the former commander of the 73rd Marine Centre of the SSO and an official of the Ochakiv City Council a fragment of a dialogue between Mayor Serhii Bychkov and the Russian side was heard The conversation took place under the supervision of representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine This was reported by the correspondent of NikVesti It should be noted that both Eduard Shevchenko and the mayor of Ochakiv, Serhii Bychkov, spoke with Serhii Kolesnikov. According to the investigation Eduard Shevchenko called these conversations «a radio game» which he had to conduct under pressure from the security forces The first such conversation between Shevchenko and Kolesnikov dates back to 1 February 2023 when the detention was not yet publicly known.» A GRU representative told Shevchenko that a big boss named Mykola Mykolaiovych wants to talk to «his friend» (the mayor of Ochakiv is called in conversations) «Who is this general?» asks Eduard Shevchenko He is a man who understands both the situation and the environment the Russian officer asked me to pass on a so-called request from «General» — note) realises that he will not be able to answer Let him say that it is not his competence,» Kolesnikov said Shevchenko was asked to pass on questions for Bychkov to prepare for «The person (the so-called general who was supposed to talk to Bychkov — note) wants to know exactly what happens after Ochakiv becomes ours.. What are his wishes?» Serhii Kolesnikov asked a conversation between Mayor Serhii Bychkov and Serhii Kolesnikov took place under the supervision of the SSU «Are you here on the matter that my friend sent me (referring to Eduard Shevchenko referring to the general who was supposed to talk to Bychkov He asked me to pass on the following information so think about what you could answer his questions The first thing you want to see from us when we come I only have the information that our mutual friend passed on.» He told me briefly that there would be a general then take a SIM card that doesn't relate to you.« I understand that they apply to when you will be there... It has been levelled to the ground for a month now.» «I understand that one person cannot make decisions when there is.. «Will I get an answer when I talk to him?» I'll let you know when he arrives tomorrow.» «You must also understand that you have a lot of unnecessary guests in your city.» I want to understand whether people have any powers or not when he introduces himself to strangers «Major Changaibuk» The Russian representative said that he was alarmed by the behaviour of the Ochakiv mayor «I explained yesterday that the man was on the front line He asked me to stop the shelling of Ochakiv And I said that you have a lot of uninvited guests He said he couldn't take them anywhere,» Kolesnikov says «He really can't take them anywhere,» Shevchenko replies «He has no influence on the military situation His worries about the city are understandable and another thing that confused me was that the phone was on speakerphone.» people don't usually do that when they're talking And the phone you dropped was his personal phone «You understand that I have no influence on his thoughts.» The trial of Eduard Shevchenko, who is accused of collaborating with Russian special services, began on 6 February. It became known about the man's detention on the fact of high treason in March 2023 He not only headed the department of the Ochakiv City Council responsible for security in the city but was also the commander of the 73rd Naval Special Forces Centre In an interview with journalists, he spoke negatively about his years of service in the Armed Forces due to the unfair level of provision for servicemen At a hearing on 27 May, the court considered the search of the defendant's home. However it was impossible to see anything other than a dark screen due to the lack of electricity in the house On 4 June, the court considered searches at the home of the father of an officer of the Russian General Staff who is connected to the case of recruitment of the mayor of Ochakiv This includes his 16-year-old son's mobile phone and a thermal imager During the detention of Eduard Shevchenko in March 2023 that he had tried to recruit the mayor of Ochakiv when Eduard Shevchenko held the position of Head of the Security and Surveillance Department of the Housing and Communal Services Department of the Ochakiv City Council he was tasked by Serhii Kolesnikov to recruit the mayor for loyalty In a direct conversation with Bychkov at the city council Shevchenko said that representatives of the Russian Federation wanted to talk to the mayor They offered to use my website,» he reported to Kolesnikov after the conversation with the Ochakiv mayor After his detention, Eduard Shevchenko said he was surprised by the SBU's release, which stated that he had tried to recruit Mayor Serhiy Bychkov to work for the Russians Denys Zhelo, deputy head of the public control council of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine , commented on the lack of claims by law enforcement officers against Ochakiv mayor Serhii Bychkov whose colleague was detained for high treason was friends in all areas with Russian intelligence agent Eduard Shevchenko Eduard Shevchenko himself noted that he considers Serhii Bychkov to be the most effective mayor of all those who have ever been in Ochakiv. The mayor himself was almost always closed to the media. Commenting on this, Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Administration, suggested that Serhii Bychkov does not address the community and does not report on the results of his work because he is «a non-public person» Ochakiv was ‘paradise’ before unwelcome visitors began raining down missiles from spit of land nearby The view from the Ukrainian town of Ochakiv appears idyllic a narrow strip of land stretches out across the sea The peninsula in Mykolaiv province is known as the Kinburn spit In happier times holidaymakers would take a boat from Ochakiv and camp among the dunes Last June it got a new and unwelcome visitor: Russia Ever since the Russian army has bombarded Ochakiv Truck mounted launchers release Grad missiles Afterwards the crews speed off and take cover amid the mazy sands the Russians launched their biggest attack yet The town’s 7,000 residents woke in darkness to the sound of explosions Thermite projectiles fell from the sky and bathed the waterfront in a strange white light They are killing peaceful people,” Serhii Kaminiev Kaminiev’s cafe is in Ochakiv’s central market One of the Grads landed on the roof of a business selling clothes Homeless dogs wandered among alleys of broken glass In the past many of its tourists came from Russia pick mushrooms in the forest or go fishing.” The attacks meant locals lost their livelihoods and lived in state of stress Russian forces launched an artillery attack on Ochakiv after Ukrainian soldiers had ‘cleaned’ the area with counter-battery fire Photograph: Ed Ram/The GuardianFriday’s raid damaged residential buildings Windows in premises and homes were boarded up Last summer a missile hit another part of the market Russian social media claimed they had destroyed an American Himars system,” Kaminyev said said 18 people had been killed since February 2022 The child had a heart condition and died from shock during a missile attack The authorities helped people who wanted to evacuate We ask them to be in safe places,” he said Ochakiv’s mayor Photograph: Ed Ram/The GuardianThe municipality has built six blast-proof concrete booths in public areas Schools are closed but 800 children remain in the town During the evening streets are eerily empty the mayor said: “This can’t be resolved locally People understand and support Ukraine absolutely.” The situation was only likely to get better once Ukraine’s armed forces had retaken the occupied south of the country. Bychkov would not be drawn on when this may happen, but said his country had chosen the path of Europe and democracy The war gave Ukrainians an opportunity to rid themselves of “past mistakes” such as corruption The municipality has built six blast-proof concrete booths in public areas Photograph: Ed Ram/The GuardianOchakiv has a rich and diverse history Romanians and Ottomans built fortresses along the coast In 1788 Catherine the Great’s general Alexander Suvorov captured the town after a bloody siege Russian writers including Alexander Pushkin celebrated this victory over the Turks Ochakiv became synonymous – in Moscow’s imagination Putin has described Ochakiv as a “place of Russian glory” In a rambling address just before the invasion he claimed the US and Nato were plotting to use the town as a staging post to sink Russia’s Black Sea fleet Ukraine has its own naval