Kiev Receives American Tanks and Confirms Killing of Russian Black Sea Fleet Commander

Kiev received American tanks and confirmed the killing of the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday that American-made Abrams tanks had arrived in the country. While Kiev reported the killing of a large number of Russian officers, including the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, in the missile attack last week on the fleet headquarters in the port of Sevastopol in the Crimean Peninsula.

Zelensky said on Telegram: “Good news from Minister (Defense Rustam) Umarov. “Abrams are already in Ukraine and are being prepared to reinforce our battalions.” But he did not mention the number of tanks that arrived in his country.

Zelensky added: “Grateful to our allies for their commitment to the agreements!” We are looking for new contracts and expanding the supply base for our forces.”

American tanks were one of the most important demands put forward by Ukraine, until Washington eventually offered to send more than 30 tanks in January. European countries sent dozens of German-made Leopard tanks and some British Challenger tanks, according to what Reuters reported.

US President Joe Biden announced the delivery of these tanks to Kiev last week, during Zelensky’s visit to the White House in search of additional support in the midst of the Ukrainian counter-attack to regain territory occupied by Russia.

Biden said Thursday, in the presence of the Ukrainian president, who made his second visit to Washington since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine in February 2022: “During the next week, the first American Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine.” He also announced that he had agreed to a new package of military aid to Kiev, the value of which the Pentagon estimated at about $325 million.

The United States promised to deliver 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, equipped with 120 mm depleted uranium ammunition. These munitions are anti-armor, but they are also controversial because of their toxic risks to the army and the population. The delivery of Abrams tanks comes about 4 months after Ukraine launched a major attack to regain territory occupied by Russia.

Kiev has announced slow progress by its forces so far and has seized villages and lands that it says improve its position, but it has not yet forced Russia into any major withdrawal, as it did three times last year. Moscow says the Ukrainian attack has already failed.

An archive photo of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, whose death was announced by Ukraine on Monday (Reuters)

Kyiv announces the killing of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet

On the other hand, the Ukrainian Special Forces announced that the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, was killed in the missile attack last week, on the fleet headquarters in the port of Sevastopol in the Crimean peninsula, which Russia controlled and annexed in 2014. The Ukrainian army said that the attack occurred on Friday. It targeted a meeting of the Russian Navy leadership in the city of Sevastopol.

The Ukrainian Special Forces said via Telegram: “After the strike that targeted the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 soldiers were killed, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and 105 others were injured. Restoration of the headquarters building is no longer possible. Russian-appointed officials confirmed the Ukrainian attack on Friday, saying at least one missile hit the fleet headquarters.

Russian raids on the port of Odessa

Also on the ground, Ukrainian officials said that Russian air strikes killed 4 people in Ukraine and caused “major damage” to the infrastructure in the port of Odessa overlooking the Black Sea and grain storage facilities.

The attacks come as part of an air campaign that has made it more difficult for Ukraine to export its products since Moscow withdrew from an agreement in mid-July that allowed grain shipments to pass through the Black Sea and helped combat a global food crisis.

Ukrainian Minister of Economy, Yulia Sviridenko, said on the “X” website: “Another massive attack on Odessa!” The attack resulted in the destruction of grain storage facilities and severe damage to the port.”

Effects of the Russian bombing on Odessa on Monday (EPA)

The governor of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, said that the facilities that were bombed contained approximately 1,000 tons of grain, and that the bodies of two men were found under the rubble of a warehouse where the grain was stored.

The Ukrainian army said that 19 Iranian-made drones and 11 cruise missiles were shot down during the night of Sunday and Monday, most of them directed at the Odessa region, according to what was reported by Reuters. She added that the grain storage facilities that were destroyed were hit by two hypersonic missiles.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukraine launched attacks during the night, saying that drones were shot down over the northwestern part of the Black Sea, over the Crimean Peninsula, and over the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The ministry did not mention any information about deaths.

The Russian attack on Odessa is the latest in a series of missile and drone attacks that Ukraine says are aimed at preventing it, a major grain exporter and producer, from exporting its agricultural products to the world.

In addition, the Russian Interfax news agency reported on Monday that the Russian Northern Fleet, which operates in the Arctic region, conducted exercises simulating confronting enemy drone boats. The agency quoted the fleet’s information service as saying that some major destroyers and landing ships participated in the exercises in the Arctic. “During the exercises in the East Siberian Sea, the crews of the Navy’s anti-submarine destroyer Weiss-Admiral Kulakov and the large landing ship Alexander Otrakovsky trained on procedures to protect a detachment of ships in the event of a threat from the enemy using drone boats,” the agency said, citing the fleet’s information service.

Head of the Investigative Committee on Ukraine, Eric Moze, at a press conference in Geneva on Monday (AP)

Suspicions of incitement to genocide

On the other hand, a group of United Nations investigators warned on Monday that some of what was contained in Russian media speech may constitute “incitement to commit genocide” in Ukraine. The head of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, Eric Moze, told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva that he was concerned about “allegations of genocide in Ukraine,” warning that “some of the speech reported by the Russian public media and other means may constitute incitement to terrorism.” Committing genocide.”

He stressed that “the committee is continuing its investigations into the case,” and has not yet reached any results, in response to a question during a press conference.

The committee is also investigating the circumstances of the bombing of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam on June 6, located in an area under Russian control in Kherson, which required the evacuation of thousands of residents and raised fears of a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe. Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the dam to slow its counterattack in the south. Russia held Kiev responsible.

The United Nations Human Rights Council established an investigation committee on Ukraine in March 2022, to look into alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law after the Russian invasion, but Moscow refuses to cooperate with investigators. The committee is also conducting investigations into human rights violations in cities “that have suffered from Russian occupation for a long period, including Kherson and Zaporizhya.” There, new evidence was collected showing that the use of torture by the Russian armed forces in areas under their control “was widespread and systematic,” and mainly targeted people accused of being informants for Kiev.

The committee also calls on Kiev to quickly and in-depth investigate the violations committed by its forces, but investigators stated during the press conference that they were only “a few incidents,” while the violations by the Russian side were many and varied.

On the other hand, Russia has placed more judges and high-ranking officials of the International Criminal Court on its wanted list.

Official media reported on Monday that the Russian Interior Ministry issued arrest warrants against the Polish head of the International Criminal Court, Piotr Hofmanski, the Peruvian deputy head of the International Criminal Court, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, and German judge Bertram Schmidt.

It was expected that various charges would be brought against these people. After the International Criminal Court, which is based in The Hague, issued arrest warrants last March against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova Belova on charges of kidnapping Ukrainian children, Russia placed many ICC judges on a list They are wanted. At the time, the International Criminal Court described the arrest warrants as “unimportant.”

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2023-09-26 05:56:23