Find all the latest news from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine for Tuesday 27 June 2023.
ADVERTISEMENTThe UK's Ministry of Defence believes Ukrainian forces are highly likely to have recaptured some territory occupied by Russia since 2014.
At the weekend, a Ukrainian commander said land had been retaken near the Russian-occupied village of Krasnohorivka.
The UK's Ministry of Defence reported that Ukrainian airborne forces had made small advances from that village, near Donetsk.
The development came as Ukraine's leader said his counter-offensive was making advances all on all fronts, and welcomed the expected announcement by the US of a further $500 million (€457.74 million) in military aid to Ukraine.
This would include more than 50 heavily armoured vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defence systems.
Because the aid packages are generally planned in advance and recently included many of the same critical weapons for the battlefront, the contents weren't likely chosen based on the weekend rebellion in Russia.
But, the missiles and heavy vehicles can be used as Ukraine tries to capitalise on what has been a growing feud between the Wagner Group leader and Russia’s military brass, with simmering questions about how many of Prigozhin's forces may leave the fight.
An official announcement on funding from the White House was expected on Tuesday.
Rebellion leader lands in Belarus, according to president
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary group Wagner, had arrived in Belarus after the short-lived armed mutiny in Russia.
Prigozhin’s exile in Belarus had been announced by the Kremlin announced earlier as part of the deal that ended the rebellion.
Lukashenko said Prigozhin has moved to Belarus and he and some of his troops would be welcome to stay in Belarus “for some time” at their own expense.
Earlier, Russian authorities said they had closed a criminal investigation into the aborted armed rebellion led by the mercenary chief and were pressing no charges against him or his troops.
The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said its investigation found that those involved in the mutiny, which lasted less than 24 hours after Prigozhin declared it on Friday, “ceased activities directed at committing the crime,” so the case would not be pursued.
UN report finds civilians were tortured and executed
Russian forces carried out widespread and systematic torture of civilians who were detained in connection with its attack on Ukraine, summarily executing dozens of them, the United Nations human rights office said Tuesday.
The global body interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses for a report detailing more than 900 cases of civilians, including children and elderly people, being arbitrarily detained in the conflict, most of them by Russia.
The vast majority of those interviewed said they were tortured and in some cases subjected to sexual violence during detention by Russian forces, the head of the UN human rights office in Ukraine said.
“Torture was used to force victims to confess to helping Ukrainian armed forces, compel them to cooperate with the occupying authorities or intimidate those with pro-Ukrainian views,” said Matilda Bogner.
The report, which covers a 15-month period from the start of the Russian invasion to May 2023, also documented 75 cases of arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces, saying a significant proportion of these also amounted to enforced disappearances.
ADVERTISEMENTMore than half of those detained by Ukrainian forces also reported being tortured or mistreated, usually while they were being interrogated or immediately after arrest, said Bogner.
Ukraine gave UN investigators “unimpeded confidential access” to detainees at official detention centers, with the exception of a group of 87 Russian sailors, she said.
“The Russian Federation did not grant us such access, despite our requests,” Bogner said.