Ukraine Says it Repelled Attacks Near Villages Claimed by Russia

Ukrainian service members of the 110th Colonel-General Marko Bezruchko Separate Mechanized Brigade prepare to fire an RM-70 Vampire multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
Ukrainian service members of the 110th Colonel-General Marko Bezruchko Separate Mechanized Brigade prepare to fire an RM-70 Vampire multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
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Ukraine Says it Repelled Attacks Near Villages Claimed by Russia

Ukrainian service members of the 110th Colonel-General Marko Bezruchko Separate Mechanized Brigade prepare to fire an RM-70 Vampire multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
Ukrainian service members of the 110th Colonel-General Marko Bezruchko Separate Mechanized Brigade prepare to fire an RM-70 Vampire multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Alina Smutko

The Ukrainian military said on Monday it had repelled Russian attacks near Novooleksandrivka and Spirne in the eastern Donetsk region a day after Russian forces claimed control of the two villages, Reuters reported.
The eastern Pokrovsk front, which includes Novooleksandrivka, remained the site of the fiercest fighting, with 42 assaults repelled out of a total of 142 battles over the past day, the military said.
Russia maintained a military presence across the border from Ukraine's northern Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the military said, adding that Moscow's forces were increasing the density of minefields in the area and also conducting sabotage activities.
That section of the border has been closely followed for any sign that Russia plans to open a new front there to pressure Ukraine's outnumbered defenders.
Russia launched an assault into the border areas of the northeastern region of Kharkiv in May, opening a new front in a 28-month full-scale invasion.
Its forces continued assaults there on Monday, attacking near Vovchansk and Lyptsi, the military said.



New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
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New Zealand Navy Ship Sinks Off Samoa

A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS
A view of a New Zealand Navy vessel on fire, as seen from Tafitoala, Samoa, October 6, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. Dave Poole/via REUTERS

A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel ran aground and sank off Samoa but all 75 crew and passengers on board were safe, the New Zealand Defense Force said in a statement on Sunday.

Manawanui, the navy's specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu on Saturday night as it was conducting a reef survey, Commodore Shane Arndell, the maritime component commander of the New Zealand Defense Force, said in a statement.
Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats, Reuters quoted Arndell as saying.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was also deployed to assist in the rescue.
The cause of the grounding was unknown and would need further investigation, New Zealand Defense Force said.
Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government NZ$103 million in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising after it ran aground.
The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9 a.m. local time, New Zealand Defence Force said.
The agency said it was "working with authorities to understand the implications and minimise the environmental impacts.”
Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding told a press conference in Auckland that a plane would leave for Samoa on Sunday to bring the rescued crew and passengers back to New Zealand.
He said some of those rescued had suffered minor injuries, including from walking across a reef.
Defense Minister Judith Collins described the grounding as a "really challenging for everybody on board."
"I know that what has happened is going to take quite a bit of time to process," Collins told the press conference.
"I look forward to pinpointing the cause so that we can learn from it and avoid a repeat," she said, adding that an immediate focus was to salvage "what is left" of the vessel.
Rescue operations were coordinated by Samoan emergency services and Australian Defense personnel with the assistance of the New Zealand rescue center, according to a statement from Samoa Police, Prison and Corrections Service posted on Facebook.
Manawanui is used to conduct a range of specialist diving, salvage and survey tasks around New Zealand and across the South West Pacific.
New Zealand's Navy is already working at reduced capacity with three of its nine ships idle due to personnel shortages.