centre in Ochakiv The British government promised to revamp it – something that did not happen Natalia Humeniuk the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Command said Russian claims about a US and Nato plot were nonsense Photograph: Ed Ram/The GuardianNatalia Humeniuk a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Command dismissed Putin’s claims last year as nonsense “Where does he say there isn’t a Nato base There’s no alternative,” she said witheringly The enemy was hitting Ochakiv in revenge for of a Ukrainian operation last week against Russian positions at the far end of the Kinburn spit Ukrainian soldiers had “cleaned” the area with counter-battery fire They are punishing civilians because of the success of our military,” Humeniuk said “We can’t use the same tactics against them because they spread themselves out among our people.” There are multiple reports of Russian looting The only route out goes past Ochakiv and along the Kinburn spit The Russians want to control the passage so they can harm Mykolaiv’s economy The Guardian was allowed in as a rare exception Over at Soborna Street local council officials were inspecting the damage Earlier that morning a shell had landed on an empty residential property Another plonked itself down on a grassy children’s playground There were craters in the road; the wall of a garage resembled a Swiss cheese Oleksander Promin and a soldier inspect damage to Yana’s room after it was badly damaged by Russian shelling on Friday Photograph: Ed Ram/The GuardianOleksander Promin showed off his ground-floor flat Two shells had previously landed on his family property Ochakiv residents voted to remove the town’s statue to Suvorov and put it in a museum A final decision will be made by the culture ministry in Kyiv next to a church and the bombed palace of culture depicts the general grinning and gazing out to sea An explosion in January ravaged the nearby area after the Russians hit a warehouse containing second world war mines The burnt-out remains of a car near Soborna Street which was badly damaged by Russian shelling on Friday Photograph: Ed Ram/The GuardianThe war has been a disaster for Ochakiv’s unique marine ecology Bychkov said dead dolphins washed up frequently on the town’s beach A pine forest on the occupied Kinburn peninsula burned down last year with the Ukrainian fire service unable to operate Thousands of birds that breed in the lagoons were about to arrive The Russians dug trenches and planted mines in the nature reserve President Volydymyr Zelenskiy has signalled Ukraine will launch a counteroffensive in the near future helped by new supplies of western weapons including tanks “The writer Samuel Johnson said patriotism was the last refuge of the scoundrel,” Bychkov said Ukraine — Two explosions rocked the port of Ochakiv around 7 a.m as Russian forces unleashed a fierce assault on a Ukrainian naval base President Vladimir Putin had personally griped about as a symbol of NATO’s encroachment into Moscow’s historic sphere of influence Within minutes, the waterfront area was blanketed in thick smoke and Base А2637 At least four soldiers were seriously wounded in the blasts He added that the number of casualties was certain to rise strategic naval base for centuries —  known for being the site of a major battle of the Russo-Turkish war that began in May 1788 Russian forces led by Prince Grigory Potemkin and General Alexander Suvorov laid siege to the city They ultimately conquered it with the help of the Scottish-American naval commander who had accepted a commission as an admiral from Empress Catherine II paranoid and gripe-laden speech recognizing two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine as independent Putin claimed that Ochakiv was key to United States and NATO plans to turn Ukraine into a staging ground for attacks against Russia “The United States and NATO have begun the shameless development of the territory of Ukraine as a theater of potential military operations,” Putin said “Regular joint exercises have a clear anti-Russian focus.” “With the appearance of weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine will change in the most radical way,” Putin added though Ukraine surrendered its nuclear arsenal to Russia in 1994 a city of fewer than 14,000 about an hour’s drive from the regional capital of Mykolayiv whose population has been declining for years “I will add that the Naval Operations Center in Ochakov makes it possible to ensure the actions of NATO ships including the use of high-precision weapons by them against the Russian Black Sea Fleet and our infrastructure along the entire Black Sea coast,” Putin said He also complained that the Ochakiv base would be used to monitor Russian military forces stationed in Crimea the annexed Ukrainian peninsula located fewer than 100 kilometers away “It’s absolutely not a NATO base,” the commander said in a brief interview outside his headquarters on Wednesday Kharchenko noted that his base would be no match for Russia’s enormous military arsenal becoming one of the opening targets in the first wide-scale military invasion on the European continent since World War II army and air force bases were similarly attacked all across Ukraine including in the Western part of the country far from the eastern Donbass region where Ukrainian forces have spent years clashing with Russian-backed separatists he can even use nuclear weapons,” the captain said Kharchenko suggested supplying more weapons given Ukraine’s limited manufacturing capabilities “We need more time to develop our own weapons,” he said life proceeded as normal in downtown Ochakiv who make up as much as one-third of the local population with stalls selling everything from vegetables to fishing gear as well as underwear and other apparel “Everybody of course is afraid of war,” said Nataliya Pishuk which is now the only local newspaper left in Ochakiv “We’re a military town.” Pishuk said residents were also concerned about the economic situation which has deteriorated throughout the coronavirus pandemic said she took note of the Americans who arrived in town two summers ago to help work on the base She said they did not appear to be military men they had also helped renovate a children’s playground “They didn’t have any conflicts,” Belaya said “They had good contacts with residents of the city.” Belaya dismissed the allegations that they had constructed a NATO base and said it had been years since she had seen any Americans in town his military advisers and his close associates weren’t laughing and we will destroy the Kyiv government; this is Russian land — Ochakiv,” Vladimir Zhirinovsky an ultra-right-wing politician said in an August 2017 speech to the State Duma shoot them and hang you all. You vile creatures,” added Zhirinovsky who has run for president several times as part of Russia’s “loyal opposition.” In December Zhirinovsky predicted the invasion of Ukraine saying that the world would change on February 22 at 4 a.m reached all the way back to the Siege of Ochakov in 1788 to lay claim to the city had wanted to establish a similar naval center in Crimea but that this was blocked by Russia’s invasion and annexation of the peninsula in 2014 “The Crimeans and Sevastopol thwarted these plans; we will always remember this,” Putin said while also insisting that the plans were recreated at the new center in Ochakiv it has already been deployed in Ochakov,” he said “Let me remind you that in the 18th century the soldiers of Alexander Suvorov fought for this city. Thanks to their courage “they are trying to consign these milestones of history to oblivion as well as the names of state military figures of the Russian Empire without whose work modern Ukraine would not have many large cities and even the very exit to the Black Sea.” a monument to Alexander Suvorov was demolished in Poltava. What can you say? Renounce your own past? From the so-called colonial heritage of the Russian Empire?” “Training missions of NATO countries are deployed in Ukraine,” Putin said are already foreign military bases.” But it takes only a day-long visit to Ochakiv to find that Putin’s revanchist fantasies are not only dangerous but historically inaccurate Although the residents are predominantly Russian-speaking Asked if she considered herself Ukrainian or Russian a woman working at the local history museum laughed an acclaimed Ukrainian novelist who writes in Russian and whose books include “The Gardener from Ochakov,” said that the city had enjoyed a rich as well as shared in the suffering common throughout the former Soviet Union you will listen to Romanian and Moldovan music and radio stations,” Kurkov said in a telephone interview from Kyiv “They reach very easily the Ochakov