Russia Ukraine war latest: Russian strikes destroy all bridges to embattled Sievierodonetsk

All bridges to Ukraine‘s embattled eastern frontline city of Sievierodonetsk have been destroyed, rendering impossible the evacuation of civilians remaining there, the local governor said on Monday, adding that some “access” to the city remained.

Governor Serhiy Gaidai wrote on the Telegram app that Russia had not taken full control of the city, and that “a part” of it remained under Ukrainian control, but that it was no longer possible to transport humanitarian cargoes there.

Gaidai also told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian service that although 70% of the city was now controlled by Russia, the situation for Ukrainian troops there was “difficult but under control.”

Fourteen bizarre deaths in London share something in common: a connection with the Russian state. James Rampton spoke to the creators of a new documentary series investigating what happened.

Police have opened criminal investigations into the killings of more than 12,000 Ukrainians nationwide during Russia‘s war, and authorities in the Kyiv region near Bucha on Monday reported discovering the bodies of several victims whose hands were tied behind their backs.

“Shots to the knees tell us that people were tortured,” said Andriy Nebytov, head of the Kyiv regional police. “The hands tied behind the back with tape say that people had been held (hostage) for a long time and (enemy forces) tried to get any information from them.”

Since the withdrawal of Russian troops from the region at the end of March, the authorities say they have uncovered the bodies of 1,316 people. One site reporters saw Monday was a mass grave in a forest near Bucha, where the horrors of war shocked the world after a regional Russian withdrawal earlier in the war. Reporters on Monday saw a mass grave just behind a trench dug out for a military vehicle.

UK defence secretary Ben Wallace said he does not know how many UK veterans are fighting in Ukraine.

Labour shadow defence secretary John Healey asked: “How many former British forces personnel are fighting in Ukraine?”

Mr Wallace said: “The simple reality is we don’t know how many ex-soldiers are fighting in Ukraine.

“As far as individuals who decided of their own volition to go and fight separate from the United Kingdom, or indeed separate of any of the United Kingdom’s serving personnel, we are unaware of the total number. There are estimates, but we are unaware.”

Mr Healey said: “Did he even ask the question when he was in Ukraine last week? Four weeks ago ministers said ‘we are working with the government of Ukraine to understand how many there are’. And it’s time the Defence Secretary can answer that question.”

Mr Wallace said: “I did raise it with my Ukrainian counterpart. We have asked on a number of occasions. It is, of course, for the Ukrainians to answer and find those details, but I do have some sympathy with the Ukrainians – they are fighting a war, and not one or two or three of their citizens are on that front, tens of thousands of those citizens.”

A bakery in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has named a croissant after UK prime minister Boris Johnson last week.

Cafe Zavertailo announced on Instagram that: “Boris Johnson is not just a prime minister but is also now a croissant.”

British ambassador Melinda Simmons posted on social media that she had tried the now-famous croissant highlighting the prime minister’s popularity in the country.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Monday both sides in the war in Ukraine were using heavier weapons, including in Russia’s case thermobaric bombs.

“We are supporting Ukraine with increasingly heavy weaponry. And on the other hand Russia has also begun to use very powerful weapons, thermobaric bombs that are in fact weapons of mass destruction,” Mr Niinisto said during security policy talks at his summer residence in Naantali, Finland.

Ukraine and Nato countries have also accused Russia of using thermobaric bombs, which are also known as vacuum bombs and are much more devastating than conventional explosives.

Sweden has make important steps to meet Turkey’s demands for approving Stockholm’s Nato membership application, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday during a visit to Sweden.

“I welcome that Sweden has already started to change its counter-terrorism legislation and that Sweden will ensure that the legal framework for arms export will reflect the future status as a Nato member with new commitments to allies,” Mr Stoltenberg said during a press conference with Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson.

“These are two important steps to address concerns that Turkey has raised.”

The Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, has filed an appeal against a Moscow court decision demanding that it remove information related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, arguing that people have a right to know the facts of the war.

A Moscow court fined the Wikimedia Foundation 5 million roubles ($88,000) for refusing to remove what it termed disinformation from Russian-language Wikipedia articles on the war including “The Russian Invasion of Ukraine,” “War Crimes during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine” and “Massacre in Bucha”.

“This decision implies that well-sourced, verified knowledge on Wikipedia that is inconsistent with Russian government accounts constitutes disinformation,” Stephen LaPorte, Associate General Counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation, said in a statement.

Wikipedia, which says it offers “the second draft of history”, is one of the few remaining major fact-checked Russian-language sources of information for Russians after a crackdown on media in Moscow.