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Italian reporter shot in Kherson ambush, Russia says Poland seized money from Warsaw embassy

Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions from a howitzer in Ukraine’s Kherson region. (AP: Libkos)

A reporter for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica has been injured and his Ukrainian fixer killed when they were ambushed in southern Ukraine, most likely by Russian snipers, the paper said in an article on its website.

La Repubblica said correspondent Corrado Zunino and fixer Bogdan Bitik were fired on near a major bridge in the southern city of Kherson after passing through a series of Ukrainian checkpoints.

Russian forces left the western part of the city last year but regularly shell it from the eastern portion.

La Repubblica said the two men had been ambushed, "most likely by Russian snipers".

Separately, the office of Ukraine's prosecutor-general said a foreign reporter had been injured and a Ukrainian civilian died but did not name them.

It said Russians shelled Kherson, and the reporter received a gunshot injury to the shoulder.

Mr Zunino said in the article he had been injured in four places and was being treated in a Kherson hospital.

The newspaper published a photo of what it said was his bullet proof vest, with damage from a projectile clearly visible.

Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russian forces left the western part of Kherson last year but regularly shell it from the eastern portion. (AP: Nina Lyashonok)

Russia says Poland seized money from Warsaw embassy

Moscow's ambassador to Warsaw, Sergei Andreyev, said Polish prosecutors seized "significant" amounts of money from the frozen bank accounts of the Russian embassy and trade mission.

In an interview with Russia's RIA news agency on Wednesday, Mr Andreyev said the move was "a flagrant violation" of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

Poland blocked the accounts shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 on the basis that they could be used for money-laundering or terrorist finance.

"We received a notification from the prosecutor's office that funds from the embassy and trade mission's accounts at Santander Bank have been transferred to the accounts of the prosecutor's office," Mr Andreyev told RIA.

The accounts held "significant funds" in both US dollars and zlotys, Mr Andreyev said.

Demonstrators have frequently gathered outside the Russian embassy in Warsaw since the invasion of Ukraine began. (Reuters: Slawomir Kaminski/Agencja Wyborcza.pl)

Lukasz Lapczynski, a spokesman for the Polish state prosecutor's office, said he would respond on Thursday.

Poland's foreign ministry referred inquiries to the justice ministry, which was not immediately available for comment.

Poland has positioned itself as one of Kyiv's staunchest allies, playing a leading role in persuading allies to provide Ukraine with heavy weaponry.

ABC/wires

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