Ukrainian forces are restraining one of Russia’s most powerful offensives since the start of Moscow’s 2022 invasion, the top commander of Kyiv’s forces has said. Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s military commander, said: “The armed forces of Ukraine are holding back one of the most powerful Russian offensives from launching a full-scale invasion.” Moscow said on Saturday it had taken two more settlements along the Donbas frontline in eastern Ukraine. Syrski added: “The enemy does not stop assault actions in several directions, using air superiority and long-range firepower, and also has a significant advantage in artillery shells.” Syrskyi said he told the chair of the US joint chiefs of staff, Gen Charles Brown, of the Ukrainian military’s “urgent needs” and that Brown assured him of continued US support. Washington said on Friday it would provide an additional $425m in military aid to Ukraine.
A Russian air attack on Kyiv damaged buildings, roads and several power lines, the capital’s military administration said early on Sunday, after the military said air defences were trying to repel a drone attack. The attack came in waves and approached the city from different directions, said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration. It was Russia’s second drone attack on Kyiv in as many nights. According to preliminary information, all of the attack drones were destroyed, Popko said. Falling debris damaged an entrance and windows of at least five buildings in the Shevchenkivskyi and Holosiivskyi districts, including a hostel and windows in an office building.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that strikes were reported in the central Poltava and north-eastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions. “This year, we have faced the threat of ‘Shahed’ drones almost every night – sometimes in the morning, and even during the day,” he said on social media, referring to the Iranian-made attack drones used by Russia. The Ukrainian air force said air defences destroyed 39 of 71 Russian drones launched during Moscow’s air attacks on Ukraine overnight to Saturday, with 21 drones “locationally lost” and five turned back to Russia.
Ukraine has called on Moscow to provide a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war ready for a swap after Russia accused Ukraine of sabotaging the exchange process. In requesting the list of Ukrainians from his Russian counterpart on Sunday, the Ukrainian human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, wrote online: “We are always ready to exchange prisoners of war!” On Saturday, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine was essentially sabotaging the process and had refused to take back its own citizens. She said Russia’s defence ministry had offered to hand over 935 Ukrainian PoWs but that Ukraine had taken only 279. Lubinets, in turn, said Ukraine was always ready to accept its citizens and accused Russia of slowing down the exchange process. Kyiv and Moscow’s last PoW exchange took place in mid-October, with each side bringing home 95 prisoners.
A court in Russia’s far east has said it convicted Robert Shonov, a former US consular employee, of illegally and covertly cooperating with the US government to harm Russia’s national security and had jailed him for nearly five years. Russia’s FSB security service detained Shonov, a Russian, in Vladivostok in May last year and accused him of taking money to covertly supply US diplomats with information that was potentially harmful to Russia, including on Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine. The US on Saturday condemned the conviction as “an egregious injustice”.
A US citizen who Russia said was spirited out of eastern Ukraine by its special forces after reportedly helping the Kremlin target Ukrainian troops said in Moscow on Saturday that he had asked for Russian citizenship. “My name is Daniel Martindale,” he told a press conference reported by state media. “Here is my passport. It went through the war with me, you can see in what condition it is,” he said in English, holding up what appeared to be a well-used US passport and birth certificate. He said he was under no duress and wanted to receive Russian citizenship. The US embassy in Moscow did not immediately comment.