peninsula.” it’s a mixture of ethnic groups and nationalities,” he said Residents on Thursday reported continued explosions “We hear things falling,” said one resident the residents are terrified both for their homes and their loved ones in uniform it’s a magic town with lots of stories,” Kurkov said it was a very happy place that nobody could enter without permission because it was a secret town with an army base and a navy base.” he said: “The town immediately became very poor with lots of people with strong nostalgia for the Soviet past.” “It’s still a shabby state,” he added “They were dreaming of reviving the resort and making it popular again but they didn’t have enough money to turn the Soviet rest houses into something more modern.” “I think,” the Ukraine author who writes in Russian said in English: “The nostalgia is gone for many years.” Alexey Navalny wanted to be a normal politician in a normal country There is growing international pressure not to back treaty that would allow Iranians convicted in Belgium to serve their sentences in Iran Leaders grapple with new threats and challenges Russian troops attacked the Kutsurub and Ochakiv communities with drones This was reported by the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration The Kutsurubska community was attacked on Saturday the enemy attacked Ochakiv community twice with FPV drones As a reminder, on the night of Saturday 26 April, the Russian army launched drones in Mykolaiv region Air defence destroyed three UAVs of the «Shahed 131/136 type» Sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter USS Carney prepares to go underway in Odesa WASHINGTON: As tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine on the Black Sea the US is upgrading several Ukrainian naval bases to give American and NATO warships the ability to dock just miles from Russia-controlled Crimea Centered at the Ochakiv Naval Base and the military facility at Mykolaiv — 40 miles east of Odessa and less than 100 northwest of Crimea — the American-funded effort includes reinforcing and upgrading existing piers and adding a new floating dock and a pair of brand-new Maritime Operations Centers from which Ukrainian and NATO forces can direct exercises and coordinate activities The upgrades come after last November’s incident where Russian warships fired on and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels in the Kerch Strait between Russia and Ukraine The US is building up Ukraine’s bases at Ochakiv and Mykolaiv (marked) on the Black Sea coast The new American effort in Ukraine will likely rankle Moscow Since the Cold War, “the Russian military command has always held the fear that one day Ukraine would leave Russia and eventually there would be a NATO naval base on Moscow’s doorstep,” said Michael Kofman an expert on the Russian military at CNA in Washington “That fear led to Russia seizing and annexing Crimea from which they could contest practically the entire Black Sea.” While Ukraine isn’t a NATO member, it does receive training from NATO forces and is currently hosting the annual Sea Breeze exercise that includes US and allied warships and several hundred Marines The exercise and the US support comes in direct response to Russia’s military buildup in Crimea. Since taking it by force in 2014, Moscow has sent some of its most advanced military kit to the peninsula including five S-400 anti-aircraft battalions thereby allowing Moscow to project power across the Black Sea Romania, which sits just 150 miles across the water from Crimea, is buying the Patriot air defense system from the US, and Romanian and American forces recently held a series of air defense drills in the Black Sea that simulated shooting down drones Russia’s moves haven’t gone unnoticed in the rest of Europe While visiting Washington earlier this year, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was discussing “what more we can do to enhance our security in the Black Sea region,” adding the allies had already agreed on “a package of measures to improve our situational awareness and to step up our support for both Georgia and Ukraine.” The focus will be on training of maritime forces and coast guards along with increased port visits and exercises A majority of the effort is taking place at the Ochakiv which has seen a series of visits from US Navy construction teams over the past few years The work at Ochakiv won’t be wrapped up until August operations officer for Underwater Construction Team 1 currently in Ukraine assessing the piers “The intent is to be able to use it for US and allied exercises,” he said adding that his team of divers will work to reinforce existing piers map out the seafloor to make sure bigger ships can dock there and discuss where to place the planned floating dock Service members from exercise Sea Breeze 2019 participating nations stand next to their respective flags in Ukraine All of this is happening in conjunction with the annual Sea Breeze exercise in Ukraine and the Black Sea guided missile destroyer USS Carney and expeditionary fast transport USNS Yuma entered the waterway transits which will no doubt be followed keenly by Russian forces operating nearby The arrival of Carney marks the fifth US ship to visit the Black Sea in 2019 and the first since the guided missile destroyer USS Ross was there in April the Ross participated in three interoperability exercises with the Bulgarian Navy the US Navy has also deployed a contingent of Marines and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft all of which are part of Standing NATO Maritime Group Two The ongoing NATO maritime exercises with Ukrainian forces in the Black Sea “seek to build combined capability and capacity in order to improve regional security and stability,” Lt “Our exercises in the Black Sea serve as a venue to work side-by-side with allies and partners to deter aggression and enhance our ability to work together.” The size of the US presence in the Black Sea will always be limited to the confines of the Montreux Convention which limits the ship size and length of stay in the waterway of any warships from non-Black Sea nations The aggregate tonnage of all non-Black Sea warships in the Black Sea must not exceed 30,000 tons and can only stay up to twenty-one days While there are limits to the American presence in the waterway having new port facilities in Ukraine will allow US and NATO warships to sail And the dual Maritime Operations Centers will give the Ukrainians the ability to track Russian activities while putting some US observers in the seat while American ships operate in the Black Sea The USS Carney’s visit to the Black Sea “reaffirms the US Navy’s commitment to this vital region,” Vice Adm. Lisa Franchetti, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet, said in a statement. “In this dynamic security environment, our naval forces throughout Europe remain steadfast and continue to operate routinely with our allies and partners in the Black Sea.” Distributed anti-submarine warfare leverages autonomy and advanced comms and networked sensors that already exist “Iran’s arsenal of short- to medium-range solid fuel systems are being increasingly upgraded to produce a more lethal and battlefield ready projectile,” one expert said A new Collins Aerospace system enhances U.S John Boyd’s OODA Loop was never intended to be static—it’s a dynamic model built for continuous adaptation Sign up and get Breaking Defense news in your inbox These expeditionary systems provide new layers of defense against evolving threats and enable non-kinetic attack "The Russian forces continue their attacks on the port infrastructure on the Ochakiv front," said a spokesman for Operational Command South on Monday "As a result of an attack on two port civilian tugboats that were involved in the transportation of grain barges but Russia suspended cooperation with the program after Friday night's drone strike on Sevastopol As justification for withdrawing from the agreement Russia has accused Ukraine of using protected grain ships to launch the attack UN aid director Martin Griffiths said that this was not possible as "none were in the corridor on the night of the 29th of October when the reported attacks took place and no vessel reported an incident over the weekend." Ukrainian forces continue to attack Russian riverine units on the Dnipro striking pontoon crossings which the Russian Army has set up to replace damaged bridges Two barges used for crossings in the area of the Antonovsky Bridge - a strategic viaduct that Ukraine has hit repeatedly - were destroyed over the course of the past week The crossings are essential for the resupply of the Russian pocket on the west bank of the Dnipro where Ukrainian forces are slowly gaining