As the Ukrainian military stated they were conducting a combined intelligence operation in the area that Russia illegally acquired in 2014, more explosions erupted near Sevastopol and smoke could be seen rising from a notable landmark just kilometers away from the Crimean capital.

After a period of reportedly intense battle, Ukraine claims to have retaken the eastern village of Klishchiivka on the southern flank of Bakhmut.

Following the retaking of Andriivka, a second settlement in the area, Kiev forces are reportedly making progress. According to Russian sources, they sent drones to Moscow on Sunday to disrupt air traffic and started a fire at an oil facility.

The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Alexander Syrskyi, wrote on the messaging service Telegram, “Klishchiivka was cleared of the Russians and liberated.”

Volodymyr Zelensky recently called the battle “World War I with drones” in an interview with CBS.

The red area, which represents the 20% of Ukraine that Russia still occupies, is where donated tanks were supposed to advance but were halted by Russian trenches, minefields, and artillery, he added. The battle is being fought along a 700-mile front.

“Now, it’s an artillery duel with each side firing about 40,000 shells per day,” he told CBS. The infantry from Ukraine is moving forward several bloodied yards at once.

ESSENTIAL POINTS

• Ukraine says it has liberated the village of Klishchiivka near Bakhmut.
• As Ukraine conducts additional drone attacks in Crimea, there are new explosions in Sevastopol.
• NATO chief: Putin plans a “long war”
• As the US and China hold discussions, Ukraine is on the agenda.
• The UK claims that Russia is probably building additional defenses in Zaporizhzhia.
• This week, Volodymyr Zelensky will meet Joe Biden.

As Ukraine conducts additional drone attacks in Crimea, there are new explosions in Sevastopol.

Fresh explosions erupted in Sevastopol, and smoke could be seen rising from a notable landmark just a few kilometers away as Ukrainian forces declared they were conducting a cooperative intelligence operation in the area that Russia had illegally acquired in 2014.

Late on Sunday night, the pro-Russian Telegram channel ChP Sevastopol reported explosions in the Cape Fiolent area, while another Crimea-focused Telegram channel uploaded images of an explosion and smoke coming from the same location.

According to an unnamed intelligence source, the area features a maritime radio engineering unit and a radio engineering station with twelve radar antennas. It is located on the southern shore of the Crimean peninsula, about 16 kilometers from Sevastopol.

explosions during Kyiv’s combined operation in the area, according to pro-Russian Telegram channels

Maliar among the deputy defense ministers fired by the Ukrainian government

The Ukrainian government announced on Monday that it has chosen to fire six deputy defense ministers, among them Hanna Maliar, who frequently offered briefings on the most recent combat in the country’s conflict with Russia.

Rustem Umerov was named as Ukraine’s new defense minister early this month, according to Reuters, although the administration hasn’t stated an explanation for the choice.

The day after Kim Jong-un departs, the Chinese foreign minister travels to Russia for “security talks.”

This week, China’s foreign minister will travel to Russia for security talks. He will arrive in Moscow the day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un returns from his own trip to the nation.

Wang Yi’s visit occurs as an increasingly isolated Russia looks to its supporters abroad for assistance in its conflict with Ukraine.

The tour, which will take place from Monday to Thursday, will include a “strategic security consultation” between China and Russia, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

This week, China’s foreign minister will travel to Russia for security talks. He will arrive in Moscow the day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un returns from his own trip to the nation.

Wang Yi’s visit occurs as an increasingly isolated Russia looks to its supporters abroad for assistance in its conflict with Ukraine.

The tour, which will take place from Monday to Thursday, will include a “strategic security consultation” between China and Russia, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

Wang Yi, a top envoy, may have made his way to Moscow so that Vladimir Putin could visit Beijing.

According to the UN, human rights have “significantly deteriorated” in Russia.

An expert from the UN claimed on Monday that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of last year, there has been a “systematic crackdown” on civil society organizations.

According to Reuters, the UN expert stated that “Russian authorities have fundamentally undermined the independence of the judiciary and the guarantees of a fair trial, and have severely curtailed the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly, and expression, both online and offline.”

“Dissenters are subject to a variety of administrative sanctions that are applied arbitrarily, and force is used against peaceful protesters.”

The Special Rapporteur’s report is the first time the Human Rights Council (HRC), which has been in existence for 16 years, has been asked to review the human rights record of one of its so-called “P5” members, who hold permanent seats on the Security Council.

According to Reuters, the Russian diplomatic representation in Geneva did not immediately respond.

What comes next? Another World War?

In an explosive interview with CBS, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, advocated for global cooperation while claiming that drones are being used to fight World War I.

According to Zelensky, “I don’t have an answer.” The entire globe must choose between putting an end to Putin and sparking the start of a global conflict.

Putin is unchangeable. The world has lost respect for Russian society. They created a second Hitler and continued to elect him.

Additionally, he expressed his gratitude to the United States for its $70 billion in financial assistance while requesting that they continue to support the other Baltic states, which the President claims would be Putin’s next targets.

