Maksym Butkevych tells of pattern of beatings and threats of execution and sexual violence to extract ‘confession’ The first moments in Russian captivity for Maksym Butkevych saw humiliations that would pale in comparison with what would soon follow. Taken prisoner in the early months of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Butkevych and his fellow soldiers – who had been lured into a trap on the eastern frontline – at first were punched and robbed. “There were a few kicks and punches,” recalls Butkevych, who had been a human rights defender and journalist before Russia’s invasion compelled him to volunteer as a soldier. Continue reading...

Ukrainian military intelligence claims Su-30 destroyed over waters near Russian port city of Novorossiisk, drawing no comment from Moscow. What we know on day 1,166 * See all our Ukraine war coverage Ukraine has destroyed a Russian Su-30 fighter jet using a missile fired from a seaborne drone, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, in what it said was the world’s first downing of a combat plane by a maritime drone. The GUR’s statement on social media on Saturday said the fighter had been shot down by a military intelligence unit called Group 13 on Friday over waters near Novorossiisk, a major Russian port city on the Black Sea. The Russian defence ministry did not comment on the Ukrainian claim, but an authoritative Russian blogger believed to be close to the ministry said the jet had been shot down. “The pilots ejected and were picked up by civilian sailors,” the blogger, who goes by the name Rybar, said on Telegram. Meanwhile, the mayor of Novorossiisk declared a state of emergency on Saturday after local authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack had damaged a grain terminal and several residential buildings, injuring five people. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed a three-day truce ordered by Vladimir Putin as theatrics but said Kyiv was ready for a full ceasefire. “This is more of a theatrical performance on his part, because in two or three days it is impossible to develop a plan for the next steps to end the war,” the Ukrainian president said on Friday in remarks embargoed until Saturday. Moscow claimed the truce, set to coincide with its second world war commemorations on 9 May, was aimed at testing Kyiv’s “readiness” for long-term peace. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, said on Saturday that nobody could guarantee Kyiv would survive to see 10 May if Ukraine attacked Moscow during the 9 May celebrations. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not be “playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin’s exit from isolation on 9 May”. The Kremlin has rejected calls by Kyiv and Washington for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. A Russian overnight drone attack on Kyiv damaged several residential buildings and set cars on fire throughout the city, the military and officials of the Ukrainian capital said on Sunday. Falling debris from destroyed drones sparked fires at residential buildings in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts, the head of Kyiv’s military administration said on social media. Timur Tkachenko added that several cars throughout the city also caught fire from falling drone debris. The mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram that medics were called to the Sviatoshynskyi district, west of the city centre, where they provided assistance. Kyiv, its surrounding region and the eastern half of Ukraine were under air raid alerts for about an hour, starting soon after midnight on Sunday local time (2100 GMT). Russian shelling killed two people in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region on Saturday, while a drone strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson left one other person dead, regional officials said. In the central region of Cherkasy, a Russian drone attack late on Saturday sparked several fires, said the governor, Ihor Taburets. There were injuries, according to preliminary information. Continue reading...