ground thus concluding the long-term campaign to forcibly absorb the territory of the Crimean Khanate into the Russian Empire the value of Ochakiv as a city-fortress declined because no more hostile forces existed on its flanks Ochakiv took on new military-political importance during the First and Second World Wars and was in fact occupied by Romania in 1941–1944 Ochakiv’s advantageous geographical position continued to be exploited during the post-War Soviet era: notably a naval aviation airfield and a number of fortifications were built in the city A particularly important infrastructural element of Ochakiv is its artificial Maysky Island favorably positioned in proximity to the navigable canal off the city’s coast The island was constructed in 1790 for an artillery unit that protected the Dnipro estuary It has been used as a Naval Special Forces base since 1961 daily up to 120 merchant vessels from different countries pass by Ochakiv The number of these light naval vessels will be increased to a dozen in the near future Such assets will serve to protect freedom of navigation in the BDLC ensure control over important shallow waters of the Kinburne and Tendrivska spits and adequately respond to potential amphibious-sabotage threats accessed November 1)—Ukraine is in a good position to complete an effective combat naval system in this strategically important maritime area strongly improving security in the northwestern Black Sea This work, NMCB 133 participates in ribbon cutting ceremony during Sea Breeze 2019, by PO1 Scott Bigley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright the Russian army attacked Mykolaiv region with drones Three communities were affected — Kutsurub According to the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Russians attacked the Kutsurub community with FPV drones six times As a result of one of the strikes on the village of Dniprovske, a 72-year-old woman was injured She was taken to hospital in a satisfactory condition the drone attack left more than 400 subscribers in the community without electricity The damage was quickly repaired and the power was restored an attack drone hit the Shevchenkove community The attack damaged a residential building and a power line A fire broke out and was quickly extinguished More than 250 subscribers were left without electricity restoration work is scheduled for the morning the Russian army attacked the waters of the Ochakiv community with an FPV drone As a reminder, on Wednesday, 23 April, Russian troops attacked the Kutsurub community in Mykolaiv region twice with FPV drones A deputy of the Mykolaiv City Council from the party «Propozytsiia» handed over a batch of drones to the military on camera which were purchased with money from the Mykolaiv budget The story was filmed by the municipal TV channel «MART». In it, journalists showed a deputy of the mayor's party handing over drones to the Ochakiv Defence Forces we are handing over another batch of drones to our military personnel defending the city of Ochakiv These drones were made by Mykolaiv residents at the expense of Mykolaiv residents So they are made with a special love for you and a special hatred for the Russians We hope that each of these drones will reach their destination said Fedir Panchenko during the presentation of the drones In 2023, Mykolaiv allocated about 740 million hryvnias for the needs of the Defence Forces. For comparison this is almost as much as the budgets of frontline Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia combined At the same time, in the same year, the city budget allocated 400 million hryvnias for the military, half of which was used to purchase housing for servicemen serving in the Mykolaiv garrison Earlier, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych also published a schedule of the city council's funding for the military The city purchased and delivered 17 new vehicles for the Armed Forces and 89 more units were transferred to the units from utility companies In 2023, the Planning and Budget Commission of the Mykolaiv City Council also approved the allocation of 9.6 million hryvnias in subventions for the purchase of 415 drones of various modifications as well as communications equipment and night vision devices for the military Russian troops shelled the Ochakiv community with artillery This was reported in the Mykolayiv RMA The Russians fired artillery shots at the community twice at 14:38 and 21:52 It is specified that in both cases no one was injured as a result of the shelling We will remind that on May 6, the Russian occupying forces attacked the Mykolaiv region with attack drones. The forces and means of air defense were destroyed by the Lancet-type UAV. air defence forces and equipment in Mykolaiv region destroyed a UAV of the «Shahed 131/136» type This was reported by the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitalii Kim Russian troops twice attacked the Kutsurub community with FPV drones Russians fired an FPV drone at the coastal zone of Ochakiv As a reminder, on 20 March, Russian troops carried out nine attacks with FPV drones on the Kutsurub community in Mykolaiv region This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page This will be the next stage of cooperation of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the United States after the completion of construction of the Maritime Operations Center in Ochakiv operations centers and ship repair facilities in Ochakiv and Mykolaiv at a distance less than 100 miles from Crimea enable NATO and the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to conduct training and coordinate activities," the report says is upgrading several Ukrainian naval bases for NATO and U.S warships to operate near Russian-controlled Crimea Most of the efforts are still made in Ochakiv where the construction brigades of the U.S Navy have been working for the past few years While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 The Russian army accused Ukraine Saturday of a "massive" drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea while Britain bluntly rejected Moscow's claims its specialists were involved which has been targeted several times in recent months serves as the headquarters for the fleet and a logistical hub for operations in Ukraine The Russian army claimed to have "destroyed" nine aerial drones and seven maritime ones in an attack in the port early Saturday.  Moscow's forces alleged British "specialists," whom they said were based in the southern Ukrainian city of Ochakiv had helped prepare and train Kyiv to carry out the strike.  — which Moscow sees as one of the most unfriendly Western countries — Moscow said the same British unit was involved in explosions oN the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month.  saying "the Russian Ministry of Defence is resorting to peddling false claims of an epic scale." The British defense ministry said that this "invented story says more about arguments going on inside the Russian government than it does about the West." Moscow's military said ships targeted at their Crimean base were involved in a UN-brokered deal to allow the export of Ukrainian grain.  saying its own grain exports have suffered due to Western sanctions.  the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol said Saturday's drone attack was the "most massive" the peninsula had seen.  The city's services were on "alert," but he claimed no "civilian infrastructure" had been damaged.  He called on residents of the city not to post videos of the incident on social media "It should be clear to everyone that such information is much needed for Ukrainian Nazis in order to understand how the defense of our city is built," he said City authorities said that the harbor was "temporarily" closed to boats and ferries and urged people "not to panic." as Kyiv presses a counter-offensive in the south to retake territory held by Moscow for months.  have vowed to turn the city into a fortress preparing for an inevitable assault.  Razvozhayev said a thermal power station had been attacked in Balaklava He claimed there was only minor damage and no casualties Moscow's bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland — personally inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2018 — was damaged by a blast that Putin blamed on Ukraine.  The Russian fleet stationed in the port had also been attacked by a drone in August Russia's allegations Saturday came as the Ukrainian army reported fighting in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east including near Bakhmut — the only area where Moscow's forces have advanced in recent weeks Pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside Moscow also announced a new prisoner exchange with Kyiv saying 50 will return home from each side.  