed to this report.
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