Russia Ukraine war latest news today: Investigations reveal how Putin most likely blew up Kakhovka dam

A number of investigations printed late final week added to the physique of proof suggesting Russia was chargeable for the destruction of the Soviet-era New Kahkovka dam in Ukraine earlier this month.

The dam’s destruction unleashed a torrent of water flooding a big stretch of the Kherson area, with officers warning it might result in water shortages and different long-term impacts for many years to come back.

Russia has denied blowing up the dam and blamed it on Ukrainian forces, whereas Kyiv stated it believed Moscow ordered the dam’s destruction in an effort to decelerate its long-awaited army counteroffensive.

Now, a staff of worldwide authorized consultants helping Ukraine’s prosecutors of their investigation stated in preliminary findings on Friday it was “extremely probably” the collapse in Ukraine’s Kherson area was attributable to explosives planted by Russians.

And an investigation printed by the New York Instances described the destruction of the dam – which was managed by Russia on the time – as an “inside job”.

The Instances investigation cited engineers and explosive consultants, analysing accessible movies, images and satellite tv for pc imagery of the dam, to conclude that “the proof clearly suggests the dam was crippled by an explosion set off by the aspect that controls it: Russia”.

It described the dam as nearly indestructible from exterior forces corresponding to shelling, as a substitute saying that proof suggests an explosive cost in a passageway working via the dam’s concrete base was detonated, destroying the construction.

The Instances cited engineers as saying solely a full examination of the dam after the water drains from it might conclusively set up the sequence of occasions resulting in its destruction.

“Erosion from water cascading via the gates might have led to a failure if the dam had been poorly designed, or the concrete was substandard, however engineers referred to as that unlikely,” the newspaper stated.

Rishi Sunak will name on companies and buyers to “match Ukraine’s bravery on the battlefield” by stepping up assist for the nation’s financial restoration.

The prime minister will urge the non-public sector to “assist the nation rebuild and recuperate” in an effort to create a “financially stronger, technologically superior Ukraine”.

Mr Sunak will deal with greater than 1,000 overseas dignitaries from 61 states on the Ukraine Restoration Convention subsequent week – the most important worldwide convention to be hosted by the UK this 12 months.

The viewers will even comprise enterprise chiefs and international buyers.

The Ukrainian army says it has destroyed a “vital” ammunition depot close to the Russian-occupied port metropolis of Henichesk within the southern area of Kherson.

Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa army administration, stated on Sunday: “Our armed forces dealt blow within the morning – and a really loud one – within the village of Rykove, Henichesk district, within the quickly occupied territory of the Kherson area.

“There was a really vital ammunition depot. It was destroyed.”

Ukrainian media posted movies exhibiting an unlimited plume of smoke rising far on the horizon with sounds of blasts.

Reuters stated it couldn’t independently confirm the data, and there was no rapid remark from Russia on the alleged assault.

Rykove is about 20km (12 miles) from Henichesk, a port metropolis alongside the Sea of Azov in southern Ukraine, which has been occupied by Kremlin forces because the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin met a gaggle of leaders of African international locations yesterday, after they travelled to Ukraine and Russia on a self-styled “peace mission”, however the assembly ended with no seen progress.

The seven African leaders – presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia, in addition to Egypt’s prime minister and high envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda – first visited Ukraine on Friday and met with president Volodymyr Zelensky as they mentioned efforts to finish the practically 16-month-old warfare.

The African leaders then travelled to St Petersburg on Saturday to satisfy Mr Putin, who was attending Russia’s showpiece worldwide financial discussion board.

Particulars concerning the delegation’s proposals had been skinny.

International minister Sergey Lavrov stated after the three-hour assembly that the Africans’ peace plan consisted of 10 parts, however “was not formulated on paper”.

“The peace initiative proposed by African international locations may be very troublesome to implement, troublesome to check positions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated.

However “President Putin has proven curiosity in contemplating it”.

“He spoke about our place. Not all provisions will be correlated with the principle parts of our place, however this doesn’t imply that we don’t must proceed working,” Mr Peskov stated.

