KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia lost a significant number of soldiers and important equipment when Ukrainian forces thwarted their attempt to cross a river to the east, British officials said Friday, another sign of the Moscow struggles to win decisive victories and save a war gone wrong.
Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, have opened the conflict’s first war crimes trial, in proceedings that will be closely monitored by international monitors keen to ensure the atrocities are prosecuted fairly. A Russian soldier is accused of killing a Ukrainian civilian at the start of the war.
The trial begins as Russia’s campaign in Donbass, the industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine, progresses timidly.
The Ukrainian Airborne Forces Command released photos of what it said was a damaged Russian pontoon bridge over the Siversky Donets River and several destroyed or damaged Russian military vehicles nearby. Ukrainian reports said Russian troops blocked Russian passage across the river earlier this week, leaving dozens of tanks or military vehicles damaged or forcing troops to abandon them.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Friday that Russia had lost “significant” elements of at least one battalion battle group – around 1,000 soldiers – as well as equipment used to rapidly deploy a makeshift pontoon bridge as he was trying to cross the river.
“Conducting river crossings in a contested environment is a very risky maneuver and speaks to the pressure on Russian commanders to advance their operations in eastern Ukraine,” the ministry said in its daily update. information.
They struggled to do so, even after diverting troops from other parts of the country to Donbass, the statement said.
Some analysts initially thought the campaign in Donbass could offer President Vladimir Putin an easier battleground, after his forces failed to overrun the capital. Instead, Russian and Ukrainian troops fought village by village.
In the fierce fighting, the Ukrainian military chief of the eastern region of Luhansk said on Friday that Russian forces had opened fire 31 times on residential areas the day before, destroying dozens of houses, including in the villages of Hirske and Popasnyanska, and a bridge in Rubizhne.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials claimed another success in the Black Sea, saying their forces shot down another Russian vessel, although there was no confirmation from Russia and no casualties were reported. reported.
The logistics ship Vsevolod Bobrov was badly damaged but it is not believed to have sunk when it was hit while trying to deliver an anti-aircraft system to Snake Island, said Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the President of Ukraine .
In April, the Ukrainian army sank the cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. In March, he destroyed the landing ship Saratov.
Not only has Russia struggled to make progress on the battlefield, but the invasion has also breathed new life into the Western NATO alliance – which is set to expand soon.
On Thursday, Finland’s president and prime minister announced that the Nordic country should immediately apply to join the military defense pact founded in part to counter the Soviet Union.
Finland’s parliament has yet to weigh in, but the announcement means it is almost certain to apply – and be admitted. Similarly, Sweden plans to place itself under the protection of NATO.
The Kremlin has warned that it could take “military-technical” retaliatory measures.
Support from NATO countries for Ukraine was key to its surprising success in thwarting the Russian invasion. Western nations have also imposed harsh sanctions on Russia to punish it for the war – and outrage has only grown after allegations of atrocities committed by Moscow’s troops began to emerge.
On Feb. 28, four days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Sgt. Vadim Shyshimarin, 21, was among a group of Russian soldiers who had been defeated by Ukrainian forces, according to the prosecutor general.
As the Russians fled, they headed for a village in the Sumy region, and Shyshimarin is accused of shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian man in the head. This murder is just one of thousands of potential war crimes Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating.
Numerous alleged atrocities came to light last month after Moscow forces ended their attempt to capture kyiv and withdrew from the capital, exposing mass graves and streets littered with bodies in towns like Bucha.
In a small Kyiv courtroom on Friday, dozens of reporters, many with cameras, gathered to watch the start of wartime proceedings. The suspect, dressed in a blue and gray hoodie and gray sweatpants, sat in a small glass cage during the procedure, which lasted about 15 minutes.
Shyshimarin was asked a series of questions, including whether he understood his rights and whether he wanted a jury trial. He refused the latter. His lawyer, Victor Ovsyanikov, acknowledged the case against him was strong, but said the final decision on what evidence to allow will be made by the Kyiv court. The lawyer did not indicate what defense he will offer.
Shyshimarin, a member of a tank unit that was captured by Ukrainian forces, admitted shooting the civilian in a video released by Ukraine’s Security Service, saying he was ordered to do so.
As the war continues, teachers are trying to restore some sense of normality after the war closed Ukrainian schools and devastated the lives of millions of children. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, classes are held in a metro station used as a bomb shelter that has become home to many families.
“It helps support them mentally. Because now there is a war, and many have lost their homes…some people’s parents are fighting now,” said teacher Valeriy Leiko. Partly because of the lessons, he says, “they feel someone loves them.”
School-age children joined Leiko around a table for history and art lessons in the subway station, where children’s drawings now line the walls.
An older student, Anna Fedoryaka, was watching online from her basement the lectures on Ukrainian literature given by Kharkiv professor Mykhailo Spodarets.
Internet connection was an issue for some, Fedoryaka said. And, “it’s hard to concentrate when you have to do your homework with explosions next to your window.”
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Yesica Fisch in Bakhmut, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv, Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Elena Becatoros in Odessa and other AP staff from around the world contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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