The Russian defence ministry added it would consider NATO transport carrying weapons in Ukraine as targets meant to be destroyed, this on the 75th day of war.
Russia on Monday said it destroyed a US-made counter-battery radar station near the Ukrainian town of Zolote, Reuters reported. The Russian defence ministry added it would consider NATO transport carrying weapons in Ukraine as targets meant to be destroyed, this on the 75th day of war.
The claim by Russia comes on a day when it marks the Victory Day, signifying the Soviet Union’s win over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Russian president Vladimir Putin presided over his military might at Moscow’s Red Square on the occasion.
“You are fighting for the fatherland, for the future, so that nobody forgets the lessons of World War II, so that there’s no place for executioners, persecutors and Nazis,” Putin said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky released a video on the occasion, saying Ukraine will have two Victory Days.
“We will never forget what our ancestors did in World War II. Where more than 8 million Ukrainians died. And every fifth Ukrainian didn’t return home. In total, the war claimed at least 50 million lives,” Zelenskyy said. “We don’t say we can repeat.'”
On Sunday, the Russian defence ministry had said its high-precision missiles had destroyed weapons and military equipment supplied to Ukrainian forces from the United States and unspecified Western countries at a railway station near the town of Soledar.
The ministry also said that it had destroyed six depots storing missile and artillery weapons in the Luhansk, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions while its air defences shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 warplane.
The fighting between the Russian and Ukrainian forces has continued for the 75th day with no signs of peace. Denying reports of atrocities committed by forces in Ukraine, Moscow has accused Kyiv of stalling talks.
Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on Monday that peace talks with Ukraine had not stopped and were being held remotely, according to the Interfax news agency.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
-
‘Goons, thugs’: Ex-Sri Lanka cricketers slam Rajapaksas after Colombo clashes
Former top Sri Lankan cricketers, including Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakarra, lashed out at the government after supporters of the ruling party stormed a major protest site in Colombo on Monday, attacking anti-government demonstrators and clashing with police amid the country’s worst economic crisis. At least 20 people have been injured in the clashes, the local media reported.
-
Will Sweden apply for NATO membership? Ruling party to decide stance on May 15
The Social Democrats, Sweden’s ruling party, will decide on May 15 its stance on applying for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, party secretary Tobias Baudin said on Monday. This week, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is expected to announce his support for a membership application. Under the alliance’s rules, if one member state is attacked by a third party, all other members will come to the latter’s help.
-
Curfew in Sri Lanka after president loyalists attack protesters; 78 injured
Sri Lankan Police imposed an indefinite curfew in Colombo on Monday after government supporters clashed with demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. News agency AFP reported that as many as 20 people have been injured in the clashes. Rajapaksa supporters armed with sticks and clubs attacked unarmed protesters camping outside the president’s office since April 9, AFP added.
-
Sri Lanka crisis: PM Rajapaksa says ready to make ‘any sacrifice’ for people
Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday said he is ready to make “any sacrifice” for the people amidst reports that the Sri Lankan Prime Minister may offer to stand down, as pressure mounts on the embattled government led by his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to form an interim administration to overcome the worst economic crisis facing the country. His younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, though wanting his resignation had not directly conveyed his wish.