British prime minister Rishi Sunak will ask entrepreneurs and companies to step up funding in Ukraine at a convention subsequent week to assist it rebuild after Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will make a digital look on the two-day occasion which begins in London on Wednesday, organisers stated.

“Ukraine’s bravery on the battlefield should be matched by the imaginative and prescient of the non-public sector to assist the nation rebuild and recuperate,” Mr Sunak will say, in line with the textual content of his speech launched by his workplace yesterday

“A financially stronger, technologically superior Ukraine will bolster its skill to drive Russia again behind its borders,” Mr Sunak will inform dignitaries and firm bosses on the Ukraine Restoration Convention, in line with the assertion.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing this morning on a high-stakes diplomatic mission to attempt to cool excessive US-China tensions which have set many all over the world on edge.

The listing of disagreements and potential battle factors is lengthy: starting from commerce with Taiwan, human rights situations in China to Hong Kong, in addition to the Chinese language army assertiveness within the South China Sea to Russia’s warfare in Ukraine.

Mr Blinken was to start two days of talks with senior Chinese language officers within the afternoon. He’s the highest-level American official to go to China since president Joe Biden took workplace and the primary secretary of state to make the journey in 5 years.

The journey comes after he postponed plans to go to in February after the shootdown of a Chinese language surveillance balloon over the US.

Mr Blinken plans to satisfy with Chinese language overseas minister Qin Gang on Sunday, high diplomat Wang Yi, and presumably president Xi Jinping on Monday, in line with US officers.

Shortly earlier than leaving, Mr Blinken emphasised the significance of the US and China establishing and sustaining higher traces of communication. The US desires to ensure “that the competitors now we have with China would not veer into battle” as a consequence of avoidable misunderstandings, he informed reporters.

Biden and Xi had made commitments to enhance communications “exactly in order that we are able to ensure we’re speaking as clearly as doable to keep away from doable misunderstandings and miscommunications,” Mr Blinken stated Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted opening remarks by African leaders in search of peace within the Ukraine battle to ship a listing of causes – together with his tried-and-tested tactic of blaming the West – as to why he claims a lot of their proposals are misguided.

Mr Putin first welcomed the presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia, in addition to Egypt’s prime minister and high envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda to the 18th-century Konstantinovsky Palace on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. He pressured Russia‘s dedication to the continent. However after displays from the Comoran, Senegalese and South African leaders, he stepped in to problem the assumptions of the plan earlier than the spherical of feedback from all of the representatives might go any additional.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa informed Mr Putin: “The warfare can not go on eternally. All wars should be settled and are available to an finish at some stage,” he stated. “And we’re right here to speak a really clear message that we wish this warfare to be ended.”

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Ukraine has celebrated the primary territorial good points of its long-trailed counteroffensive towards the invading Russian forces.

Unverified images and video showing on Sunday and on Monday morning confirmed Ukrainian troopers holding their nation’s blue and yellow flag aloft in triumph within the japanese villages of Storozheve, Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka in Donetsk, suggesting that they had been recaptured from occupying enemy troops.

Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar posted one of many images from Storozheve and thanked the thirty fifth Separate Brigade of Marines for liberating it.

President Vladimir Putin on Friday touted Russia’s prospects on the nation’s major worldwide financial discussion board regardless of heavy worldwide sanctions imposed due to the warfare in Ukraine.

Western officers and buyers steered away from this 12 months’s St. Petersburg Worldwide Financial Discussion board that for many years has been Russia’s premier occasion for attracting overseas capital and is usually likened to the Davos World Financial Discussion board.

Ukraine’s ministry of defence has tweeted some messages of assist to its troops because the battle rages on.

“When the solar goes down, “they” come to destroy our cities and kill our folks,” learn one message. “Our mission begins at every sundown. We should defend our folks.”

President Zelensky earlier stated: “Thanks to each soldier! To everybody who fights with the enemy, rescues our troopers after wounds, trains our troopers, and provides all the things needed for the Ukrainian defence!”