Russian officers stated Sunday that Moscow continues to be awaiting official affirmation from Ukraine {that a} deliberate alternate of 6,000 our bodies of troopers killed in motion will happen, reiterating allegations that Kyiv had postponed the swap.
On the entrance line in the battle, Russia stated that it had pushed into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk area.
Russian state media quoted Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, a consultant of the Russian negotiating group, as saying that Russia delivered the primary batch of 1,212 our bodies of Ukrainian troopers to the alternate web site on the border and is ready for affirmation from Ukraine, however that there have been “indicators” that the method of transferring the our bodies could be postponed till subsequent week.
Citing Zorin on her Telegram channel, Russian International Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova requested whether or not it was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “private choice to not take the our bodies of the Ukrainians” or whether or not “somebody from NATO prohibited it.”
Russia and Ukraine every accused the opposite on Saturday of endangering plans to swap 6,000 our bodies of troopers killed in motion, which was agreed upon throughout direct talks in Istanbul on Monday that in any other case made no progress towards ending the battle.
Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, led the Russian delegation. Medinsky stated that Kyiv known as a last-minute halt to an imminent swap. In a Telegram put up on Saturday, he stated that refrigerated vans carrying greater than 1,200 our bodies of Ukrainian troops from Russia had already reached the agreed alternate web site on the border when the information got here.
In response, Ukraine stated that Russia was taking part in “soiled video games” and manipulating information.
In response to the primary Ukrainian authority coping with such swaps, no date had been set for repatriating the our bodies. In a press release on Saturday, the company additionally accused Russia of submitting lists of prisoners of battle for repatriation that didn’t correspond to agreements reached on Monday.
It wasn’t instantly potential to reconcile the conflicting claims.
In different developments, Russia’s Protection Ministry stated Sunday that its forces had reached the western fringe of the Donetsk area, one of many 4 provinces Russia illegally annexed in 2022, and that troops have been “creating the offensive” within the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk area. This could be the primary time Russian troops had pushed into the area within the greater than three-year-old battle.
Ukraine didn’t instantly reply to the declare, and The Related Press couldn’t instantly confirm it.
Russia’s advance would mark a big setback for Ukraine’s already stretched forces as peace talks stay stalled and Russian troops have made incremental features elsewhere.
One individual was killed and one other significantly wounded in Russian aerial strikes on the jap Ukrainian Kharkiv area. These strikes got here after Russian assaults focused the regional capital, additionally known as Kharkiv, on Saturday. Regional police in Kharkiv stated on Sunday that the dying toll from Saturday’s assaults had elevated to 6 individuals. Greater than two dozen others have been wounded.
Russia fired a complete of 49 exploding drones and decoys and three missiles in a single day, Ukraine’s air drive stated Sunday. Forty drones have been shot down or electronically jammed.
Russia’s protection ministry stated that its forces shot down 61 Ukrainian drones in a single day, together with close to the capital.
5 individuals have been wounded Sunday in a Ukrainian drone assault on a parking zone in Russia’s Belgorod area, in response to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov. Two individuals have been wounded when a Ukrainian drone assault sparked a hearth at a chemical plant within the Tula area, native authorities stated.
Russian authorities stated early Sunday that Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, two worldwide airports serving Moscow, quickly suspended flights due to a Ukrainian drone assault. Later within the day, Domodedovo halted flights quickly for a second time, together with Zhukovsky airport.
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