Shelling killed civilians, damaged residential buildings and knocked out power lines in nine regions of Ukraine on Thursday, the country’s presidential office said.
At least four people were killed and 10 more were injured in 24 hours as explosions rocked cities, officials said, including the frequently targeted Mykolaiv and Nikopol, which is close to Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia.
Shelling killed five civilians and wounded six others in the eastern city of Donetsk, Russian-backed local authorities said. The separatist officials blamed Ukrainian forces for the shelling, which Ukrainian officials denied. Mandatory evacuations in the Donetsk province began Wednesday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram, as the first evacuation train arrived in Kropyvnytskyi.
About 50 residential buildings were damaged by Russian rockets in Nikopol, located across the river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian troops early in the war. The projectiles also hit power lines, leaving residents without electricity, Ukrainian officials said.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the Associated Press this week the power plant is “completely out of control” and urged Russia and Ukraine to allow experts in to assess the situation.
“Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated,” Grossi said. “What is at stake is extremely serious and extremely serious and dangerous.”
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Latest developments
►A ship that Ukraine says is carrying 10,000 tons of grain stolen by Russia has left a Lebanese port after an investigation, Lebanon’s transport minister said Thursday. The Laodicea’s departure, which is likely to anger Ukraine, comes as a vessel carrying grain from Ukraine is sailing toward Lebanon, the first ship to leave Ukraine’s Black Sea ports since the war began.
►US intelligence officials say Russia is working to plant false evidence to blame Ukrainian forces for the attack on Olenivka Prison that left 53 dead and dozens wounded, the Associated Press reported.
►The US Senate delivered near-unanimous bipartisan approval to NATO membership for Finland and Sweden on Wednesday, voting 95-1 for the candidacy of two Nordic nations that, until Russia’s war against Ukraine, had long avoided military alliances.
Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison
WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony Thursday in her cannabis possession case.
Griner, 31, who entered a guilty plea weeks ago, apologized to her family and wife. “I made an honest mistake, and I hope that in your ruling, it doesn’t end my life here,” Griner said addressing the judge.
Griner was detained in Russia Feb. 17 after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, but her arrest did not become public knowledge until nearly three weeks after it occurred.
President Joe Biden released a statement in which he condemned Griner’s detainment, saying, “It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends and teammates. My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.”
Amnesty International says Ukraine endangered civilians
Ukrainian forces have violated international law by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, turning civilian areas into military targets, Amnesty International said in a report Thursday.
Researchers for the human rights organization found evidence Ukrainian based themselves in buildings like schools and hospitals in 19 towns and villages, exposing populated areas to Russian strikes that killed civilian forces and destroyed infrastructure.
However, in cities including Kharkiv, Amnesty International found Russia had unlawfully targeted civilian areas and had committed war crimes. Ukraine’s use of civilian areas as military bases “does not in any way justify” Russia’s use of indiscriminate weapons like internationally banned cluster munitions, the organization said.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak criticized the report, saying the only threat to Ukrainians is the Russian army.
Russian state and pro-Kremlin media extensively quoted the report, which to a certain extent aligns with Moscow’s official narrative.
“We’re talking about it all the time, calling the actions of Ukraine’s armed forces the tactics of using the civilian population as a ‘human shield,’” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.
WHAT’S NEXT:Brittney Griner convicted on drug charges, sentenced to nine years in Russian prison
Now that the trial has concluded, negotiations to free Griner are expected to continue between the US and Russia despite high tension between the countries.
The US State Department said last week it had proposed a “substantial offer” to secure the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia on espionage charges.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Russia made a “bad faith” counteroffer. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called for “discreet” talks, accusing the US of “megaphone diplomacy” that won’t move the negotiations forward.
‘For the benefit of America’: Rare near-unanimity in Senate NATO vote
In an evenly split and polarized US Senate where so much legislation goes to die, near-unanimous support for any measure is reason for astonishment and even celebration.
And indeed, the often-antagonistic parties were cheerful Wednesday evening after a 95-1 vote in favor of supporting the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland, two Nordic countries that had remained militarily non-aligned for decades until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed their stance .
“This historic vote sends an important signal of the sustained, bipartisan US commitment to NATO, and to ensuring our Alliance is prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Frequent foil Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, referenced Sweden and Finland’s well-funded, modernizing militaries and their experience working with US forces and weapons systems in calling their inclusion into NATO a “slam-dunk for (US) national security.”
McConnell, a longtime NATO supporter, had gone as far as assuring Finnish president Sauli Niinisto that the Senate would promptly ratify Finland’s membership in encouraging him to apply, even though the Kentucky Republican no longer heads the majority in the upper chamber.
McConnell pressed his caucus for strong support – only Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri voted no – emphasizing that the US playing a leadership role globally “is not just important militarily, but commercially as well, all of which is good for this country. This is not a charity we’re involved in here. This is for the benefit of America.”
Contributing: Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY; Associated Press
