Russia Ukraine war: Kyiv makes ‘breakthrough’ on Dnipro river

A senior Ukrainian official has condoned US President Joe Biden’s comparison last night between Hamas and Vladimir Putin.

Mr Biden made the comparison during a public appeal to the US to back support for a new foreign aid package to Ukraine and Israel.

Andriy Yermak, the top advisor to Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelensky, wrote on Telegram this morning that both Hamas and Putin are “terrorists”.

“Hamas and Putin really have a lot in common,” he said. “They want to destroy democracy, destroy nations through genocide.

“Hamas are terrorists. Russia is a state that behaves like a terrorist organization.

“The tool for fighting terrorism is the strength and unity of the democratic world. Only this will work.”

Footage has shown Ukrainian attacks on a Russian convoy in Avdiivka, the current flashpoint of fighting on the frontline.

Ukraine claimed the 53rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed roughly 10 pieces of Russian equipment during this attack.

Russia has suffered significant equipment losses during its offensive on the eastern Ukrianian city, inlcuding dozens of tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs).

Ukrainian forces are fighting off a new Russian military onslaught in the bombarded eastern city of Avdiivka where intense fighting has been concentrated this month, senior military officials said.

“The enemy is not relenting in attempts to break through our defences and surround (Avdiivka),” Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhnyi said in a video posted on Telegram in which he is seen conferring with officers in Avdiivka and Kupiansk.

“The enemy is actively bringing in assault units and large amounts of armoured equipment and using aircraft and artillery,” the Ukrainian general said.

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Sasha Skochilenko, 33 , appeared in court on Thursday in St Petersburg, Russia. The artist and musician was arrested in April last year facing charges of spreading false information about the army. She is accused of replacing supermarket price tags with slogans protesting against Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Russia said on Thursday it was coordinating its policy in the Middle East and North Africa with China, an increasingly close ally that President Vladimir Putin visited this week where he was treated as a guest of honour at a delegation including multiple countries.

The country sees itself as a potential broker between Israel and Hamas who triggered the current crisis with a surprise assault on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people. Israel has responded with aerial bombardments that Gaza authorities say have killed more than 3,500 Palestinians and left more than 12,000 wounded.

Moscow has tried to put some of the blame for the crisis on the United States, the most powerful ally of Ukraine, against which Russia began an all-out invasion last year

Ukraine forces have made some headway against Russian forces in southern Ukraine. However, the progress comes with new Russian attacks around the eastern town of Avdiivka, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.

Oleksandr Stupun, a military spokesperson, reported an advance of 400 metres (0.25 mile) to the southwest of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Zaporizhia is a city on the Dnieper River in southeastern Ukraine.

There are 30,000 Ukrainians missing according to Suspilne Media as reported by Sky News.

The Head of the International Commission of Missing Persons said: “Right now it’s about 30,000 people. And that’s just civilians.

“I’m not sure exactly who that number includes. We’re trying to figure out what those numbers are and what they mean.”

NATO is stepping up patrols in the Baltic Sea following recent damage to undersea infrastructure in the region, the transatlantic military alliance said on Thursday.

“The increased measures include additional surveillance and reconnaissance flights, including with maritime patrol aircraft, NATO AWACS planes, and drones. A fleet of four NATO minehunters is also being dispatched to the area,” NATO said in a statement.

The move followed announcements by authorities of damage to a Baltic Sea telecom cable connecting Sweden and Estonia and to a Finnish-Estonian pipeline and cable at around the same time earlier this month.

The Su-27 fighter jets were sent to intercept “three air targets” near the border, with Russia claiming to have identified them as a British RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and two Typhoon fighter planes.

“As the Russian fighters approached, the foreign military aircraft turned away from the state border of the Russian Federation,” the statement claimed. It was not clear how close the planes came to each other.

The Black Sea has become an increasingly important theatre in the war between Russia and Ukraine, now nearing the end of its 20th month.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he had ordered Russian planes armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to patrol over the Black Sea.