- 12 Aug 2023 - 20:21(20:21 GMT)
Russia redeployment of forces from Kherson will weaken defences near Dnipro River: UK
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has said that Russia likely redeployed units of its airborne forces from the Kherson region to the heavily-contested Orikhiv sector in the Zaporizhia region.
In its latest intelligence update, the ministry said the redeployment “will likely leave Russia’s defences near the east bank of the Dnipro River weaker, where they are increasingly harassed by Ukrainian amphibious raids”.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 12 August 2023.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/jicui2oblb
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/cOsGaKFyT0
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 12, 2023
- 12 Aug 2023 - 19:31(19:31 GMT)
Lithuania tightens borders with Belarus as tensions escalate
Next week, Lithuania will shut two of its six border checkpoints with Belarus, including the crossing in Sumskas.
The decision came as a response to escalating tensions between the neighbours, with Vilnius warning of a provocations threat by Minsk – and the Wagner fighters now based in Belarus following their short-lived rebellion in Russia.
The move will mean extended waiting times at the remaining checkpoints, which will now also be shared with buses and trucks.
The surge in migration from Belarus to the European Union, coupled with Minsk hosting Russian tactical nuclear weapons and letting Moscow use its territory to conduct attacks on Ukraine, has left Lithuania uneasy.
“By granting shelter to the Wagner military group, Belarus has become a state that harbours a terrorist organisation,” Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas told reporters.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 18:44(18:44 GMT)
Civilian killed by Ukrainian shelling in Donetsk, Russian official says
A civilian was killed and six people were wounded, including a 12-year-old girl, following intense Ukrainian shelling in Donetsk, a Russian-installed official in the eastern Ukrainian region has said.
One civilian was killed in a district of the city of Donetsk, while the six wounded people were in Makiivka, which lies east of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the region, said on his Telegram channel on Saturday.
“In total, the enemy fired 127 rounds of ammunition at peaceful cities and regions in the republic,” Pushilin said, referring to the Donetsk People’s Republic as Moscow calls the region it said last year it was annexing.
Pushilin said cluster munitions were among the artillery used.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 18:16(18:16 GMT)
Russia’s war on Ukraine: Key events, day 535
These are the main developments on Saturday, August 12, 2023 as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its 535th day.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 17:57(17:57 GMT)
Ukraine’s military says forces made progress near Robotyne
Ukraine’s military has said in a regular update of fighting and casualties that its forces had made progress near Robotyne on the front line in the southern Zaporizhia region.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Saturday that Ukraine’s defence forces continued an offensive operation in Melitopol and Berdyansk directions.
It also said they had “partial success in the Robotyne area of the Zaporizhzhia region.”
It said the Ukrainians had dug in at the point of their advance and were conducting defensive attacks from there.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 17:03(17:03 GMT)
Poland’s border troop increase comes before general elections: AJ correspondent
Poland’s decision to increase the number of troops protecting its border with Belarus has come at a time when the country is mere weeks away from general elections.
“It is worth noting that it is election season here in Poland in just a few weeks. Many analysts have been pointing out that there is a potential threat from its borders but there’s also electioneering and trying to make sure that the voter base, especially in the border areas where the ruling party gains its strength from, is energised,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Bobrowniki, Poland (on the Poland-Belarus border).
Poland’s conservative governing party, Law and Justice, will seek an unprecedented third term in parliamentary elections October 15, and amid fierce campaigning it is trying to demonstrate that it is serious about the nation’s security.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 16:09(16:09 GMT)
Some Russian Orthodox priests oppose war on Ukraine
A small number of Russian Orthodox priests are publicly opposing their leader’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and they’re suffering the consequences.
The Reverend Ioann Koval lost his ministry as a Russian Orthodox priest after he changed one crucial word in a prayer that his superior, Moscow Patriarch Kirill, required all priests to use during worship.
Koval prayed for “peace” rather than “victory” in Ukraine.
No longer able to function as a priest in Russia, Koval now ministers in Turkey under a different patriarch. He says he could no longer submit to political pressure from the Russian Orthodox hierarchy.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 15:32(15:32 GMT)
Turkmenistan warns Russia over Central Asia-China natural gas supply chain
Turkmenistan has warned Russia against trying to extend its influence over the Central Asia-China natural gas supply chain after Moscow said more countries could join its “gas union” with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Turkmenistan’s foreign ministry responded on Saturday by saying that although Russia’s comments were vague, Ashgabat wanted to make it clear that it has not been consulted about the potential addition of new suppliers to the Chinese pipeline.
