Ukraine-Russia war latest: Deadly strike on city near Kyiv - as officials call for blood donations (2024)

A woman accused of claiming to be an Irish heiress to scam victims across America allegedly started a fake Ukraine charity to defraud her marks.

Marianne Smyth, a 54-year-old American, is due in court today for a hearing that could extradite her to the UK.

Other victims have accused her of posing as an emissary for Satan, a witch, a hockey coach, a cancer patient and best friends with Jennifer Aniston.

She often changed her name and appearance, her victims say.

Smyth stands accused of stealing more than £136,000 from at least five victims from 2008 to 2010 in Northern Ireland, hence her potential extradition to the UK.

She denies the charges.

The NATO-Ukraine Councilwill meet on Friday to discuss ways on how to provide more airdefence systems for Kyiv, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said onWednesday.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked for such ameeting to take place as he is facing an ammunition shortage, with funding from the US being held up in Congress and delays in munitions deliveries from the EU.

Calls have already come in from NATO members, with German foreign ministerAnnalena Baerbock appealing for stronger support forUkrainian air defence before departing for a meeting with her G7 counterparts in Capri, Italy.

"We and our partners around the world must now be just asresolute in our defence against Russian terror from the air," Ms Baerbock said.

"Stronger air defences are a matter of life and death forthousands of people in Ukraine and the best protection for ourown security," she added.

UK foreign secretary David Cameron is also set to urge the meeting today to keep up the pressure on Vladimir Putin as he continues to wage war.

Russia's Supreme Court has cancelled the treason conviction of scientist Valery Golubkin and ordered a new trial, according to the TASS state news agency.

Golubkin was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for treason last year after he was convicted of handing over state secrets to"representatives of foreign organisations".

He had worked in the Department of Theoretical andApplied Aerohydromechanics at the Moscow Institute of Physicsand Technology.

The former professor was detained in late 2020 on suspicion of handingover secrets to an unnamed NATO country.

His lawyer said at thetime Golubkin denied the charges.

The death toll from the Russian strike on Chernihiv has risen to 16.

Three missiles slammed into the centre of the city in northern Ukraine near the Russianborder, leaving scores of others wounded and buildings and cars wrecked.

Videos showed flames and columns ofblack smoke rising over Chernihiv, which had a pre-war population of around 300,000, after the missiles struck at around 9am local time.

More than 60 people, including three children, were wounded,officials said.

Russia has expelled one Estonian embassy officialworking in Moscow in a tit-for-tat move against the Baltic state.

The country's foreign ministry said the move was a response to whatit called a "baseless decision" by Estonia to expel a Russiandiplomat working in Tallinn.

"It has been brought to the attention of the Estonian sidethat its hostile activities will always receive a properresponse," the statement said.

Estonia expelled the diplomat on 19 March and at the time said that the diplomat had "interfered in internal matters in an unacceptable way".

The country has regarded Russia as a threat ever since it gained independence in 1991 after the collapse of the USSR.

Emergency services have been working to rescue people from the rubble after the city of Chernihiv was pounded in a missile attack.

At least 13 people are believed to have died in this morning's strike.

Footage showed at least one of the survivors being successfully freed from the remnants of a destroyed building

Over the past couple of weeks we've been asking for your questions on the war for our military analysts and international correspondents.

Every week we're picking one or two to answer - here is this week's...

Has the war turned in favour of Russia? Is it salvageable, and how could aid from the US be of any advantage to Ukraine? How long would any aid take to turn the tide militarily?

Roy

Defence analyst Professor Michael Clarkeanswers this one...

Yes, the Russians are starting a push all around the front and against the cities, especially Kharkiv.

They don't have the forces for a big, strategic offensive, but they seem to figure that Ukraine might crack politically if they can squeeze it enough during the summer. Since Ukraine is giving ground mainly because it is low on ammunition, they may be right.

For now, what Ukraine needs urgently is 155mm shells, 152mm shells, 120mm tank rounds, missiles for air defence batteries, a total of six or seven Patriot air defence batteries and small arms ammunition. Lots and lots of all of them.

If the West, particularly the US, would supply them, this sort of stuff could be on the frontline in less than 10 days. Then Ukraine will survive for the rest of this year.

Russian total casualties would go from 315,000 at present to maybe half a million or more.

That would create some new thinking on all sides that would be to Kyiv's advantage, even though the war will continue into next year.

The Ukrainian aim is to stay in the fight for another six months. After that, things might get better for them.

The Kremlin has said the Russian-born founder of Telegram must ensure the app is not used as a tool of terrorists.

Pavel Durov recently revealed he suspects the app will grow to more than a billion active users within a year.

Telegram is widely used in Russia and growing in popularityelsewhere, with Mr Durov describing the app a spreading like a "forest fire".

Last month, Moscow told Mr Durov to be more attentiveafter the application was allegedly used to help recruit thegunmen who attacked a concert hall outside Moscow.

Mr Durov saidmeasures had been taken immediately to stop unknown usersposting messages appearing to call for acts of violence.

The founder has previously said he left Russia because he could not accept ordersfrom any government, and dismissed claims thatthe app was controlled or influenced by the Kremlin as false rumours spread byhis competitors concerned about Telegram's growth.

"I would rather be free than to take orders from anyone," he said.

The death toll from the Russian missile attack on Chernihiv has risen to 13.

As Russia pounds Ukrainian cities starved forair defence, the country's top officials intensified pleas forinternational support, saying the devastation could have beenavoided.

Interior minister Ihor Klymenko said the attack killed atleast 13 people and injured more than 60.

The strike also damaged four multistorey buildings, ahospital, an educational facility and dozens of private cars, headded in a statement on Telegram.

Russia carried out the attack with three Iskander cruisemissiles, according to regional governorVyacheslav Chaus.

Rescue workers are still on the scene.

Airports in the cities of Kazan and Nizhnekamsk, located east of Moscow in Tatarstan, have lifted temporary restrictions on flights, which had beenintroduced earlier for security reasons, Russia's aviationwatchdog has said.

Russian state media said the airports had stopped flights taking off or landing earlier today over fears of drone attacks.

They have now resumed normal operations, according to the authorities.

A Ukrainian drone was shot down over Tatarstan, at 11:20 a.m. local time, the Defence Ministry said in a statement reported by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

Unconfirmed reports also said that a Ukrainian drone was shot down near a factory in Naberezhnye Chelny.