Ukraine

KYIV, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Security Service of Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of preparing to stage a "false flag" attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus in order to blame Ukrainian saboteurs as part of an effort to draw Minsk into the war in Ukraine.

The attack, it said in a statement on the Telegram app, would be carried out by military and intelligence forces sent by Moscow to Belarus disguised as Wagner mercenaries who were exiled after staging a mutiny in Russia in June.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian sea drones attacked a major Russian port Friday, damaging a naval ship, according to a Ukrainian official, as the Black Sea becomes an increasingly important battleground in the war. Moscow claimed it repelled the attack.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian shelling on Thursday damaged a landmark church in the southern city of Kherson that once held the remains of a renowned 18th-century Russian commander.

Ukraine’s emergency service said four of its workers were wounded in a second round of shelling as they fought the fire at St. Catherine’s Cathedral. Four other people were wounded in the first shelling attack, which also hit a trolleybus, the prosecutor general’s office said.

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Poland called in the ambassadors from each other's countries on Tuesday as a dispute escalated after a foreign policy adviser to Poland's president said Kyiv should show more appreciation for Warsaw's support in its war with Russia.

The adviser, Marcin Przydacz, also said the Polish government must defend the interests of the country's farmers - a reference to a ban on imports of Ukrainian commodities which will expire next month.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones on Wednesday hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with NATO member Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports following the end of a deal with Russia that allowed Ukrainian shipments to world markets.

KYIV, July 31 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces have recaptured nearly 15 square km (5.8 square miles) of land from Russian troops in the east and south over the past week during their counteroffensive, a senior defence official said on Monday.

Kyiv's forces have now retaken 204.7 sq km in the south since they launched a major push against Russian forces early last month, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app.

July 31 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Croatia have agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for the export of Ukrainian grain, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after talks with his Croatian counterpart on Monday.

Russia quit the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal this month, depriving Ukraine, a global producer, of a vital conduit to safely export its agricultural products during the war.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown Monday, killing six people and wounding 75 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said.

One of the two missiles that hit the central city of Kryvyi Rih destroyed part of an apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.

KYIV July 29 (Reuters) - Ukrainian soldiers were observed using North Korean rockets that they said were seized by a "friendly" country before being delivered to Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

Ukraine's defence ministry suggested the arms were captured from the Russians, the newspaper said.

The United States has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia, including alleged shipments by sea, but has not offered proof and North Korean weapons have not been widely observed on the battlefields in Ukraine.

July 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine is to start consultations with the United States this week on providing security guarantees for Kyiv pending the completion of the process of joining NATO, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff said on Sunday.

Andriy Yermak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, also said officials from a number of countries were preparing to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss Zelenskiy's peace plan for Ukraine, based on the departure of all Russian troops.