“The Turkmen side considers such an approach incomprehensible and unacceptable, and out country views it as going against international law and the established practice in the gas sector,” it said in a statement.
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan all pump gas to China via a pipeline crossing the three countries; the lion’s share of gas comes from Turkmenistan as the two other countries have faced strong growth in domestic gas demand.
Russia, trying to open up new Asian markets for its gas after Western sanctions, said last year it was forging a gas union with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan that would streamline shipping and exporting gas to them and to third parties.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 15:04(15:04 GMT)
Poland’s defence minister meets with troops deployed near Belarus border
Poland Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has met in Jarylowka, in eastern Poland, some of the troops recently deployed close to the Belarus border.
On Saturday, Blaszczak said his country has increased the number of troops protecting its border with Belarus as a deterrent amid “destabilising” actions by its pro-Russian neighbour.
Blaszczak said this week that up to 10,000 Polish Army and Territorial Defence troops will be stationed on the border.
He insisted that the increased military presence is purely a deterrent move, not a hostile act, as Minsk and Moscow are claiming.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 14:41(14:41 GMT)
Poland’s defence minister says country’s border with Belarus is in danger
Poland’s defence minister says the country’s border with Belarus is in danger. On Saturday, he said Minsk, backed by Moscow, is encouraging illegal crossings to destabilise Poland.
The minister claims “it’s not just the threat of migration but also that these troops can be Wagner mercenaries guised as migrants,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Bobrowniki, Poland (on the Poland-Belarus border).
Russia’s Wagner group set up base in Belarus last month near the Polish border. Moscow responded by deploying troops with plans to send up to 10,000 to the area.
“Rights groups say that this another claim by this right-wing government which has been going against migration — and this is just a few weeks away from elections,” Bin Javaid said.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 14:20(14:20 GMT)
Gazprom continues shipping gas to Europe
Russia’s Gazprom has said it would ship 41.8 million cubic metres (1.48 billion cubic feet) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Saturday.
Russia’s piped gas exports to Europe stand at approximately 14.8 billion cubic metres (522 billion cubic feet) this year. They totalled 62 billion cubic metres (2.19 trillion cubic feet) for the whole of 2022.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 13:59(13:59 GMT)
Odesa opens some beaches for first time since war began
On Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, the city of Odesa has opened several beaches for the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said that six beaches were open, but he stressed that accessing beaches during air raid alerts was forbidden.
The strategic port and key hub for exporting grain has been subject to repeated missile and drone attacks — particularly since Moscow cancelled a landmark grain deal last month — while Russian mines have regularly washed up on the city’s beaches.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 13:37(13:37 GMT)
Russia claims it regained control of key village in Luhansk region
Russia has claimed it regained control of the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine’s easternmost Luhansk region in an overnight counterattack.
Urozhaine is one of at least two strongpoints Ukrainians seek to break in order to eventually get to Mariupol.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 12:55(12:55 GMT)
Moscow condemns ‘terrorist attack’, threatens response
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned on Saturday what it called Ukraine’s “terrorist attack” on the Crimean Bridge, saying it put innocent civilians’ lives at risk and promised retaliation.
“There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, and they will not go unanswered,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 12:37(12:37 GMT)
Russian fighter jet crashes in Kaliningrad region, two pilots killed: RIA
A Su-30 fighter jet crashed during a training flight on Saturday in Russia’s Kaliningrad region, killing the two pilots on board, RIA news agency quoted the defence ministry as saying.
“The Su-30 aircraft crashed in a deserted area. The flight was being carried out without ammunition. The crew of the aircraft died,” the ministry said in a statement cited by Russian news agency RIA.
It said the likely cause of the crash was a technical malfunction but gave no further information.
Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania, both NATO member states, on the Baltic Sea.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 12:33(12:33 GMT)
Another rocket downed over Kerch Strait: Russian official
The Russian-installed governor of Crimea said that Russian forces had downed another rocket over the Kerch Strait, Interfax news agency reported, following an earlier attack that Russia’s defence ministry said had involved two Su-200 rockets.
“Another enemy rocket shot down over the Kerch Strait,” Sergey Aksyonov said on the Telegram messaging app, quoted by Interfax. “Thank you to our air defence forces for a high level of professionalism and vigilance.”
