- Russia captures Ukrainian village
- Shelling in Donetsk market
- Zelenskyy condemns Russian bombardment
Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed leader of the Donetsk region, reports that shelling struck a market on the outskirts of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Donetsk, resulting in twenty-seven fatalities and twenty-five injuries. Pushilin attributed the assault on the Tekstilshchik enclave to Ukraine and proclaimed Monday a day of mourning. In a Facebook post, Ukrainian forces in the Tavria, or southern zone, denied responsibility for the incident, declaring, “Donetsk is Ukraine!” and stating, “Russia will be held accountable for the deaths of Ukrainians.” Donetsk is one of four unlawfully annexed Ukrainian regions by Russia in 2022.
In a Sunday night video, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the assault as “particularly severe” and stated that Russia had bombarded over a hundred cities, towns, and villages in nine regions of Ukraine in a single day, with Donetsk being the most severely affected. Ukraine-controlled villages west of Donetsk have reported the fatalities of at least two individuals, as reported by Ukrainian officials.
Russian Forces Capture Ukrainian Village
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, its forces have captured the village of Krokhmalne in the northeastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine. The spokesman for the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command, Volodymyr Fityo, informed reporters that Kyiv had ceased its military operations and that the Russian capture of the “five houses” village was “not strategically significant.” According to Fito, Ukrainian forces maintained control of the front line.
After two explosions, a chemical transit terminal at Ust-Luga Port in Russia caught fire, according to regional officials. Local media reported that Ukrainian drones had attacked the Baltic Sea port. A petrol tank exploded at the port 165 km southwest of St. Petersburg. There were no casualties reported.
Diplomacy and Politics
North Korea’s top diplomat, Choe Son Hui, said her country was “prepared to greet” Putin, according to official media. The Russian president was in Moscow the week prior, where Choe was in attendance. The statement stated that Putin “expressed his willingness to visit the DPRK at an early date,” an abbreviation for the official name of North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Putin visited Pyongyang for the last time in 2000.
Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk said the nation’s victory at the Australian Open should remind people of the conflict. After defeating Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva 6-2, 6-1, the twenty-one-year-old refused to clasp her hand. Coco Gauff, the defending US Open champion, will face Kostyuk in the quarterfinals.
Sunday commemorated the 100th anniversary of Lenin’s death, whose remains are in Moscow’s Red Square tomb. In February 2022, just before commencing his extensive military campaign in Ukraine, Putin publicly denounced Lenin for allegedly contributing to the fragmentation of the Russian Empire into nation-states such as Ukraine.
$108M lunar lander, carrying JFK’s remains, destroyed in reentry
