Embezzlement investigation in Ukraine, Kremlin forces on the offensive

Ukrainian officers investigated after lethal Russian strike

Ukraine on Monday launched a prison investigation into army officers who organised an award ceremony for troops that was hit by a Russian missile strike. 

Nineteen troopers have been killed within the blast, one of many deadliest single assaults reported by Ukrainian forces because the battle started.

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation mentioned will maintain army officers accountable for the Rocket Forces and Artillery Day occasion held on Friday close to the entrance line in Zaporizhzhia, the place Russian reconnaissance drones may simply spot the crowded gathering.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lamented that the deaths of the boys within the 128th Separate Mountain-Assault Brigade of Zakarpattia was a “tragedy that would’ve been prevented.” 

The carnage sparked a wave of criticism amongst Ukrainians on social media for planning the occasion so near the battlefield. 

Ukraine investigates two protection officers for embezzlement

The Ukrainian Prosecutor Normal’s Workplace introduced on Monday that it had formally notified two defence officers that they have been being investigated for embezzling a number of million euros. 

The newest corruption case surrounds the acquisition of poor-quality bulletproof vests, amid the Russian invasion grinding into its second winter. 

The 2 males, who’re in custody, resist 12 years in jail. They’re unnamed. 

They’re alleged to have ordered shoddy protecting tools from overseas, pre-paying for it in full and with out respecting “the deliberate high quality management process”, the State Investigation Bureau, an anti-corruption physique, detailed in early October.

“Because of this, the Ukrainian armed forces obtained poor high quality bulletproof vests which can’t be utilized in fight with out endangering lives,” it added, estimating the fraud was price greater than six million euros.

In line with the Bureau of Investigation, this case is a brand new episode in a world embezzlement scandal price greater than 36 million euros, referring to contracts for supplying ammunition to the Ukrainian military that was inadequate.

The Ukrainian Protection Ministry has been rocked by a number of corruption circumstances because the begin of the Russian invasion in February 2022, even pushing Protection Minister Oleksi Reznikov to resign final September.

The combat in opposition to corruption, an endemic evil in Ukraine, is among the standards set by Brussels for becoming a member of the EU, which has given Kyiv tens of billions of euros in assist because the begin of the battle.

Russia hits historic museum in Odesa, says Kyiv

In a single day Russian strikes on Odesa between Sunday and Monday have injured at the least eight and broken an artwork museum, in line with Ukrainian officers.

Photos launched by authorities within the southern Ukrainian metropolis confirmed particles and shards of glass within the Odesa Museum of Positive Arts, which had some shattered home windows.

Partitions are cracked and a few work seem to have been thrown to the bottom by the pressure of the explosion.

Ukrainian Deputy Overseas Minister Emine Djeppar mentioned she was “deeply outraged” by the strike.

“The deliberate destruction of cultural websites is against the law in opposition to Ukrainian heritage,” she denounced, demanding “a robust worldwide response and rapid motion from UNESCO.”

The Odessa Museum of Positive Arts, a sublime pink constructing, was opened within the late nineteenth century, in line with its web site.

Many of the works on show had been “evacuated”, mentioned Oleg Kiper, an official with the regional authorities.

Russians attempt to recapture southern village

The Ukrainian military mentioned on Monday that Russian forces have been attempting to retake Robotyne, a village within the south whose liberation on the finish of August had given Ukraine hope of a breakthrough in its counteroffensive, a hope that has not come to fruition.

Within the south, “the enemy tried to regain its positions close to Robotyne, with out success”, mentioned Andri Kovaliov, spokesperson for the Ukrainian military.

Within the east of the nation, Moscow’s troops are additionally “persevering with” to assault Avdiivka, an industrial city they’ve been attempting to encircle for a number of weeks, he added.

Since June, the Ukrainian military has been conducting a counteroffensive within the east and south, with out succeeding in breaking via the Russian strains. In current weeks, it has been the Russians who’ve gone on the assault, main assaults in a number of areas.

There have been no vital developments on the entrance since round a yr in the past, when the Ukrainian military recaptured the city of Kherson.

The dearth of motion is such that the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, Valery Zaloujny, just lately declared that the battle had “reached a stalemate”.

These have been unusually frank statements, however they have been firmly rejected by each the Kremlin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russia exams intercontinental ballistic missile

The Russian army on Sunday reported a profitable check launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to hold nuclear warheads, which was fired from a submarine. 

The report comes as tensions are hovering between Russia and the West over the preventing in Ukraine. 

Worsening relations, President Vladimir Putin final week signed a invoice revoking Russia’s ratification of a world nuclear check ban in a transfer that Moscow mentioned was wanted to ascertain parity with the USA.

The Russian Protection Ministry mentioned in a press release that the Imperator Alexander III strategic missile cruiser fired the Bulava missile from an underwater place in Russia’s northern White Sea. They mentioned it hit a goal within the far-eastern area of Kamchatka. 

It wasn’t instantly clear from the assertion when the check launch occurred.

The Imperator Alexander III is among the new Borei-class nuclear submarines that carry 16 Bulava missiles every. They’re meant to function the core naval element of the nation’s nuclear forces within the coming many years. 

In line with the Protection Ministry, launching a ballistic missile is the ultimate check for the vessel, after which a choice ought to be made on its induction into the fleet.

The Russian navy at the moment has three Borei-class submarines in service, yet one more is ending exams and three others are below development, the Protection Ministry mentioned.

Ukrainian missile strike on a shipyard in Crimea damages a Russian ship

The Russian army mentioned a Ukrainian missile strike on a shipyard in annexed Crimea had broken a Russian ship.

The Russian Protection Ministry mentioned late Saturday that Ukrainian forces fired 15 cruise missiles on the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch, a metropolis within the east of the Crimean Peninsula. 

Air defences shot down 13 missiles however others hit the shipyard and broken a vessel, a press release from the ministry mentioned.

The ministry did not give particulars in regards to the ship or the extent of the injury.

The Ukrainian air pressure commander, Mykola Oleshchuk, mentioned in a press release that on the time of the assault carried out by Ukrainian tactical aviation, “some of the trendy ships of Russia’s Black Sea fleet was on the shipyard – service of the Kalibr cruise missiles.” 

He did not say instantly, nevertheless, that this explicit ship was broken by the strike.

The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been a frequent goal since Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine 20 months in the past. Crimea has served as the important thing hub supporting the invasion.

Ukraine has more and more focused naval amenities in Crimea in current months.