- 12 Aug 2023 - 12:28(12:28 GMT)
Ukraine starts registering ships for Black Sea corridor
Ukraine, which is seeking to form safe shipping routes in the Black Sea, has started registering ships willing to use a “humanitarian corridor”, according to a local news agency.
The corridor would release cargo ships that have been trapped in its ports since the war began and would test Russia’s de facto blockade since Moscow abandoned a deal last month to let Kyiv export grain.
“Registration is now open, and the coordinator is already working,” Interfax Ukraine quoted Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk as saying. “Of course, everything will take place under the supervision of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. We are doing everything we can to ensure security,” Pletenchuk said.
Russia has not indicated whether it would respect the shipping corridor, and shipping and insurance sources have expressed safety concerns.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 12:13(12:13 GMT)
Ukraine’s grain harvest exceeds expectations
Ukraine’s grain harvest this year is exceeding expectations and could be 5 percent higher than in 2022, thanks to favourable weather, a senior agriculture ministry official said on Saturday.
Ukraine is a major global grain producer and exporter, but its production has been affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.
“This (the harvest) is more than expected; thanks to good weather and rains in the summer, production could be 5 percent higher than in 2022,” Taras Vysotskyi, the first deputy agriculture minister, told national television.
He did not give an estimated volume for the harvest but said farmers had already threshed about 23 million tonnes of grain.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 11:45(11:45 GMT)
Ukraine tried to hit Crimea Bridge with rockets: Moscow
Russia’s defence ministry reported that Ukraine had tried unsuccessfully to attack the Crimean bridge across the Kerch Strait with S-200 rockets, but that no damage or casualties had been caused.
The S-200 is a strategic surface-to-air missile system developed by the Soviet Union.
The 12-mile (19km) bridge, which links Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia, has come under repeated attacks since the start of the war.
“The Ukrainian missile was detected in a timely manner and was intercepted in the air by Russian air defence systems. No damage or casualties were reported,” the ministry said in a statement.
In a statement posted earlier on the Telegram messaging app, Russian-installed Crimea governor Sergey Aksyonov said anti-aircraft defences near the bridge had downed two rockets. He also said the bridge was undamaged.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 11:45(11:45 GMT)
Two killed in Russian shellings: Ukrainian officials
An elderly woman and a police officer were killed by Russian shellings in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine and in Zaporizhia in the south, Ukrainian officials said.
“This morning, around 5:10, the enemy fired on Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi village in Kupiansk district. A residential building was damaged. A 73-year-old woman died,” Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.
In a separate attack on Orikhiv town in the Zaporizhia region, one police officer was killed, and 12 people, including four police officers, were injured, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.
He said Russian troops used a guided aerial bomb.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 11:44(11:44 GMT)
Russia’s defence minister inspects Arctic garrisons
Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected remote Arctic garrisons of the Northern Fleet, the ministry said on Saturday, as a detachment of warships was sent to the Arctic Ocean to perform tasks.
Shoigu inspected the military infrastructure as well as “readiness for actions to protect and defend critical facilities”, the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.
A detachment of warships, including the destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov, the landing ship Alexandr Otrakovsky and the rescue tug Altai went to the Arctic, the ministry said.
It was not clear when Shoigu visited the fleet. It started military training on Friday aimed at working out actions to protect Russia’s sovereignty in the waters of the Northern Sea Route, the fleet said.
- 12 Aug 2023 - 11:43(11:43 GMT)
Twenty Ukrainian drones destroyed over Crimea: Moscow
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces destroyed a wave of 20 Ukrainian drones over the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
There were no casualties and no damage as a result of the attempted attack early on Saturday morning, the defence ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.
Air defence systems destroyed 14 drones and six were suppressed by electronic warfare, the ministry said.
It was not immediately clear what was the target of the reported attacks on the peninsula.
Russia-Ukraine war updates: Ukraine fired rockets at Crimea bridge – Moscow
Russia’s defence ministry says Ukraine had tried unsuccessfully to hit the Crimea bridge with rockets.
This blog is now closed. Thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Saturday, August 12.
- Russian officials claim that Ukraine unsuccessfully attempted to strike the Crimea bridge with rockets on two occasions.
- A Su-30 fighter jet crashed during a training flight in Russia’s Kaliningrad region, killing the two pilots on board.
- Ukrainian officials reported that an elderly woman and a police officer were killed by Russian shellings in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine and in Zaporizhia in the south.
- Moscow said 20 Ukrainian drones were shot down and electronically suppressed in an early morning attack over Crimea.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies