Ukraine sank a Russian submarine in Crimea, hit a Russian airfield and destroyed Kerch bridge defences over the weekend, officials said. In the port of Sevastopol, the Rostov-on-Don – a Kilo-class submarine of Russia’s Black Sea fleet – was attacked and sunk, said the Ukrainian military general staff. An S400 anti-aircraft missile complex protecting the illegal Kerch bridge connecting Crimea with Russia was hit. The general staff added that Ukrainian forces hit the Morozovsk airfield in the Rostov region of Russia with a massive drone barrage, blowing up warehouses that stored ammunition including guided aerial bombs. Nasa satellite monitoring showed large fires at the airfield.
The governor in Russia’s Belgorod region said a woman was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on an apartment building in the town of Shebekino on Sunday. Ukrainian drones also damaged several other buildings in the town, he said. Ukraine denies attacking civilian targets inside Russia.
Ukraine has announced the mandatory evacuation of children and their guardians from areas in the Donetsk region where Russia has been claiming advances. “The enemy is bombing the towns and villages of these communities every day, so it was decided to evacuate children with their parents or other legal representatives,” said the Donetsk governor, Vadym Filashkin. He cited the town of Novogrodovka, about 20km (12 miles) from the village of Novoselivka Persha, which Russia claimed to have captured on Sunday. Filashkin said 744 children and their families had to be relocated to four regions of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been pictured alongside F-16 fighter jets as he officially acknowledged their arrival in Ukraine, Deborah Cole writes. Ukraine’s president met military pilots at an airbase flanked by two of the jets, with two more flying overhead. “I am proud of our guys who are mastering these jets and have already started using them for our country,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, will visit Malawi, Zambia and Mauritius this week in an effort to drum up support, his ministry said on Sunday. “Among the key topics will be the participation of African states in global efforts to restore a just peace for Ukraine and the world.” Mali’s military regime said on Sunday it was breaking diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing it of aiding rebels who recently inflicted heavy casualties on the junta’s troops and their backers from the Russian mercenary group Wagner.
A parliamentary inquiry is looking at whether Australia’s support for Ukraine has been “sufficient, timely and coordinated” across government and industry. Australia’s support for Ukraine has included 120 armoured Bushmaster vehicles. Mick Ryan, a retired Australian army major general who will present to the Senate inquiry on Monday, said Australia had dropped down the rankings to sit as only the sixth-largest non-Nato aid contributor as a percentage of GDP. “This needs to change, particularly as 2024 shapes up as a very tough year militarily and diplomatically for Ukraine,” his submission said.
