NU.nl regularly gives you an overview of the situation in Ukraine. With this time: the Russian unit involved in the MH17 disaster is also active in Ukraine and Putin pays an unexpected visit to the occupied city of Mariupol.
The Russian anti-aircraft brigade that was involved in the downing of flight MH17 in 2014, according to radio station NPR also active in the war in Ukraine.
The radio station has seen documents showing that the 53rd anti-aircraft brigade was active in the city of Izium in the Kharkiv region last year. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, the unit was there for most of 2022.
In September, Ukraine retook the region from Russia. In addition, the Ukrainian armed forces obtained documents in which the military units that fought around Izium were named, including the 53rd brigade. The Kharkiv Prosecutor’s Office confirmed NPR that the unit has been active in the area.
The 53rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade supplied the stoop missile that shot down the Malaysia Airlines plane in July 2014. 298 people died, including 196 Dutch people. In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded another honorary title to the brigade.
Putin visits Mariupol
Putin also made a surprise visit to the occupied city of Mariupol, according to Russian state media. It would be Putin’s first visit to the occupied territory since the start of the war. Putin also visited Crimea on Saturday, exactly nine years after the annexation of the peninsula.
Putin, according to reports, flew to Mariupol by helicopter and drove around by car. The southern Ukrainian port city was the hotbed of the war in the first months after the invasion and was severely shelled. The Russians took control of the city in May.
Ukraine reacted cynically to Putin’s visit. “The murderer of thousands of families in Mariupol came to admire the ruins of the city and its graves,” Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to President Zelensky, tweeted.
South Africa is aware of compulsory arrest when visiting Putin
Putin was expected to travel to South Africa in August for a meeting of BRICS countries. In that case, South Africa is aware of the legal obligation to arrest Putin because of the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) this week.
The visit of the Russian president to South Africa had not yet been confirmed and the question now is whether this will take place. Because of the international arrest warrant, countries that recognize the ICC would have to arrest Putin if he is in their country.
This puts South Africa in a difficult position as it is still a member of the ICC, having threatened to leave in 2017. The African country has also not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2015, South Africa refused to extradite Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir after an arrest warrant from the ICC.
Ukraine publishes new war data
The Ukrainian army has released new figures on the war. According to the latest estimates, 164,910 Russian soldiers have died since the start of the war. 710 of them would have been killed between Saturday morning and Sunday morning. The figures have not been verified.
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