According to Kyiv, two persons were murdered in midnight Russian assaults in South Ukraine.

Two persons were killed in the southern district of Kherson by a new wave of airstrikes and shelling that Russia took out in Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.

Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of the Kherson region, said that a 72-year-old man and an elderly woman were killed in a Russian raid on the area last night, according to Reuters.

In a morning drone attack on the town of Beryl, he claimed four further people were injured. He continued, “The occupiers deliberately attacked a crowded place, dropping explosives near the local bus station.”

The Izmail area, whose grain export ports are located along the Danube River, was the target of a drone strike, according to Ole Kipper, the governor of the Odes region.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 17 cruise missiles were shot down overnight over the districts of Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, and Khmelnytskyi, along with 18 out of 24 Russian drones.

According to the Khmelnytskyi region’s deputy governor, the explosion wave destroyed numerous residences’ roofs and windows, while debris also fell onto the property of an unidentified production complex and wrecked a railroad track.

The reports could not be immediately confirmed by Reuters. Russia has stated that it does not intentionally target civilians and has not commented on the most recent assault.

Bulgaria examines an unidentified drone at a Black Sea resort.

The drone that dropped explosives in the town of Tyulenovo on Sunday night has been the subject of an investigation and deactivation mission by a special force sent by Bulgaria’s defense minister.

According to a statement from the defense ministry, the team from NATO member Bulgaria will decide how to dispose of it after inspecting it. The team was deployed at the request of the local government, according to Reuters.

Tyulnevo is a town that is 70 kilometers from Crimea and across the border with Romania.

A drone carrying explosives reportedly touched down late on Sunday night, according to Bulgarian media.

According to witnesses quoted on the Nova.bg website, the drone was between 3 and 3.5 meters long. According to the report, the drone was carrying an explosives-filled container.

Ukraine continues to sue Russia on allegations of genocide.

Today in the UN, the legal dispute between Ukraine and Russia over charges of genocidal acts that Moscow cited as justification for its 2022 invasion resumes.

A record-breaking 32 other countries will support Ukraine during hearings before the International Court of Justice, also referred to as the World Court.

Kyiv filed the lawsuit soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, claiming that the attack was motivated by fabricated allegations of genocide in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and that Moscow was preparing to commit genocide in Ukraine.

It requests that the court compel Russia to cease its invasion and make restitution. Ukraine stated in its case submission from last year that “Russia has turned the Genocide Convention on its head, using a false allegation of genocide as justification for conduct on its side that constitutes severe abuses of the human rights of millions of people throughout Ukraine.

On the basis of the 1948 Genocide Convention, which both Moscow and Kyiv have ratified, Ukraine took the case before the Hague-based court.

The court issued a binding interim judgment in March 2022 ordering Russia to cease hostilities in Ukraine. Moscow has disregarded the ruling as it continues its deadly attacks on Ukrainian villages and cities.

Russia’s attorneys are anticipated to argue this week that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the issue, while Ukraine will ask justices to expedite hearings on the merits of its claims.

The international judicial panel of the court will probably take several weeks or months to decide whether or not the case may move further. If so, it will probably be years before a decision is made.

Vladimir Putin is wanted for war crimes, according to the International Criminal Court, which holds him accountable for kidnapping Ukrainian children.

Kim Jong Un brings gifts from Russia home.

After their summit in Russia, Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, went home with a number of mementos, including a weapon, a cosmonaut’s glove, a fur hat, and military drones.

Kim Jong-un was given a rifle “of the highest quality,” according to Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for the Kremlin. Jong-un gave Putin a gun “made by North Korean craftsmen” in exchange.

Putin also displayed a glove taken from a spacesuit, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

According to Russian media, Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of the Primorsky region, gave Kim a set of contemporary, lightweight body armor made for assault operations that shields the chest, shoulders, throat, and crotch.

A Geranium-25 reconnaissance drone and five one-way assault drones, all of which are commonly employed in the conflict in Ukraine, were also sent to Kim, according to TASS.

The use of drones alone is against UN sanctions.

The objects will be kept at North Korea’s “friendship” museum, a collection that dates back to 1978 and houses gifts received from various nations.

The collection includes crystalware sent by the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, a tea set from the late French president Francois Mitterrand, a basketball signed by Michael Jordan that the late American secretary of state Madeleine Albright gave away, and a rifle from the late French president Jimmy Carter.

NATO chief: Putin plans a “long war”

The secretary general of NATO has warned Ukraine that it will be engaged in a “long war” with Russia, and a top official in Kyiv has appealed for the rapid delivery of weaponry to stop Vladimir Putin’s army.

Ukraine claims to have captured the eastern village of Klishchiivka as part of its ongoing counteroffensive. According to reports, Ukrainian forces began their counteroffensive on Sunday by employing drones to obstruct air travel in Moscow and start a fire at an oil station in southwest Russia.

Ukraine hasn’t yet responded to the strikes in any way. In addition, a guerilla organization opposed to Moscow asserts that it damaged two Russian vehicles in Kherson.

In its most recent counteroffensive victory, Ukraine claims to have captured the eastern settlement of Andriivka.