Russia-Ukraine live news: Rockets kill six in Donetsk – official | Russia-Ukraine war News
- At least six people are killed and more than 30 are feared trapped after Russian rockets hit a building in Donetsk, according to a Ukrainian official.
- Canada says it will return to Germany the Russian turbine needed to maintain the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. Ukraine had lobbied against the move saying it would weaken Western sanctions on Russia.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany as well as several other top foreign envoys.
- The United States promises to provide nearly $368m in further humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
- Ukraine says Russian troops are pursuing “relentless” shelling on its eastern Donetsk region.
Here are all the latest updates:
Russian rocket attack kills six in Donetsk: Official
At least six people have been killed and more than 30 are feared trapped after Russian Uragan rockets brought down a five-storey apartment block in the Donetsk region, according to an official.
Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram that the strike took place on Saturday evening in the town of Chasiv Yar.
He said six people had been confirmed killed and five wounded, and that according to information from residents, at least 34 people were likely trapped in the ruins.
Russian gas cutoff most likely scenario: French FM
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said a cutoff of Russian gas shipments is currently the most likely scenario.
“Let’s prepare for a cut off Russian gas. Today it’s the most likely scenario,” he told a business and economics conference in southern France.
Russia intends to annex part or all of Kharkiv region: Think-tank
A US-based research institute is warning that the Russian government has broader territorial aims than capturing Ukraine’s Donbas and likely intends to annex part or all of the north-eastern Kharkiv region.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) based its assessment on statements by Russia-backed authorities in the region claiming Kharkiv is an “inalienable part of Russian land”.
It said the Russia-backed authorities made the claim while unveiling a new flag for the region, which contained the Russian imperial double-headed eagle and symbols from the 18th century Kharkiv coat of arms.
It added, “The Kharkiv Oblast occupation government’s speed in establishing a civilian administration on July 6 and introducing martial law in occupied Kharkiv Oblast on July 8 further indicates that the Kremlin is aggressively pursuing the legitimization and consolidation of the Kharkiv Oblast occupation administration’s power to support this broader territorial aim.”
Navigation resumes on Danube-Black Sea Canal
Ukraine’s Ports Authority has said that ships carrying agricultural products can now use the Bystroye Canal that links the Danube River with the Black Sea.
The move was made possible by the Ukrainian recapture of Snake Island from the Russians, it said.
Ukrainian soldiers begin UK training programme
The United Kingdom has announced the start of a new military programme that aims to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the coming months.
In a statement, it said the first cohort of Ukrainian participants has now arrived in the UK.
“Using the world-class expertise of the British Army we will help Ukraine to rebuild its forces and scale-up its resistance as they defend their country’s sovereignty and their right to choose their own future,” said British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who visited the training programme this week.
The training will give volunteer recruits with little to no military experience the skills to be effective in front-line combat. Based on the UK’s basic soldier training, the course covers weapons handling, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics and the Law of Armed Conflict.
Anger over Canadian decision to return repaired turbine
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress has denounced the Canadian government’s decision to return a repaired Russian turbine to Germany for maintenance on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
Alexandra Chyczij, national president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said in a statement, “Our community is deeply disappointed by the Canadian government’s decision to bow to Russian blackmail.”
He said Canada is setting “a dangerous precedent that will lead to the weakening of the sanctions regime imposed on Russia”.
Canada to return repaired Russian turbine
Canada has decided to return to Germany a repaired Russian turbine that is needed to maintain the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
“Canada will grant a time-limited and revocable permit for Siemens Canada to allow the return of repaired Nord Stream 1 turbines to Germany, supporting Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas,” said Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
“Absent a necessary supply of natural gas, the German economy will suffer very significant hardship and Germans themselves will be at risk of being unable to heat their homes as winter approaches,” he said in a statement.
The decision came after Russia’s Gazprom cut capacity along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Europe to just 40 percent of usual levels last month, citing the delayed return of equipment being serviced by Germany’s Siemens Energy in Canada, and not market conditions amid the Ukraine war.
Germany wants Canada to return the turbine to Gazprom, but Ukraine had urged Ottawa to keep the turbine, saying a return would violate sanctions on Moscow.
The turbine would be sent to Germany first, which will then deliver it to Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom, a government source told the Reuters news agency earlier this week.
Sacking of envoys ‘normal part of diplomatic practice’: Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s president says the dismissal of several of the country’s senior ambassadors was a rotation that was a “normal part of diplomatic practice”.
It was not clear if the envoys would be assigned new positions.
Those sacked included Ukraine’s ambassadors to Germany, India, the Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary.
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Read all the updates from Saturday, July 9, here.