Ukraine war: Kyiv ‘gains foothold’ in Zaporizhzhia as Putin snubs Prigozhin funeral

Pope Francis did not intend to glorify Russian imperialism when he extolled tsars that expanded the Russian empire, the Vatican said on Tuesday, after his remarks in a speech last week were criticised by Ukraine.

Francis had told Russian youths in unscripted remarks following a speech on Friday to remember that they are the heirs of past tsars such as Peter I and Catherine II.

The two monarchs expanded Russia‘s empire in the 17th and 18th centuries, including conquering parts of Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin has referred to their legacies in justifying his invasion and annexation of territory last year.

“The pope intended to encourage young people to preserve and promote all that is positive in the great Russian cultural and spiritual heritage, and certainly not to exalt imperialist logic and government personalities, (which he) mentioned to indicate some historical periods of reference,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.

Kyiv called the remarks “deeply regrettable” while the Kremlin said they had been “very gratifying”.

Persistent wartime attacks on schools in Ukraine mean that only about a third of school-age children there are attending classes fully in person and many are falling behind, the UN children’s fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

Beyond Ukraine, more than half of the children whose families have fled the conflict to seven countries are not enrolled in national education systems, UNICEF said, citing language barriers and overstretched education systems.

Some schools have suffered direct hits and others have closed down as a precaution since Russia‘s invasion 18 months ago, which has involved missile and artillery attacks on residential areas across the country.

“Inside Ukraine, attacks on schools have continued unabated, leaving children deeply distressed and without safe spaces to learn,” it said.

The war followed earlier Covid disruptions, meaning some Ukrainian children were facing a fourth consecutive school year of disruptions as they return to classes this week after the summer break, UNICEF said.

“Not only has this left Ukraine‘s children struggling to progress in their education, but they are also struggling to retain what they learnt when their schools were fully functioning,” said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.

Around half of Ukraine‘s teachers have reported a deterioration in students’ abilities in language, reading and mathematics, it said.

A Russian military jet destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, Russia‘s defence ministry said without providing any other details.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to attend the funeral of Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

He told reporters the Kremlin did not know about the planned funeral arrangements, saying this was a matter for the family.

Prigozhin died when his business jet crashed last week, two months after he and his Wagner mercenaries staged a mutiny against Russian military commanders in which they took control of a southern city, Rostov, and advanced towards Moscow before turning back 200 km (125 miles) from the capital.

The Kremlin has rejected as an “absolute lie” the suggestion by some Western politicians and commentators that Putin ordered Prigozhin to be killed in revenge.

Prighozin was killed in a plane crash northwest of Moscow last Wednesday.

Prigozhin’s death comes just two months after the Wagner boss led an armed rebellion against Putin, leading to conjecture the Russian president had ordered Prigozhin’s death.

Ukrainian soldiers on Monday recaptured the Russian-occupied village of Robotyne and placed the national flag on a bombed-out building,

Robotyne was captured by Ukrainian troops last week as part of the military‘s ongoing counter-offensive against Russia.

Ukraine‘s military said that this successful operation was the breakthrough needed to push deeper into Russian-held Ukrainian territory.

Russia is unlikley to hit its military recruitment targets despite salary hikes and attractive benefits, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said in its latest security briefing.

The MoD on Tuesday said military service in the Russian Armed Forces has become “increasingly lucrative” since president Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine last year, noting that many junior ranks deployed in the country are earning over 200,000 rubles monthly.

Despite the incentivisation, Russia is “unlikely to meet its targets” for recruiting volunteers to its armed forces,

“On 4 February 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that a lieutenant received 81,200 rubles per month. By October 2022, he announced that even mobilised private soldiers would receive 195,000 rubles per month,” the ministry said on X, formerly Twitter.

“Many junior ranks serving in Ukraine are now on over 200,000 rubles per month. This is over 2.7 times the Russian national average salary of 72,851 rubles. By way of comparison, 2.7 times the average UK salary would equate to over £90,000 a year.

“It is highly likely that the salary and additional benefits are a strong incentive for personnel to join up, especially to those from the poorer areas of Russia. However, Russia is still unlikely to meet its targets for recruiting volunteers to the ranks,” the post read.

Alexei Volkov, president of the National Union of Hospitality Industries, said in an interview that tourist numbers in Crimea were expected to be down 20-30 per cent this year to between 6 and 6.5 million people.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, eight years before it launched its full-scale invasion of the country last February. Ukraine has vowed to reverse the annexation, which is regarded as illegal by most nations. everse.

Other Russian Black Sea resorts, at less risk of attacks, have seen increased demand. Volkov said hotel occupancy in Sochi was at 100 per cent, and even the port city of Novorossiysk had seen a 6% uptick in visitors.

The US has accused Russia of intimidating and harassing American employees after Russian state media reported that a former US consulate worker, Robert Shonov, had been charged by Russian security services with gathering information about the war in Ukraine.

According to the Russian security service FSB, Mr Shonov, a Russian national, provided information to US embassy staff in Moscow regarding the impact of Russia’s conscription campaign on political discontent leading up to Russia’s 2024 presidential election.

The FSB has said it plans to interrogate US embassy employees who had contact with Mr Shonov. Mr Shonov has been in custody since May.

He had worked for over 25 years at the US Consulate General in Vladivostok until Russia ordered the termination of local staff affiliated with the US mission in 2021.

The US State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, reiterated that the allegations against Mr Shonov lack credibility.

“Russia‘s targeting of Mr. Shonov under the ‘confidential cooperation’ statute only highlights the increasingly repressive actions the Russian government is taking against its own citizens,” Mr Miller said in a statement.

He added that Washington was aware the FSB had also summoned two diplomats working at the US embassy in Moscow in connection to the case.

Vladimir Putin will not be travelling to India to attend the G20 summit next month, the Russian president confirmed in a phone call with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi yesterday.

Mr Putin said Russia will be represented by its foreign minister at the G20 summit in New Delhi on 9 and 10 September. The two leaders also discussed bilateral ties, among other topics, according to readouts of the call.

“While expressing an understanding for Russia’s decision, PM (Modi) thanked President Putin for Russia’s consistent support to all initiatives under India’s G20 presidency,” the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The two leaders also spoke about the planned expansion of the Brics group of emerging economies – comprising India, Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa.

“Topical issues of Russian-Indian relations, which are progressively developing in the spirit of a particularly privileged strategic partnership, were considered (in the call),” the Kremlin said in a statement.

“The positive dynamics of trade and economic cooperation was affirmed,” it added.