- Moscow has brought around 700,000 children from conflict zones in Ukraine into Russian territory, a senior Russian politician has said.
- Ukraine has consistently disputed Russian claims that the children are being moved for their own protection.
- Ukraine progressing in the south, facing ‘intense’ Russian resistance in the east.
- General Oleksander Tarnavskiy said, his troops were “systematically destroying the enemy”.
- Ukraine claims to have recaptured nearly 40km of territory last week.
Moscow has brought around 700,000 children from conflict zones in Ukraine into Russian territory, a senior Russian politician has said. Grigory Karasin, head of the international committee in the Federation Council, made the statement on his Telegram channel. “In recent years, 700,000 children have found refuge with us, fleeing the bombing and shelling from the conflict areas in Ukraine,” Mr Karasin wrote.
Ukraine has consistently disputed Russian claims that the children are being moved for their own protection, with Kyiv accusing the Kremlin of forcibly and illegally removing minors from their homes. The senior MP also said that Moscow had recently set up a parliamentary commission to investigate Kyiv’s “crimes” against minors, with the first meeting having taken place on 30 June.
Ukraine progressing in the south, facing ‘intense’ Russian resistance in the east. Ukraine’s counteroffensive has continued. Kyiv reported progress in the south of the country, where the troops’ main objective is to secure clusters of villages.
General Oleksander Tarnavskiy, who is overseeing the counter-offensive in the south of Ukraine, said his troops were “systematically destroying the enemy” and President Zelenskyy reported further steady progress. However, on the eastern front, officials have reported heavy resistance from Russian troops as they look to halt Ukraine’s advance in the region.
Ukraine claims to have recaptured nearly 40km of territory last week. A bit more on Ukraine’s progress as its counteroffensive continues. Ukraine’s defence ministry claims it recaptured 37.4 square kilometres of territory from Russian forces in the past week. Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar claimed that 28km were reclaimed in the south and nine to the east.
(With inputs from agencies
