Russia and Ukraine Blame Each Other as Fighting Continues Despite Moscow’s Truce

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on May 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on May 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
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Russia and Ukraine Blame Each Other as Fighting Continues Despite Moscow’s Truce

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on May 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on May 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia said on Saturday that fighting had been taking place in four regions of Ukraine despite this week's unilateral ceasefire by Moscow, saying its troops had been forced to respond to Ukrainian attacks.

Ukraine says Russia has continued to attack it and has called the ceasefire a farce. It did not join the truce but is calling instead for a 30-day ceasefire that US President Donald Trump is urging the warring sides to agree.

Reuters could not verify battlefield accounts by either side. The 72-hour ceasefire, declared by President Vladimir Putin to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, expires at midnight (2100 GMT) on Saturday.

In a statement, the Russian defense ministry said its forces were sticking to the ceasefire - which Ukraine denies - and remaining at previously occupied lines, but that they were retaliating against "violations" by Ukraine.

It alleged that Kyiv's forces had mounted attacks in the Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine and near 12 different settlements in Donetsk region, which it said Russian troops had repelled.

A wounded Ukrainian soldier at a field hospital in Zaporizhzhia region told Reuters on Friday night that "there hasn't been any ceasefire" and nothing had changed.

"Shelling has continued just as before, drones are flying just like before," he said.

The Russian statement also said that Ukraine had tried four times to break across the border into Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions, but did not specify when the alleged attempted incursions had taken place.



Palestine Action's Co-founder Asks UK Court to Overturn Terror Group Ban

A person holds a Palestinian flag outside the High Court on the day of a hearing about the banned pro-Palestinian campaign organisation Palestine Action, in London, Britain, July 21, 2025. REUTERS
A person holds a Palestinian flag outside the High Court on the day of a hearing about the banned pro-Palestinian campaign organisation Palestine Action, in London, Britain, July 21, 2025. REUTERS
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Palestine Action's Co-founder Asks UK Court to Overturn Terror Group Ban

A person holds a Palestinian flag outside the High Court on the day of a hearing about the banned pro-Palestinian campaign organisation Palestine Action, in London, Britain, July 21, 2025. REUTERS
A person holds a Palestinian flag outside the High Court on the day of a hearing about the banned pro-Palestinian campaign organisation Palestine Action, in London, Britain, July 21, 2025. REUTERS

The co-founder of a pro-Palestinian campaign group sought on Monday to challenge the British government's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, a move her lawyers said had "the hallmarks of an authoritarian and blatant abuse of power".

Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, is asking London's High Court to give the go-ahead for a full challenge to the group's proscription, which was made on the grounds it committed or participated in acts of terrorism.

Earlier this month, the High Court refused Ammori's application to pause the ban and, following an unsuccessful last-ditch appeal, Palestine Action's proscription came into effect just after midnight on July 5, Reuters reported.

Proscription makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Ammori's lawyer Raza Husain said Palestine Action is the first direct action group to be banned as a terror group, a move he argued was inconsistent with "the honorable history of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds in our country".

Dozens have been arrested for holding placards purportedly supporting the group since the ban and Ammori's lawyers say protesters expressing support for the Palestinian cause have also been subject to increased scrutiny from police officers.

Britain's interior minister Yvette Cooper, however, has said violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that Palestine Action's activities – including breaking into a military base and damaging two planes – justify proscription.

Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment.

The group accuses the British government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in its ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses in its war in Gaza, which began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.