Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Ukraine forces claims Andriivka, near the now-symbolic city of Bakhmut, as it looks to push Russia back in both the south and east of the country
Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile
Russia’s war in Ukraine
Ukraine has claimed fresh success in its counteroffensive against Vladimir Putin’s forces, with the recapture of another village – a liberation that the army says is “key to success in all further directions”.
The announcement by the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said that Russian forces had faced “significant losses” in the battle.
Kyiv’s forces are seeking to reclaim land occupied by Moscow across multiple areas of southern and eastern Ukraine. The village of Andriivka is about 6 miles (10 kilometres) south of the Russia-occupied town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region. Bakhmut is one of Ukraine’s key targets, with Russia having occupied it after some of the bloodiest fighting of Moscow’s 18-month invasion
Meanwhile, Britain’s most senior military officer said Ukraine had taken the initiative over Russia with its offensive, even if gains are gradual. Sir Tony Radakin said: “In the north they are holding and fixing Russian forces there and in the south they are making progress between 10 and 20km”.
His comments came as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Ukraine’s destruction of a Russian air defence system in the annexed Crimea peninsula.
The two sites on the Dnipro River, a 15-minute drive from one another, are “a masterpiece of human creative genius,” according to UNESCO.
The other site is the historic center of Lviv, near the Polish border. A fifth-century castle overlooks streets and squares built between the 13th and 17th centuries. The site includes a synagogue as well as Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic religious buildings, reflecting the city’s diversity.
“In its urban fabric and its architecture, Lviv is an outstanding example of the fusion of the architectural and artistic traditions of Eastern Europe with those of Italy and Germany,” UNESCO said. “The political and commercial role of Lviv attracted to it a number of ethnic groups with different cultural and religious traditions.”
Lviv is more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Kyiv and even further from any front lines, but it hasn’t been spared. Russian cruise missiles slammed into an apartment building in the city in July, killing at least six people and wounding dozens.
UNESCO added Ukraine‘s Black Sea port city of Odesa to its list of endangered heritage sites in January. Russian forces have launched multiple attacks on the city, a cultural hub known for its 19th-century architecture. Russia says that it only strikes military targets.
Under the 1972 UNESCO convention, ratified by both Ukraine and Russia, signatories undertake to “assist in the protection of the listed sites” and are “obliged to refrain from taking any deliberate measures” which might damage World Heritage sites.
Inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger is meant to rally urgent international support for conservation efforts. The list includes more than 50 sites around the world.
A Ukrainian government official welcomed Uncesco’s move.
“We are very happy to have a very rich history and culture of our country, and we would like to say that it has been over thousands of years, and we try to preserve it for our future generations,” Deputy Culture Minister Anastasia Bondar said. “So it’s very much important that the whole world community will join us also.”
The gold-domed St. Sophia Cathedral, located in the heart of Kyiv, was built in the 11th century and designed to rival the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The monument to Byzantine art contains the biggest collection of mosaics and frescoes from that period, and is surrounded by monastic buildings dating back to the 17th century.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches — some underground — that were built from the 11th to the 19th century. Some of the churches are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 600 meters (2,000 feet).
Monastery of the Caves
The U.N.’s World Heritage Committee has placed two major historical sites in Ukraine on its list of such sites that it considers to be in danger.
The St. Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval center of the western city of Lviv, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites central to Ukraine‘s culture and history.
The decision to put those two on the body’s list of sites “in danger” has no enforcement mechanism, but could help deter Russian attacks.
Neither site has been directly targeted since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Lviv has largely been spared from the fighting.
But Russia has unleashed waves of strikes on Kyiv and other cities, hitting residential areas and critical infrastructure with Iranian-made attack drones.
The decision was made at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which is being held in Saudi Arabia. The committee maintains UNESCO’s World Heritage List and oversees conservation of the sites.
Sophia Cathedral
Hungary imposed a national import ban on 24 Ukrainian agricultural products, including grains, vegetables, several meat products and honey, according to a government decree published on Friday.
The ban is effective from Saturday.
Hungary decided to unilaterally ban the imports of Ukrainian foodstuff after the European Commission said that it would not extend a current ban on imports of Ukrainian grains into Ukraine‘s five EU neighbours that is due to expire on Friday.
Poland will itself extend a ban on Ukrainian grains into Poland from midnight, the prime minister said on Friday, after the European Union said it would not extend a ban it had imposed.
“We will extend this ban despite their disagreement, despite the European Commission’s disagreement,” Mateusz Morawiecki told a rally in the northeastern town of Elk.
“We will do it because it is in the interest of the Polish farmer.”
The European Union has reacted to the war in Ukraine with a rare unity – but splits are already emerging between countries offering support for as long as it takes and those agitating for Kyiv to cut its losses, writes Mary Dejevsky
Read Mary’s full piece here:
The European Union has reacted to the war in Ukraine with a rare unity – but splits are already emerging between countries offering support for as long as it takes and those agititating for Kyiv to cut its losses, writes Mary Dejevsky
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stopped in a far eastern Russian city Friday to see a factory that builds the country’s most advanced fighter jets on his extended trip that hints at his interest in sophisticated weaponry, as the US and others warned Moscow and Pyongyang against making banned weapons transfer deals.
Kim’s visits to Russian weapons and technology sites and meetings with President Vladimir Putin have raised speculation he will supply ammunition to Russia for its war efforts in Ukraine in exchange for receiving advanced weapons or technology from Russia as the two nations deepen their ties while both are increasingly isolated and sanctioned in separate confrontations with the West.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has stopped in a far eastern Russian city to see a factory that builds the country’s most advanced fighter jets on his extended trip that hints at his interest in sophisticated weaponry
Andriivka is a small village about six miles south of Bakhmut – the site of the lengthiest and bloodiest battle in the war so far.
The Wagner Group, which has now left Ukraine, claimed it had taken Bakhmut in May, although fierce fighting continues in the surrounding areas.
Professor Michael Clarke, defence and security analyst and former director-general of the Royal United Services Institute, said recapture of the village could help Ukraine get at Russia’s reserve lines.
He told Sky News: “If they can get south of Bakhmut, then they can get into open country into Russia’s reserve lines.”
Ukraine’s government approved on Friday a draft budget for next year, planning for higher defence spending and counting on continued Western financial support to cover the expected deficit.
The draft 2024 budget puts the deficit at 1.548 trillion hryvnias ($42 billion) or at about 20.4 per cent of gross domestic product.
More than half of all planned Ukrainian budget spending next year, or 1.7 trillion hryvnias, is planned for the defence sector to fund the war effort against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenksy will meet Joe Biden next week to discuss more military aid for Kyiv
Finland on Friday joined the three Baltic countries in banning vehicles with Russian license plates from entering their territory, a joint move in line with a recent interpretation of the European Union’s sanctions against Moscow over its war on Ukraine.
The Nordic EU member’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said the ban would stop private cars from entering Finland as of Friday midnight, Finnish broadcaster YLE said.
Full report:
Finland is joining its three Baltic neighbors in banning vehicles with Russian license plates from entering their territory, a joint move in line with a recent interpretation of the European Union’s sanctions against Moscow over its war on Ukraine
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
REUTERS
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Log in
New to The Independent?
Or if you would prefer:
Want an ad-free experience?
Hi {{indy.fullName}}