A summary of today's developments
Ukraine has introduced emergency energy shutdowns in Odesa after a “technological accident” at a high-voltage electricity substation, which has previously been damaged by Russian attacks. Half a million people are without power and officials have warned repairs could take weeks. The government said it would appeal to Turkey for help and ordered the energy ministry’s stocks of high-power generators to be sent to the city.
Germany has collected evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, the country’s prosecutor general said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday, adding that he saw a need for a judicial process at international level. He said the amount of evidence was in the “three-digit” range.
Pete Reed, a US humanitarian medic, was killed during fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut when his evacuation vehicle was hit by a missile, according to Global Outreach Doctors, with whom he was working.
More than 18.1 million border crossings have taken place out of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, according to data from the United Nations.
The United States attorney general, Merrick Garland, has authorised the country to begin using seized Russian money to aid Ukraine, according to US media. The money would come from assets confiscated from Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev after his April indictment for alleged sanctions evasions, he added.
A prisoner exchange has seen the bodies of killed British volunteers Christopher Parry and Andrew Bagshaw returned by Russian troops. They were both killed in Ukraine last month. A total of 116 Ukrainian troops have come home after being captured, with 63 being sent back to Russia.
Portugal has become the latest country to say it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, prime minister António Costa said on Saturday. An inventory has been done of its stocks, with Lisbon asking Germany for parts to help repair them so they can be deployed to Ukraine.
The number of Russian soldiers around the southern city of Mariupol has increased by about 10,000 to 15,000, according to an adviser to the city’s mayor. Petro Andriushchenko wrote on Telegram that it means the total amount of troops is now about 30,000. They are stationed in villages in the district.
A World Health Organization report on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has said that 17.7 million people have been left in need of assistance and 7.5 million Ukrainian refugees have been displaced across Europe. It has triggered a dispute between the US and Russia, with the Kremlin saying it is politically motivated and Washington has said it needs to be updated, Reuters reports.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has spoken to UK prime minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday. Zelenskiy said he had thanked Sunak for the training of Ukrainian troops so they will be able to use British Challenger tanks.
Officials have warned repairs could take weeks after the fire at an overloaded electrical substation in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Saturday, leaving nearly 500,000 people without power.
The government said it would appeal to Turkey for help and ordered the energy ministry’s stocks of high-power generators to be sent to the city.
The CEO of the state grid operator, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, said critical equipment that had already been damaged several times by Russian missile strikes burst into flames when it could no longer “withstand the load”.
“(The equipment) has been struck so many times that its state leaves much to be desired,” Kudrytskyi told a briefing.
He added any further Russian missile or drone attacks could make the situation even worse.
“We will do everything we can for the improvement of the power supply situation to take days rather than weeks,” he said.
