عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Russia Advances in Southern Ukraine, Defense Ministry Says 

Members of the National Police Special Purpose Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region fire a D-30 howitzer towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine March 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Members of the National Police Special Purpose Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region fire a D-30 howitzer towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine March 7, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Russia Advances in Southern Ukraine, Defense Ministry Says 

Members of the National Police Special Purpose Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region fire a D-30 howitzer towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine March 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Members of the National Police Special Purpose Battalion of Zaporizhzhia region fire a D-30 howitzer towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine March 7, 2025. (Reuters)

Russian forces were on Monday advancing in southern Ukraine and had pierced part of the Ukrainian lines less than 50 km (31 miles) southeast of the city of Zaporizhzhia, according to Russian officials and pro-Russian military bloggers.

Reuters could not independently verify the assertions and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that its forces had taken the village of Stepove in the Zaporizhzhia region, pushing through Ukrainian lines.

Yuri Podolyaka, one of the most influential pro-Russian military bloggers, said Russian forces had also smashed their way into the nearby village of Maly Shcherbaky.

"Our units have broken through the first line of defense in the Zaporizhzhia direction," Podolyaka said.

Russia on Sunday tried to drive the last Ukrainian soldiers from western Russia, after a seven-month incursion by Ukraine that aimed to distract Moscow's forces, gain a bargaining chip and rile President Vladimir Putin.

Most Viewed

 
World

UK to Use Police Stations as Prisons under Emergency Measure

Police officers are seen in London, Britain, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police officers are seen in London, Britain, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
TT
20
TT

UK to Use Police Stations as Prisons under Emergency Measure

Police officers are seen in London, Britain, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police officers are seen in London, Britain, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

Police cells will temporarily be used to hold prisoners in a stop-gap measure to cope with overcrowding in jails, the British government said on Tuesday.

The emergency action, dubbed "Operation Safeguard", allows inmates to be held in police cells when prisons are full, and was previously used from February 2023 to October last year, Reuters said.

The prison population in England and Wales has doubled in the last 30 years, according to official data, leading to overcrowding as new places have failed to keep pace with demand. Justice systems in Scotland and Northern Ireland are run separately.

In a statement to parliament, Shabana Mahmood said the prison system was operating at more than 99% occupancy.

January saw the highest average monthly prison population growth in almost two years, as part of a rising trend in the last three months that "has only just begun to slow", she added.

"Given the recent increase in demand, it is necessary, and prudent, for me to temporarily reactivate Operation Safeguard to better manage the flow of offenders into the prison estate," Mahmood said.

According to the World Prison Brief database, imprisonment rates in England and Wales are higher than in other major European countries, with 141 detainees per 100,000 population, against 120 in France, 117 in Spain, 105 in Italy and 68 in Germany.