AFP journalists witnessed artillery battles in the village of Kobzartsi the last settlement on the Ukrainian side before the line of contact with the Russians.  But we know that they suffer much more on their side than on ours," said Oleksiy Both sides were gearing up for the battle for the city of Kherson the regional capital that fell to Moscow's forces in the first days of their offensive Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help please support us monthly starting from just $2 and every contribution makes a significant impact independent journalism in the face of repression forces and means of air defense in Mykolaiv Region destroyed three Shahed UAVs This is reported in the Mykolaiv regional administration The Russians directed FPV-type kamikaze drones to Ochakiv and Kutsurub communities Each of the communities was hit twice by drones the Russian army shelled the water area of the Ochakiv community As a result of shelling in the Mykolaiv Oblast We will remind you that during the past day, on June 21, the Russian army shelled the territory of the Mykolaiv region twice. And on the night of June 19, the Russian army attacked Ukraine with 21 attack drones. Air defense forces and means managed to destroy 19 targets Subscriptions Zarina Zabrisky reports from Ochakiv on the Black Sea coast one of Ukraine’s most dangerous and underreported hotspots after almost a year of full-scale Russian aggression Sign up to emails Subscribe to Byline Times Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive editorial emails from the Byline Times Team Located at the mouth of the Dnipro River on the banks of the Dnipro-Buh estuary Ochakiv can trace its history all the way back to the 5th Century BC and has political and symbolic importance for Putin’s plans to restore the Russian Empire.  The Russian President referred to Ochakiv in his address to the Russian people just two days before invading Ukraine on 24 February 2022, calling the local training maritime centre a major threat to the Russian Black Sea Fleet and reminding the audience that “in the 18th Century annexed to Russia as a result of wars with the Ottoman Empire Now they are trying to oblivion these milestones of history like the names of state military figures of the Russian Empire.” breathing life into the outdated term was the first stepping stone on Putin’s way to restoring the empire Byline Times’ visit to Ochakiv was almost cancelled on April 7 2022, the Russian military fired 72 artillery and mortar shells at the city and 50 shells at the water area around it They showered the community with Soviet-made multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) BM-21 Grad (122 mm calibre) cluster munitions launched by MLRS BM-27 Uragan (220 mm calibre) and incendiary projectiles prohibited by international conventions when used against civilians.  By the time Byline Times arrived in Ochakiv from Odesa the residents were busy repairing the broken windows and smashed doors.   “We used to have thirteen thousand population before the full-scale invasion seven thousand civilians left in Ochakiv are used to the shelling,” said Mayor Serhii Bychkov. “It started two days after Putin’s speech and never stopped. That day the Russians hit what they wanted to hit.” Commenting on Putin’s allegations that Ochakiv was the location of a decision-making “NATO centre” the head of the United Coordinating Press Center of Security and Defense Forces of the South of Ukraine “Putin finds either a NATO base or a biological laboratory in every Ukrainian city.” Imaginary HIMARS garages and NATO decision-making centres are not the real reason for Ochakiv’s strategic importance to the Russian military and its natural resources all make it of paramount importance to the control of the South of Ukraine a sandy area only 40 kilometres long and fewer than ten kilometres wide The spit is the extension of the Kinburn peninsula the spit is now off-limits even for a quick visit Russians seized the Kinburn Spit in June 2022 located only 3.6 km (2.2 miles) away from the cape of Ochakiv——their missiles and drones can reach the seaports Mykolaiv and Ochakiv the Kinburn Spit could serve as a perfect springboard for attacks on these two ports connected to the currently Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region,  could be used in any attempt to recapture Kherson The Ukrainian military command understands the importance of the Kinburn Spit and works on preventing such moves “We have defeated the Russians at the western part of the Kinburn Spit during the first week of April,” Natalia Humeniuk told Byline Times crossing the estuary on boats would be too dangerous for our military the enemy had to withdraw from the tip of the spit to the peninsula and the shelling stopped for a couple of days”  On 7 April the Russians launched a particularly ferocious bombardment of Ochakiv this was “clearly the reaction to the success of the Ukrainian army”.  “Their tactic is to convince the residents that the Ukrainian military was to blame for the Russian attacks so we will hurt you.’ Ukrainian people understand that if their army hits the enemy the latter will take revenge on innocent civilians,” Humeniuk said “The Russians are thus trying to convey to the world that the Ukrainian army is fighting against its own people.” confirmed that the Russians had to retreat to the peninsula due to the risk of their positions being destroyed by the Ukrainian artillery the invaders move their equipment back to the very tip of the Kinburn Spit and then quickly retreat to avoid our artillery fire,” he told Byline Times “They are firing in the dark as they are afraid to be targeted The 14-ton MLRS vehicles get stuck in the sand and the Russian military has to build special passages – prokhody.” the Mayor of Ochakiv doesn’t underestimate the capacities of the Russian military “There was hardly one day without artillery fire in Ochakiv,” he told Byline Times “and even children tell the type of shells by the sound Cannon artillery and MLRS take 12-15 seconds to reach the target We have built bomb shelters where anyone can spend a night.” The residents of Ochakiv understand both the danger and the Russian tactic. Standing by the damaged stalls at the city market “If the Russian incendiary projectiles interacted with the leaked gas and we are thankful.” A middle-aged woman at an ATB supermarket said Thank god for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU)!” The Mayor of Ochakiv also sounded positive, “We will clear our land.”  We cannot drop an aerial bomb to destroy territory for several kilometres around and we don’t want to and will not harm them.” the population of the Kinburn Spit was 800 people 130 in one village and 50 in another live under occupation blocking the inspections of ships transporting grain Unsurprisingly, Ukraine’s intention to add the Mykolaiv ports to the deal is not popular with the Russian Government “Negotiations are underway to add the Mykolaiv region ports to the ‘grain corridor’ but Russia wants to cut the Mykolaiv capacities from the grain deal and ensuring the opportunity to sell their own grain While the Russians control the Kinburn Spit Ukraine cannot ensure a safe ship passage from Mykolaiv.” The Kinburn Spit—“a cape thin as a hair” in Turkish—is the realm of myths and legends The Greek historian Herodotus visited the area and call it “a home to the Scythians,” in the 5th Century B.C Scythian gold is said to be hidden in the sandy dunes and amber sailed here on the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” between Scandinavia and the Baltics to Byzantium it was in Ochakiv that Baron Munchausen’s horse survived being chopped in two only to be sewn together later in the satirical fantasy novel written by Rudolf Erich Raspe. And in a final historical irony,  the Kinburn Spit could have inspired the most iconic image of Russian culture, Lukomorye wrote of a magical forest of “the Russian spirit” on a bow-shaped cape described by Herodotus as the “green miracle” Scythian gold would be of interest to the Russian military this is not the major attraction for Putin For the immortality-hungry Russian president Ochakiv symbolizes ‘Novorossiya’ and the colonial conquests The hope of inscribing himself in history as a great military leader of modern times could be sinking as fast as the Soviet-made artillery in the sands of the Kinburn Spit Byline Times is brought to you by a dedicated team of journalists and contributors – producing independent, fearless, investigative and thought-provoking journalism not found in the established media. We are regulated by Impress To find the nearest newsagent stocking this month’s edition, search