Key events
Russian hackers targeting war crimes investigations – Kyiv cyber defence chief
Russian spies are using hackers to target computer systems at law enforcement agencies in Ukraine in a bid to identify and obtain evidence related to alleged Russian war crimes, Ukraine’s cyber defence chief has told Reuters.
Yurii Shchyhol, head of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, which handles cyber defence, has claimed the hackers, working for Russia’s GRU and FSB intelligence agencies, have stepped up digital intrusion campaigns targeting the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office and departments documenting war crimes.
There’s been a change in direction, from a focus on energy facilities towards law enforcement institutions which had previously not been targeted that often.
“This shift, towards the courts, prosecutors and law enforcement units, shows that hackers are gathering evidence about Russian war crimes in Ukraine” with a view to following Ukraine’s investigations, he added.
The espionage activity will be flagged in an upcoming report by the service, due to be published on Monday.
The report, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, says hackers were also trying to gather intelligence on Russian nationals arrested in Ukraine, with a view to “help these individuals avoid prosecution and move them back to Russia”.
Russia’s foreign ministry and the FSB have not responded to requests from Reuters for comment. Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency could not be reached for comment.
Shchyhol claimed his department saw evidence that Russian hackers were accessing private security cameras within Ukraine to monitor the outcome of long-range missile and drone strikes.
We have documented several attempts to gain access to video cameras near the facilities they attacked, and to systems that provide information about the stability of the energy network.
“You need to understand that the cyber war will not end even after Ukraine wins on the battlefield,” Shchyhol added.
‘Extreme attrition and high turnover’ among Russia’s senior ranks – MoD
Three successive commanders of one of Russia’s most prestigious airborne regiments have either resigned or been killed since its invasion of Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.
In its latest intelligence update, the MoD lists 247th Guards Air Assault Landing Regiment commanders Col Vasily Popov and Col Konstantin Zizevsky as having died since February 2022, while Pytor Popov resigned.
“The experience of the 247th highlights the extreme attrition and high turnover in Russia’s deployed military, even amongst relatively senior ranks,” the MoD concludes.
Ukrainian forces mounted coordinated assaults on several villages in the eastern Donetsk region and are heavily shelling the city of Bakhmut, a Russian-installed official in the region said on Friday.
“Over the past 24 hours in the Krasnolimansk direction, the enemy took a number of actions and conducted combat reconnaissance in several directions at once,” Denis Pushilin said on social media.
He listed several villages in the north of Donetsk near the city of Lyman, which is under Ukrainian control, and claimed the assaults were suppressed by Russian forces.
Bakhmut was captured by Russian forces in May after months of brutal fighting but Ukrainian forces immediately began pushing back around its flanks and have recaptured several destroyed villages.
“The situation in [Bakhmut] remains hot, [the city] itself is under chaotic shelling,” Pushilin said in the video statement on social media.
Pushilin also said Ukrainian forces are massing assault battalions north of the town that once had an estimated population of 70,000 people.
Generals injured in strike on Russian navy’s Black Sea HQ
Nine people were killed and 16 injured, among them two generals, in a Ukrainian airstrike on Russia’s Black Sea naval headquarters in Crimea, according to the head of Ukrainian military intelligence.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, told the Voice of America that “among the wounded is the commander of the group, Col Gen [Alexander] Romanchuk, in a very serious condition. The chief of staff, Lt Gen [Oleg] Tsekov, is unconscious.”
A Ukrainian missile strike hit the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol on Friday. Footage posted on social media showed clouds of white smoke billowing from the rooftop of the building.
Soon after the strike Russia’s defence ministry said that one military serviceman was missing as a result of the assault.
Budanov did not confirm reports about the alleged death of the commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, Adm Viktor Sokolov.
“The number of casual military servicemen who are not employees of the headquarters is still being determined. These are military personnel who are on duty, security, and so on — they are not included in the list that I announced to you,” Budanov was quoted as saying by Voice of America.
Opening summary
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Mark Gerts with the latest.
Our top story this morning: nine people were killed and 16 injured, among them two generals, in a Ukrainian airstrike on Russia’s Black Sea naval headquarters in Crimea, according to the head of Ukrainian military intelligence.
Kyrylo Budanov told the Voice of America that “among the wounded” in the missile strike on Sevastopol on Friday is “the commander of the group, Col Gen [Alexander] Romanchuk, in a very serious condition. The chief of staff, Lt Gen [Oleg] Tsekov, is unconscious.”
But Budanov did not confirm reports about the alleged death of the commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, Adm Viktor Sokolov.
More on that shortly. In other developments:
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A Russian missile strike on civilian infrastructure in Kremenchuk in the central Poltava region of Ukraine killed one person and injured 15 others, the regions’ governor, Dmytro Lunin, said on Friday via Telegram. He said one child was among the injured and that Ukrainian air defences downed one of the missiles launched.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy has bolstered military aid to Ukraine following a visit to Canada, with Ottawa promising an extra C$650m ($482m) over the next three years. Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said the aid included money for 50 armoured vehicles. He will also send F-16 trainers for pilots and maintenance so Ukraine is able to maximise its use of donated fighter jets.
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Zelenskiy thanked Canada for its military support, and hailed the historic and communal ties between the two countries, in an impassioned speech at the Canadian parliament on Friday. “You’re always on the bright side of history … I have no doubt that you will choose the side of freedom and justice,” the Ukrainian president said.
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The US president, Joe Biden, has told Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the US will provide a small number of long-range missiles to help in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, three US officials and a congressional official told NBC News on Friday. The officials did not confirm when the missiles would be delivered.
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The Russian deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, held a meeting with Russian oil company managers on Friday to discuss the domestic fuel market, the government said. Russia temporarily banned exports of petrolium and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect, the government said on Thursday, without a specified end date.
