‘There could be children’: search of Kremenchuk ruins continues
Two Russian X-22 cruise missiles struck a busy shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday afternoon, killing at least 18 people and injuring dozens more. The Guardian’s Lorenzo Tondo was at the scene, where plumes of black smoke and flames billowed from the once-bustling Amstor shopping center as emergency crews scrambled to search for victims. As night fell on the city, emergency workers and soldiers combed through blackened debris and twisted metal as the burned building was illuminated by floodlights. Dozens of people who feared for their loved ones were inside the building when the deadly blasts ripped through it, watching in grim silence. A giant crane removed parts of the collapsed roof and rescuers carefully placed fragments of charred human remains found in the rubble on stretchers. Ukraine’s defense ministry said the attack, which is likely to be responsible for one of the war’s highest civilian death tolls in a single strike, was deliberately timed to coincide with the mall’s busiest hours and cause the maximum number of losses. “We recovered many bodies, but there are definitely others trapped under the rubble,” said Oleksii, 46, a firefighter. “This is usually a very crowded place.” The search for survivors continues. World leaders were quick to denounce Russia’s strike as “heinous” and a war crime. Russia’s defense ministry has since claimed, without evidence, that the fire was caused by “the explosion of stored ammunition for Western weapons” and that the mall was “inoperative” at the time. Ukrainian rescue teams at the Amstor shopping center in Kremenchuk after the Russian missiles hit. Photo: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian
Ukraine pushes back Russian forces from Snake Island
Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian occupation troops from Snake Island, the strategic Black Sea outpost off Ukraine’s southern coast, now synonymous with Ukraine’s relentless commitment to defend its territory since the start of the war. Retaking the vital Black Sea island could loosen the grip of Russia’s blockade on Ukrainian ports and weaken any future land attack on Russia, Isobel Koshiw explained. Russia said it decided to withdraw as a “gesture of goodwill”. Ukraine’s military said the Russians left the island in two speedboats after a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes on Thursday night. “KABOOM!” tweeted Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential administration. “No more Russian troops on Snake Island. Our armed forces did an excellent job.” The Ukrainian military shared an image of what appeared to be the island, as seen from the air, with several columns of black smoke rising above it. “Right now, Snake Island is being destroyed by fire, explosions are going off,” it said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the military success “significantly changes the situation in the Black Sea”. Smoke rises from Snake Island, off the coast of Ukraine, on Thursday in an image reportedly taken by Ukrainian forces. Photo: Operational Command of Ukraine South/Reuters
‘I thought the bombing was over’: war returns to Kyiv
When the Kiev opera house reopened in late May, it was seen by many as a symbol of a return to normality after months of war, with the tunes of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville replacing the noise of Russian artillery. The main street of Khreshchatyk Street was once again buzzing with bustling cafes, businesses and bars. Oleksandr Litvin, a 23-year-old marketing manager, considered the weeks of quiet and decided it was time to return to his apartment in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, returning last weekend after months away. “I left Kyiv immediately after the invasion,” he told Lorenzo Tondo of the Guardian in Kyiv. “I moved to a village in the Zakarpattia region, the westernmost region of Ukraine. My friends told me that the capital was pretty safe now, and I thought maybe it was time to go back after more than three months. I thought the bombing was over. But I was wrong.” Four explosions in a matter of seconds in the early hours of Sunday jolted Litvin and the entire city back to a harsh reality. Plumes of smoke rose above buildings next to his apartment – home to a cluster of universities, restaurants and art galleries – as Russian missiles fired from the Caspian Sea served as a reminder that the Ukrainian capital is still in a conflict zone. Two women pass an anti-war poster in Kyiv. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky/AP
G7 and NATO pledge to support ‘as long as necessary’
The Guardian’s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reported from Elmau, deep in the Bavarian Alps, where G7 leaders met for a three-day summit. In the context of the biggest geopolitical crisis since 1945, the summit began with some joint banter between leaders mocking Putin’s macho image and ended with a surprising choice of dish: Russian salad. Boris Johnson entered the summit warning that Russia is ready to annex more Ukrainian land if the status quo in the balance of power continues. He warned the West not to show war weariness, saying the global consequences if Russia prevailed would be “absolutely catastrophic”. Similarly, US President Joe Biden urged the G7 to show resolve: “We have to stick together, because Putin was counting, from the beginning, that somehow NATO and the G7 would fall apart. But we haven’t and we’re not going to.” Western leaders have vowed to “stand by Ukraine as long as it takes,” vowing to increase the economic and political cost to Vladimir Putin and his regime of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Guardian’s defense and security editor, Dan Sabbagh, reported on the upcoming two-day NATO summit from Madrid. The US and UK announced new commitments and NATO leaders signed off on the creation of a new 300,000-strong high readiness force to deter any Russian incursion. However, the NATO summit was largely about the consequences of Russia’s invasion, not for Ukraine but for countries already in or about to join NATO, Wintour explained. It was about “defending every inch of NATO territory,” as Biden put it. Volodymyr Zelenskiy needs ammunition, not words. As the leaders headed home for their more mundane domestic challenges, it’s fair to wonder how much these pledges change the balance of power on the battlefield or cast doubt in Putin’s mind.
Turkey gains from lifting Sweden and Finland’s NATO veto
US President Joe Biden thanked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for reaching a deal with Finland and Sweden to allow the Nordic countries to end decades of neutrality and join NATO, at a meeting between the leaders on the eve army’s. alliance summit in Madrid. The tripartite agreement set Finland and Sweden to take steps to control support for Kurdish terrorism in their countries after Erdogan pressed the alliance to take the threat on its southern border more seriously. (From left) Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Joe Biden and Boris Johnson during the NATO summit in Madrid. Photo: Susan Walsh/AFP/Getty Images Patrick Wintour explored how Erdogan immediately began reaping the benefits of lifting the embargo when Biden responded to the Turkish president’s veto lifting by authorizing his officials to say they were willing to help modernize the Turkish air force. US officials added that they now supported Turkey’s desire to buy F-16 fighter jets and upgrade its air force, after Turkey initially made a request last October. “The US Department of Defense fully supports Turkey’s modernization plans,” Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told reporters, adding that Turkey’s modernization of its fighter fleet “is a contribution to the security of NATO and therefore to American security’. US officials dismissed any suggestion that Washington was backing the controversial warplane request to overturn Turkey’s objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