here. AboutContactSubscriptions Complaints Byline Media Holdings Ltd, Byline Times & Yes We Work Ltd Intelligence claims operation is part of Russia’s blockade of grain exports The Russian navy has been given orders to lay mines at the ports of Odesa and Ochakiv, and has already mined the Dnieper River, as part of a blockade of Ukrainian grain exports, according to newly declassified US intelligence. US officials also released satellite images showing the damage inflicted by Russian missile strikes earlier this month on Ukraine’s second biggest grain terminal at nearby Mykolaiv, at a time when the interruption of grain exports threatens to trigger a global famine. Sunflower oil storage tanks at Mykolaiv came under attack on Wednesday. Read moreRussia has denied laying mines around the Black Sea ports and has turned around the allegations on Kyiv claiming instead the Ukrainians have mined their own ports The US says its intelligence points to a concerted Russian strategy to cut off the stretch of the coast still under Ukrainian control “The United States has information that the Black Sea fleet is under orders to effectively blockade the Ukrainian ports of Odesa and Ochakiv,” a US official said “We can confirm that despite Russia’s public claims that it is not mining the north-western Black Sea Russia actually is deploying mines in the Black Sea near Ochakiv We also have indication that Russian forces previously mined the Dnieper River.” which have caused a cessation of maritime trade in the northern third of the Black Sea and made the region unsafe for navigation as Ukraine’s seaborne exports are vital to global food security,” the official said pointing out that Ukraine supplied a 10th of global wheat exports and about 95% of those exports left the country through the Black Sea ports Alternative land routes are being examined, while the UK has offered technical expertise to Turkey, which has offered to escort cargo ships through the Black Sea. But Ankara said it had not been able to fix a date for a meeting with Russian officials to discuss the proposed grain convoys. The US also declassified satellite images on Thursday showing the scale of damage inflicted in a 4 June Russian attack on the Nika-Tera grain terminal in Mykolaiv, the second biggest in Ukraine. “The image makes clear that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to the destruction of three of the site’s grain silos as well as the conveyor system that loads grain on to vessels,” the US official said. “Because of Russia’s attack, the export capacity of the grain terminal has been reduced by at least one-third.” Read moreVideo footage released on Thursday also showed serious damage to at least two storage tanks for sunflower oil at a terminal in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Mykolaiv caused by a Russian missile strike on Wednesday The Kremlin has formally denied trying to trigger a global famine the head of the Russian propaganda outlet RT “The famine will start now and they will lift the sanctions and be friends with us, because they will realise that it’s impossible not to be friends with us,” Simonyan told the St Petersburg Economic Forum in whom the NACP previously found signs of illegal enrichment law enforcement officers opened criminal proceedings Maryna Kalyna, spokeswoman of the regional police department of the Mykolaiv region, informed the correspondent of Ukrinform about this «Criminal proceedings have been instituted against Mayor Ochakiv under two articles: Part 1 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code (Declaration of Inauthentic Information) and Art 368-5 (Illegal enrichment),» said Maryna Kalyna she also added that the investigation is conducted by the police of the Mykolaiv region We will remind you that in 2022, the mayor of Ochakiv, Serhii Bychkov, bought an apartment in Spain worth more than 5 million hryvnias. In April 2022, Mayor Serhii Bychkov did not allow journalists to work in the city, and the deputy mayor commented on it as follows: «You don't need to go here». Although later, Ochakiv's mayor's office explained Serhii Bychkov's absence in public space as his dislike for such communication and admitted that the media coverage did not save the community from shelling and occupation. Bychkov's private behavior and the lack of reports on the results of his work were explained by the head of Mykolaiv RMA by the fact that he is a «non-public person». Eduard Shevchenko headed the department of the Ochakiv City Council responsible for security in the city and was the commander of the 73rd Naval Special Forces Center. During his detention in March 2023 that he had tried to recruit Serhii Bychkov when Eduard Shevchenko was the head of the department of protection and surveillance of the housing and communal services department of the Ochakiv City Council he received a task from Serhii Kolesnikov to recruit the mayor for a loyal relationship In a direct conversation with Bychkov in the city council Shevchenko said that representatives of the Russian Federation want to talk to the mayor He proposed through me,» he told Kolesnikov at the time after communicating with the Ochakiv mayor Even after his arrest, Eduard Shevchenko said that he was surprised by the SSU release, which stated that he tried to recruit mayor Serhii Bychkov to work for the Russians The Deputy Chairman of the Public Control Council of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, Denys Zhelo, commented on the lack of claims by law enforcement officers against Ochakiv Mayor Serhii Bychkov the mayor of Ochakov Serhii Bychkov «was friends in all directions with the Russian intelligence agent Eduard Shevchenko.» Eduard Shevchenko himself noted that he considers Serhii Bychkov to be the most effective mayor of all those who were in Ochakiv. the family sheltered the cat and treated it This was reported in the Ochakiv City Council They noted that the rabies situation in Ochakiv is extremely tense and dangerous a case of rabies among animals was registered this month They are currently being treated in a city hospital «Taking into account the introduction of martial law on the territory of Ukraine combat operations on the territory of the Mykolaiv region during 2022-2023 and January-February 2024 restrictions on hunting and regulation of hunting issues have been established The entire territory of the Mykolaiv region is dangerous for rabies as predatory animals are able to move over considerable distances in a short period of time the number of homeless (feral) domestic animals is increasing,» the city council said We will remind you that at the beginning of February in Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast, an unfavorable situation was declared due to an outbreak of rabies in animals and quarantine restrictions were introduced. After the withdrawal of Ochakiv Oblast from the combat zone it is possible to demine the beaches and partially restore Ochakiv as a resort town within six months This opinion was voiced by the deputy chief of Mykolaiv RMA took care of tourism issues in a comment to NikVesti as part of the development of the program for the restoration and development of the Ochakiv community most of the answers were related to the restoration of tourism Mykola Marinov is sure that restoring Ochakiv's tourist potential is a matter of more than one decade I don't want to be too optimistic and set people up for work I don't know how many more years or decades it will be carried out,» he noted it is possible to discuss the possibility of restoring the community's tourist and resort potential only after the withdrawal of Russian troops at least to the administrative border of Crimea demining the water area can be point-wise and cordoned off this format of recovery will go the season we also demine the water area near the beach and install a barrier,» Mykola Marinov noted But this will not solve the global problem of the future of tourism for the Ochakiv community Deputy Mayor Oleksii Vaskov adds that the Ochakiv authorities still have no idea how much the coast of the estuary as we have no idea how littered our shores are,» he said Read more about the prospects and possibilities of restoration of Ochakiv Oblast in the article «Ochakiv: what a front-line city lives and dreams of» in the article by NikVesti It should be noted that 92% of residents of the Ochakiv community in the Mykolaiv region believe in the restoration of the community after leaving the war zone Russia has fortified the spit and used it as a site to deploy electronic warfare capabilities as well as coordinate missile and artillery attacks on Ukraine’s coastal territories and port facilities in Odesa the attack was carried out by Russian military mobile groups on the