Russia Ukraine war latest: Russian basic fired after implicating defence ministry of ‘treachery’

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has actually apprehended what it said was an LGBT activist associated with state treason, the TASS news firm said on Thursday.

TASS said the person had actually offered for the OVD-Info rights group and contributed money to the Ukrainian army, mentioning the FSB.

Reuters was unable to individually validate the report.

In Russia, the LGBT neighborhood typically deals with hostility and injustice although sex in between same-sex couples is legal.

A Russian general said he had actually been dismissed as a leader after informing the military management about the alarming scenario at the front in Ukraine where he said Russian soldiers had actually been stabbed in the back by the failings of the leading military brass.

After the June 24 mutiny by Wagner mercenaries, the most significant domestic obstacle to the Russian state in years, President Vladimir Putin has actually so far kept Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov in their jobs.

Major General Ivan Popov, who commanded the 58th Combined Arms Army, said in a voice message released by Russian legislator Andrei Gurulyov that he had actually been dismissed after informing the reality to the leading brass about the scenario at the front.

“The Ukrainian army could not break through our ranks at the front but our senior chief hit us from the rear, viciously beheading the army at the most difficult and intense moment,” Popov said.

Popov, who commanded Russian systems in southern Ukraine, clearly raised the deaths of Russian soldiers from Ukrainian weapons and said the army did not have correct counter weapons systems and reconnaissance of opponent weapons.

The UK Ministry of Defence has actually said there are reports of Russian forces utilizing old armoured automobiles loaded with numerous tonnes of dynamites.

In a declaration on Thursday, the department said many cases have actually been seen in Marinka, near Donetsk city.

The Ministry of Defence tweeted: “In June 2023, there have been several reports of Russian forces using antiquated armoured vehicles packed with several tonnes of explosives as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). The crew likely bail out of the vehicle after setting it on its course.

“Most Russian VBIED cases have been reported around Marinka, near Donetsk city, and started days after Chechen units reinforced the area: there is a realistic possibility that Chechen forces are pioneering the tactic.

“There is a heritage of Chechen fighters being skilled in IED use, dating back to the Chechen Wars from the 1990s. Chechens fighting for Ukraine were also reported to have made similar VBIEDs in January 2023.

“Most of Russia’s VBIEDs have almost certainly detonated before they reached their target through a combination of anti-tank mines and direct fire, bringing into question the viability of the capability.

“However, these VBIEDs cause extremely large explosions, which are still likely to have a psychological effect on defending forces.”

Russian forces targeted Kyiv with a barrage of self-exploding Iranian-made Shahed drones early on Thursday early morning, according to the Kyiv City Administration.

Explosions were heard in various parts of the city, and particles from obstructed drones fell on 4 districts of the Ukrainian capital, according to Ukraine‘s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Buildings were damaged and two people were admitted to hospital with shrapnel wounds.

Earlier, the municipal authority wrote on Telegram that debris fell on five districts.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia fired a total of 20 drones, mostly at the Kyiv region, and that all 20 were shot down.

The Ukrainian military also intercepted two cruise missiles.

Ukraine’s air defence has actually shot down all 20 Shahed-136/131 drones introduced by Russian forces overnight, the nation’s flying force said.

It included 2 Kalibr rockets were likewise downed by the active air defences. The Russian forces likewise utilized one Iskander-M ballistic rocket to attack Ukraine, according to the flying force.

Russian forces released a barrage of self-exploding Iranian-made Shahed drones in early hours today, according to the Kyiv City Administration.

Explosions were heard in various parts of the city, and particles from obstructed drones fell on 5 districts of the Ukrainian capital.

Some structures were harmed, and 2 individuals hospitalised with shrapnel injuries.

A high-ranking Russian basic has actually been killed in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia in an airstrike performed utilizing British-provided Storm Shadow rockets, according to numerous reports from both sides.

Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov was amongst the Russian military leaders present in the Dune hotel when a barrage of cruise rockets struck the southern area.

Russia’s defence ministry did not instantly verify the death however it has actually been reported by the nation’s tightly-controlled state media.

An help to the Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, composed on his Telegram channel: “It is reported that today in the Berdiansk area, the Russian Lieutenant General Oleg Yuriyovych Tsokov was liquidated.”

In September in 2015 the exact same general was seriously injured on the battleground however endured, the mayor said.

A member of Ukraine’s parliament, Yurii Mysyagin, said that the “the British ‘Storm Shadow’ came to visit accurately”.

A senior Russian general who was combating in Ukraine has actually said he was all of a sudden dismissed from his position after he implicated the Moscow defence ministry’s management of betraying his soldiers over absence of adequate assistance.

In a Telegram post released late last night, General Ivan Popov said he had actually raised concerns about “the lack of counter-battery combat, the absence of artillery reconnaissance stations and the mass deaths and injuries of our brothers from enemy artillery.”

He was the leader of the 58th Combined Arms Army, leading the Russian attack in the Zaporizhzhia area.

“I also raised a number of other problems and expressed it all at the highest level frankly and extremely harshly,” he said in the audio message.

“I had no right to lie, therefore, I outlined all the problematic issues that exist today in the army in terms of combat work and support.”

He included that the Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu “got rid of me” by signing the order.

Popov implicated the senior Russian leader of striking the battalion from the back “treacherously and vilely decapitating the army at the most difficult and tense moment” while declaring Ukraine might not break through the Russian army from the front.

Russian foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin has actually said he and CIA equivalent William Burns had actually gone over “what to do with Ukraine“ in a phone call late last month, reported Russia’s TASS news agency.

Mr Naryshkin confirmed that his counterpart had raised “the events of 24 June”, when the Wagner mercenaries took control of a southern Russian city and advanced towards Moscow prior to reaching a handle the Kremlin to end the revolt.

This follows The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported on 30 June that the CIA director had actually called the Russian foreign intelligence chief to guarantee the Kremlin that the United States had no function in a quick mutiny a week previously by Russian mercenary employer Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner fighters.

Mr Naryshkin said that for the majority of the call, lasting about an hour, “we considered and discussed what to do with Ukraine“.

There were no immediate remarks from the CIA on TASS’s report.

The two leading intelligence officials have maintained a line of communication since the start of the Ukraine war at a time when other direct contacts between Moscow and Washington are at a minimum, with relations at their lowest point since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed fresh pledges of weapons and ammunition to fight Russia’s invasion along with longer-term security commitments from the West even as he expressed disappointment over the lack of a clear path for his country to join Nato as the alliance wrapped up its annual summit.

“The Ukrainian delegation is bringing home a significant security victory for the Ukraine, for our country, for our people, for our children,” he said while flanked by United States president Joe Biden and other leaders from the Group of Seven most effective democratic countries.

A joint statement provided by the G7 prepares for each country to work out contracts to help Ukraine boost its military over the long term.

Mr Zelensky explained the effort as a bridge towards ultimate Nato subscription and a deterrent versus Russia.“We will not waver,” Mr Biden pledged after the top in Lithuania ended.

“I mean that. Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”