Ukraine war briefing: Spotlight on ‘hundreds’ of alleged PoW executions by Russia
Ukraine attacks deter Russian shipping in Sea of Azov; loudest cheers for Kyiv’s troops at Bastille Day parade in Paris. What we know on day 1,603The Russian army has executed hundreds of Ukrainian PoW since 2022 under a deliberate policy, Kyiv says, with the exact number of victims unknown. A Ukrainian intelligence official told Agence France-Presse they have tracked “more than 900 military personnel” killed in “more than 340” incidents since 2022. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they added this might represent 25%-40% of such cases. Under the Geneva conventions, soldiers are considered PoW – and afforded protection – from the moment they issue a clear surrender.A UN report from June cited 129 verified executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war, with the organisation sounding the alarm last year over a “marked increase” in cases. Andriy Atamantchuk from the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said that to date Kyiv has opened 116 investigations into the killings of 306 Ukrainian servicemen since 2022. “This stems from a Russian policy that has effectively encouraged and enabled such crimes, with commanders then issuing orders to that effect,” he said. The accusations are rejected by Moscow and Agence France-Presse said Russian authorities did not reply to an AFP request for comment.Russia’s transport ministry admitted it may have to divert cargo away from the Sea of Azov as Ukraine continued to pound Russian shipping there. The commander of Ukraine’s drone forces said on Tuesday that Ukraine had hit “116 vessels over the past nine days”, including several tankers and cargo ships, in the Azov sea. He said the aim was to damage Russia’s “shadow fleet” and to limit Russia’s petrol supplies to Moscow-controlled Crimea.Ukraine’s military said it struck two Russian oil refineries in the Bashkortostan and Krasnodar regions, causing fires at the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat complex as well as the Afipsky oil refinery. Russian authorities confirmed a fire at the Afipsky refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, and at Salavat in the Urals region of Bashkortostan.Sevastopol, one of the largest cities in Russian-controlled Crimea, was limiting power supplies after Ukrainian attacks, local authorities said on Tuesday. Crimea has already introduced restrictions on gasoline usage because of fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries and logistics infrastructure. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, said electricity would be supplied for two hours, followed by six-hour outages.Ukraine’s air defences managed to shoot down five out of eight ballistic missiles that Russia fired overnight into Tuesday – an increased interception rate – along with 108 out of 135 drones, the Ukrainian air force said. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, said Russian attacks still damaged 16 sites in the capital, including a school and a business, while city officials reported several fires. Zelenskyy said Russian attacks injured seven people in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region and three in the northern Chernihiv region. He called on European allies to pass their latest sanctions package this week.Kyrgyzstan’s government on Tuesday indefinitely banned exports of gasoline, diesel fuel and oil in response to fuel shortages in Russia, from which the Central Asian country sources the vast majority of its fuel needs. Kyrgyzstan has appealed to neighbours for help in making up for Russian fuel supplies, and sought diesel and jet fuel from Belarus and China.Ukrainian troops marched down the Champs-Élysées as part of the Bastille Day parade in Paris. Kyiv’s troops got the biggest cheers of the day from crowds on the tree-lined avenue. Ukrainian co-pilots trained in France were on board two French Mirage 2000B fighter jets that flew over. Zelenskyy watched as guest of honour alongside Emmanuel Macron, the French president.Ukraine’s prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, formally resigned in parliament on Tuesday as part of a government reshuffle previously announced by Zelenskyy. The parliament is expected to vote for a replacement on Thursday. Opposition lawmakers have called for Zelenskyy to further explain the overhaul of his government. Continue reading...
‘Den of spies’: why has Japan been easy prey for Russian espionage, and what is Tokyo doing about it?
Postwar rules limit state collection of intelligence and prosecution of illegal operatives, but the government of Sanae Takaichi is beefing up its capabilitiesJapan admits growing need to counter espionage after Russian ‘den of spies’ reportAfter eight decades as arguably the most welcoming environment for foreign spies in the democratic world, Japan – where espionage is technically not illegal in many cases – is racing to build its own spying and counterintelligence capabilities.Reports that Japan has become a hub for Russian operatives procuring technology for the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine come as Tokyo undergoes its biggest postwar rethink of its security services. Continue reading...
