Evacuation ordered in western Ukraine after Russian attack on infrastructure
Authorities in the western Ukrainian region of Vinnytsya ordered an evacuation early on Saturday, saying an infrastructure site had been struck in a Russian attack, Reuters reports.
“At this time there is no need for a general evacuation,” apart from in the immediate area around the site of the hit, said Vasyl Polishchuk, the head of administration for the town of Kalynivka, according to the town’s website.
It did not say what target had been struck or what weapon had been used.
Regional governor Serhiy Borzov had reported the hit on an unspecified infrastructure site, a term Ukrainian officials sometimes use to refer to facilities involved in power generation or other industries.
Earlier reports said drones had been operating in the area.
Key events
Opening summary
Welcome back to our ongoing live coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is Adam Fulton and here’s a snapshot of the latest to bring you up to speed.
Authorities in the western Ukrainian region of Vinnytsya ordered an evacuation early on Saturday around what they said was an infrastructure site that had been hit in a Russian attack.
Earlier reports said drones had been operating in the area.
More on that story shortly. In other news as it turns 9am in Kyiv:
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Vladimir Putin said residents of Russian-held regions in Ukraine expressed their desire to be part of Russia in recent local elections, reaffirming referendums last year that western countries denounced as illegal. In a video address released early on Saturday on the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s announcement it was annexing four parts of Ukraine, the Russian president said the choice to join Russia was reinforced by this month’s local elections that returned officials supporting Russia’s annexation. Western countries dismissed the outcomes as meaningless, underpinned by mass coercion of voters. Flag-waving Russians gathered for a concert in Red Square on Friday as the Kremlin held celebrations to mark the annexations.
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The UK government has imposed an asset freeze and travel bans on Russian officials in the annexed Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Crimea as part of its broader sanctions against Russia.
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Seven European Union countries have ordered ammunition under a landmark EU procurement scheme to get urgently needed artillery shells to Ukraine and replenish depleted western stocks, according to the EU agency in charge.
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Vladimir Putin has signed a decree setting out the routine autumn conscription campaign, calling up 130,000 citizens for statutory military service, a document posted on the government website showed. Separately, Putin reportedly met Andrei Troshev, formerly a top Wagner mercenary commander, to discuss how voluntary fighting units are used in the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Friday.
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German chancellor Olaf Scholz and the leaders of five Central Asian nations on Friday pledged to cooperate closely on sanctions in a carefully worded statement that did not pinpoint Russia. The gathering of Scholz and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan in Berlin was the first of its kind in an EU country.
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Top US general Mark Milley was to retire on Friday after four years as chair of the US joint chiefs of staff. Milley’s tenure included providing military assistance to Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
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A Russian blogger who criticised highway patrol officers was jailed for eight-and-a-half years on Friday after a court alleged he posted “fake news” about Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. Alexander Nozdrinov, 38, ran a small YouTube channel where he posted videos of highway patrol officers from his home region of Krasnodar allegedly breaking the law. He was detained in March 2022 after investigators accused him of posting a photo of destroyed buildings on social media with the caption: “Ukrainian cities after the arrival of liberators”.
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Norway says it will start barring Russian-registered passenger cars from entering the country starting next week, in a move that mirrors sanctions already imposed by the EU against Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
