the Azov regiment deemed “terrorist” in Russia

by time news

► Washington will send for 550 million dollars of additional weapons

The United States announced on Monday August 1 that it will send new weapons to Ukrainian forces fighting the Russian invasion worth $550 million, including ammunition for rocket launchers that are increasingly important in the battle. .

This aid goes in particular “include more ammunition for (…) Himars systems”, said a spokesman for the White House. This brings the total amount of military assistance given to Ukraine since President Joe Biden took office to more than $8 billion, he said.

The new aid will also include 75,000 155mm rounds, the Pentagon said in a statement. “The United States will continue to work with allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities”underlined the Pentagon.

► The Azov regiment recognized as “terrorist” by Russia

The Russian Supreme Court on Tuesday classified the Ukrainian Azov regiment, famous for having defended the Azovstal factory in Mariupol for many weeks, as “terrorist organization”which could be worth very heavy prosecution to its fighters taken prisoner by Russia.

Quoted by the public agency TASS, a judge of the Supreme Court indicated “to satisfy the administrative request of the General Prosecutor’s Office, to recognize the Ukrainian paramilitary unit “Azov” as a terrorist organization and to prohibit its activities” in Russia. She clarified that this decision would come into effect immediately.

Most of the trial took place behind closed doors. According to TASS, witnesses had been called to the stand and spoke about alleged crimes committed by the Azov regiment in Ukraine. According to Russian law, the leaders of a terrorist organization risk 15 to 20 years in prison, ordinary members between 5 and 10 years.

The Kremlin and Russian state media accuse the regiment of being a neo-Nazi group that has committed war crimes and threaten to punish its members very severely.

► A first shipment of cereals off the Turkish coast

The first shipment of cereals exported by Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24 arrived on Tuesday August 2 off the Turkish coast, on the Black Sea, in application of the agreement signed in July between kyiv and Moscow to stem the global food crisis. The Razoni, a freighter flying the flag of Sierra Leone, which had left the Ukrainian port of Odessa the day before with 26,000 tonnes of maize bound for Tripoli in Lebanon, came into sight of the northern shores of Istanbul.

The ship, which is to spend the night anchored off the Turkish coast, will be inspected on Wednesday morning by an international team at the entrance to the Bosphorus, in accordance with the wishes of Russia, which wants to be sure of the nature of the cargo, said the Turkish Ministry of Defence.

On Monday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres “warmly” welcomed the departure of Razoni, expressing the hope that the resumption of Ukrainian exports, made possible by an international agreement, “will provide much-needed stability and aid to global food security”. According to the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba, 16 other boats loaded with cereals “waiting their turn” to leave Odessa, the main Ukrainian port, located on the Black Sea, which before the war concentrated 60% of the country’s port activity.

Volodymyr Zelensky judged that he was “too early to draw conclusions and make predictions”in his daily address. “Let’s wait to see how the agreement will work and if security will really be guaranteed”even though “this is a first positive signal”.

► The Ukrainian counteroffensive is progressing towards Kherson

Ukrainian forces have retaken 46 localities in the strategic southern Kherson region as part of their counter-offensive, the local governor said on Monday. “To date, 46 occupied localities have been liberated in the Kherson region”he said on national television.

According to him, these villages are in the northern part of the region, on the border with that of Dniepropetrovsk and in the southern part on the border with the heavily bombed Mykolaiv region. Some of the villages taken over “have been 90% destroyed and are still under constant fire”.

The humanitarian situation in the region is « critique »the governor said, reiterating the authorities’ appeal to those who still remain in the region to “evacuate to safer areas”.

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