Kinburn Spit using the latest Russian Kornet-D anti-tank guided missile systems installed on Tiger armored vehicles Targeting for the attack was provided from observation points located on the northern coast of the spit equipped with night-vision sensors and portable radars Given the importance of the Kinburn Spit for the Russian occupation force what is the military solution for Ukraine to recapture the spit The half-year saga over the fight for the Kinburn Spit has outlined the importance of coastal defense and a surface fleet in defending the Ukrainian coast and littoral waters (40 to 100 miles off the coast) The lessons learned in Kinburn confirm the necessity for the Ukrainian Navy to develop feasible sea denial and sea control capabilities able to stop and repel a more powerful enemy from the sea Considering the enemy’s close geographic proximity Ukraine must first ensure its maritime security in coastal areas and littoral waters and only afterward plan to extend its efforts to the open sea Developing a fleet of maritime assault drones may support these efforts in littoral waters threatening enemy corvettes and frigates armed with Kalibr cruise missiles These vessels and their “sea control” capability can be delivered to and removed from the operational area by air or by ground given their light displacement (less than 100 tons) these boats will gain even more importance in regard to the need for a potential restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty over the coastal waters of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov The vessels currently in use by the Ukrainian Navy, including the Gurza-M, PO-2, Zhuk and SeaArk Dauntless classes, are significantly less powerful and maneuverable and will have minimum contribution to the success of such operations at sea (The Drive in the confined waters of the Black Sea’s northwestern region would be desirable but provide easy targets for a more powerful enemy that dominates in air and sea power may have the effect of denying the enemy the sea by using a combination of maneuver and missile fire to hunt and sink Russian vessels in littoral waters that are supporting ground troops in the occupied Ukrainian territories Ukraine has a few months to develop such capabilities to restore and control its 1991 maritime boundaries it will be critical to secure Ukraine’s south and re-open navigation from Mykolaiv which would contribute significantly to rebooting Ukraine’s international maritime and agriculture sectors control over the Kinburn spit and peninsula will provide Ukraine with future access for the de-occupation of the Ukrainian coast along the Sea of Azov and Crimean Peninsula time is of the essence as the Russian military is actively building fortification to prevent any possible Ukrainian advance in these directions Soldiers of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center died heroically during a combat mission in a clash with Russian invaders This was reported by the press service of the Special Operations Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces It is noted that Ochakiv fighters ensured the departure of the main forces of the group after completing a special task «The heroic and extremely difficult combat work of the SO units on land at sea and in the deep rear of the enemy is the daily contribution of SO soldiers to the victory over the enemy,» the message reads It was previously reported that the Transcarpathian 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade confirmed the death of 19 servicemen from a Russian attack near the front line on November 3 Today Russian forces shelled Ochakiv in the Mykolaiv region. As a result of the enemy attack, there are casualties, according to the police chief of the Mykolaiv region Serhiy Shaikhet. "Another act of terror in the city of Ochakiv Mykolaiv region," he said adding that this time a residential five-story building in the city center was affected Photo: Consequences of the shelling (t.me/s_shayhet) The police and the State Emergency Service of the region are working at the scene," Shaikhet added Russian strikes on Ochakiv and the Mykolaiv region Ochakiv is located on the northern coast of the Dnipro-Buzka estuary and is regularly attacked by Russians The enemy once again targeted residential buildings and vital infrastructure During a massive attack on Ukraine overnight, Russian occupiers also targeted the resort area near Kobleve in the Mykolaiv region VLADIMIR Putin has declared WAR on Ukraine and unleashed his terrifying arsenal with a full scale assault on the country - plunging Europe into a bloody new crisis The tyrant declared a “special military operation” in Ukraine with a dawn raid after months of amassing his forces on the border and brazenly lying to the world about his plans to invade The world is waking up to what could the most horrific crisis since World War 2 as Putin seeks to tear down the world order His full scale invasion of Ukraine is all part of his deluded plan to rebuild the Soviet Union amid his paranoid fears over Nato Ukrainians faced the sound of booming explosions and blaring air raid sirens as missiles airstrikes and artillery shells fell on their homeland The first explosions were heard around 3.30am local time - and then two hours later Putin took to Russian airwaves to announce his attack He chillingly warned the West that there would be "consequences greater than any you have faced in history" if there are any moves to interfere with the invasion Moments later the first powerful explosions were reported as armoured columns were spotted moving towards the border And this morning just as Ukraine was assessing the damage a second wave of missile strikes came hammering down Global leaders have condemned Russia and pledged to stand with Ukraine - with the world now just one false move from what could become World War 3. And the Kremlin has said the operation will last "as long as necessary" Hundreds are already feared to have been killed or wounded in a conflict that could kill tens of thousands and displace millions “This is just the start - we have intelligence that a bigger second wave is coming," a Ukrainian military source told The Sun ballistic missiles and multiple attacks - this is more than our worst fears.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Putin had "chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction" while US President Joe Biden described the assault as an "unprovoked and unjustified attack" getting information out of the war-torn nation remains difficult Russian forces allegedly told border guards "if you resist we will destroy you" as they rolled into Ukraine Ukraine claims it shot down six Russian planes and has killed at least 50 of Putin's troops in the opening flurry of action with Moscow suffering "heavy losses" at least 40 of Kyiv's troops have been killed with dozens wounded Horrific footage showed a full on helicopter assault on the airport at Gostomel as three Russian choppers were shot down 🔵 Read our Russia - Ukraine live blog for the very latest updates have already been reported across Ukraine - including a child being hurt by Russian fire in Mariupol Pictures showed blood drenched civilians and people fleeing for their lives And one horror video showed a cyclist being blown up in a strike in the Vinnytsia region Addressing his bloodied and bruised nation Ukrainian president Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his people to fight for their homes two US B-52 nuclear-capable bombers took off amid the tensions "This is a morning which will go down in history - Russia has taken the path of evil," he said “Russia has attacked our state in a cunning way like Nazi Germany did in World War 2." Zelenskyy said the government will provide weapons to people who want them and urged anyone with military experience to step forward He added: "We will fight for our country and we will support our country in the squares of each town." Mr Zelenskyy added the armed forces are "ready" To anyone who would consider interfering from outside: If you do you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history Ministry advisor Anton Herashchenko said Russian troops had landed in Odessa and separately were moving into Kharkiv Herashchenko said: "Either Ukraine and the world will stop the new Hitler now has told his Russian counterpart: "There is no purgatory for war criminals the commander of the Ukrainian armed forces was given orders to inflict "maximum losses" against the invading Russians Russian troops are believed to have moved up to three miles deep into Ukrainian territory in Kharkiv and Chernihiv The goal of the first wave is believed to have been a bid to rout Ukraine's military but Kyiv is understood to