Ukraine Says Situation Unchanged in North after Prigozhin Flight to Belarus

 Ukrainian soldiers work during a combat operation on the frontline near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)
Ukrainian soldiers work during a combat operation on the frontline near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)
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Ukraine Says Situation Unchanged in North after Prigozhin Flight to Belarus

 Ukrainian soldiers work during a combat operation on the frontline near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)
Ukrainian soldiers work during a combat operation on the frontline near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday the security situation in northern Ukraine was unchanged and under control after Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin flew into exile in Belarus.

Prigozhin flew from Russia to exile in Ukraine's northern neighbor on Tuesday following an aborted mutiny, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said fighters in Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group would be offered the choice of relocating there.

"Wagnerites are in occupied territory in Ukraine - they were and are in the (eastern) Luhansk region," Zelenskiy told a press conference, confirming that some of the group's fighters remained on Ukrainian soil after fighting in the east.

Asked about the presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, he said: "I don't think this contingent will be very big."

"Our army believes that the situation in the north of our country is unchanged and is under our control," he said.



Over 12,300 Civilians Killed since Start of Ukraine War, UN says

A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
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Over 12,300 Civilians Killed since Start of Ukraine War, UN says

A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

More than 12,300 civilians have been killed in the Ukraine war since Russia invaded nearly three years ago, a UN official said on Wednesday, noting higher casualties in recent months amid the use of drones, long-range missiles and glide bombs, according to Reuters.

"Russian armed forces intensified their operations to capture further territory in eastern Ukraine, with a severe impact on civilians in frontline areas, particularly in the Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions," Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement, referring to developments since September 2024.

"We are deeply concerned by the impacts on civilians of the increased use of drones and the use of new weapons," she added, referring in part to Russia's use of highly destructive guided bombs or glide bombs in residential areas.