be standing firm Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said "our army is fighting back inflicting significant losses to the enemy" Putin's invasion is earth-shattering follow up to his annexation of Crimea which he snatched from his neighbour in 2014 It was that assault which sparked a rebel conflict in the country's eastern Donbas region - with Putin just days ago formerly recognising the separatist states as a prelude to his attack Russia has long been furious over the fact Ukraine has grown closer with the West since the break up of the Soviet Union - and fears it could one day join Nato Putin also launched a prong of its attack from neighbouring Belarus - where Putin has been shameless wooing its leader Alexander Lukashenko a man known as "Europe's last dictator" CCTV showed Russian military forces seemingly crossing the border into Ukraine from Belarus and also from captured Crimea Explosions erupted across the country with reports of airstrikes and missiles falling on key infrastructure in the first wave Ukraine's Interior Ministry has placed the nation under martial law - and civilians have started to flee their homes Police sources reported explosions as air raid sirens blared as far west as Lviv - where embassies including Britain’s relocated last week Putin justified his bloody assault in a televised address - making false claims about "protecting" Russians in eastern Ukraine He had always been predicted to use a phoney humanitarian crisis a pretext for an invasion President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine The tyrant accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia's demands to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and for security guarantees The former KGB enforcer also claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but will move to "demilitarize" and "de-Nazify" it - bringing those who committed "crimes" to justice And in a chilling warning to the West he added: "To anyone who would consider interfering from outside: If you do you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history." Unconfirmed reports and pictures of wreckage suggested a Russian drone had been shot down near Kyiv Access to the Black Sea and Azov Sea was cut off as an amphibious landing from a tanker and helicopter aircraft was reported near the southern port of Odessa A string of explosions were also heard across Odessa as an aerial bombardment got underway ONE wrong move in the Russia and Ukraine crisis could spark a nuclear war as Vladimir Putin is acting just like Hitler the former First Sea Lord issued the dire warning should Putin launch an assault on Ukraine The 73-year-old told The Sun Online: "This is extremely dangerous The risk of a miscalculation could lead to a war in Europe which could then become a global conflict - and the use of nuclear weapons "There is no doubt Putin wants to control the Ukraine - if he can do that without too much pain he will be tempted to try and do something against one of the European countries "And that will inevitably lead to a war between Russia and Nato and inevitably lead to the use of nuclear weapons." Lord West also warned Putin is becoming more "unpredictable" - and increasingly behaving in the same way as Hitler once did He said: "Putin is going the way so many dictators are becoming unpredictable and not acting in a rational manner "Whilst he loves the idea of the Russia empire he actually doesn't really care about the Russians and a leader with his power is highly dangerous "Hitler created all sorts of the same excuses in the same way as Putin is "Putin wants to overturn the world order and go back to the Soviet Union - where he effectively controls them He thinks all these countries should be in the thrall of Russia." More blasts and gunfire echoed across the northern city of Kharkiv - just 20 miles from the Russian border Power outages were feared to have rocked Kyiv at around 6.30am as lights went out answer heard an enormous blast to the soon after at 6.37am Then at 7.05am sirens began blaring across the capital for the first time as frightened locals braced themselves for a bomb blitz Putin’s forces were understood to be targeting command and control centres in the first phase of the attack - while troops entered Odessa and Ukraine’s other main southern city A single large explosion echoed over Severodonetsk and long queues formed at petrol station as residents prepared to flee The pre-dawn assault spread panic in frontline Luhansk district which has suffered sporadic shelling for days before it’s too late,” said a terrified resident But elsewhere commuters appeared to make their way to work as usual – unfazed by the fears of a bloodbath Heavy explosions were also reported in Kramatorsk A spokesman for Ukrainian ground forces claimed to have shot down five enemy aircraft and one helicopter near Luhansk in early exchanges of fire Video also appeared to show a ferocious firefight on the outskirts of Kharkiv as Russian forces advanced Major fighting was also reported near the border between annexed Crimea and Ukraine where Ukrainian commanders claimed to have repelled a Russian incursion The first signs of panic emerged on the streets of Kyiv as distant booms rocked the city when long queues began forming at cash machines But electricity and gas supplies appeared to be holding up during the first phase of the attack as civic leaders pleaded for calm Long queues also began forming at petrol stations as panic buyers clamoured to stock up fuel to flee the mounting chaos pariah president Putin said he had launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region he urged Ukrainian soldiers who are facing off Russian-backed rebels to lay down weapons and return to their homes The lying strongman said Russia did not plan to occupy Ukraine - but warned that Moscow's response would be "instant" if anyone tries to take on Russia Metadata identifying the timings of Putin’s declaration of war video showed it was recorded on the evening of 21 February Ukraine's foreign ministry says the "fighting spirit of the Ukrainian military is high our defenders are ready to repel the aggressor state" Defiant Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine “Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes US President Joe Biden said Washington and its allies would respond in a united and decisive way to "an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces" on Ukraine "President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering," Mr Biden said "The world will hold Russia accountable." Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "I am appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and I have spoken to President Zelensky to discuss next steps "President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine "The UK and our allies will respond decisively." Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/ Ukraine’s secu­rity service says a woman has been arrested over a Russian plot to kill President Volodymyr Zelensky The service said she had tried to find out the itinerary ahead of his visit to flood-hit Mykolaiv in June Ukraine regularly accuses local residents who support Russia of passing information to help Mos­cow’s military Mr Zelensky confirmed he had been informed about the arrest saying the head of the SBU had up­dated him about the “fight against traitors” said in a statement that the woman was arrested “red-handed” when she was trying to pass intelli­gence to the Russians she tried to gather intelligence to try to find out Mr Zelensky’s plans in the southern Mykolaiv region They also published an image of the suspect with masked SBU officers in a kitchen blurring the faces of both the woman and the officers Mr Zelensky visited Mykolaiv in June to see the damage caused by the Kakhovka dam breach and then again in July after heavy Russian shelling The security service said it was made aware of the plot before the visit and put in additional security measures It alleged Russia was planning a “massive airstrike on the Mykolaiv region” and the suspect was trying to provide them with information about the locations of electronic warfare systems and warehouses with ammunition which could be targeted by the Russian military the suspect lived in a small town called Ochakiv and was working in a shop at a military base there It is understood the SBU did not arrest the suspect at the time of the visit and took security measures to prevent an attack on the Ukrainian president Agents followed her after the visit to find out more about her actions and “assignments received” by the Russians The statement alleged the suspect had driven in the area and had tak­en pictures and video of Ukrainian military facilities