WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Kyiv hit by massive Russian drone attack as city marks its founding

Ahead of the anniversary of its founding in 482 A.D., Kyiv suffered the largest drone attack since the start of the war with Russia, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.

Ukraine’s air force said in a statement on Telegram that a “record number” of 54 Russia-launched, Iranian-made “Shahed” drones were launched at the city overnight, although it added that it had shot down 52 of them. NBC News was not able to independently verify these figures.

The attack was primarily directed at military facilities and critical infrastructure in the center of Ukraine, including Kyiv, the statement said.

In a separate Telegram post, the Kyiv City Military Authority said the attack “was carried out in several waves, and the air alert lasted more than 5 hours.”

It added that it was “the most massive drone attack on the capital since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, namely with the ‘Shahed’ barrage of ammunition.”

Shahed drones are self-detonating aerial weapons in which the munition can loiter over a target until instructed to attack, destroying the weapon in the process. Iran is believed to have sent hundreds of these weapons to Russia since the beginning of its invasion last February.

At least one person was killed and another was taken to hospital after being hit by falling debris from buildings that were struck, the military authority said.

A shopping mall and a three-story warehouse also caught fire as a result of the debris, causing 10,800 square feet of destruction, it added.

Vitali Klitchko, Kyiv's mayor, also said on Telegram that buildings had caught fire in the historic neighborhood of Perchersk in the city center, which is famous for its monastery containing the relics of saints.

Bolstered by sophisticated Western-supplied systems, Ukraine has been adept at thwarting Russian air attacks — both drones and aircraft missiles. Earlier in May, Ukraine prevented an intense Russian air attack on Kyiv, shooting down all missiles aimed at the capital.

The most recent attacks came as Kyiv prepared to mark the anniversary of the city’s official founding. The day is usually celebrated with live concerts, street fairs, exhibitions and fireworks, but scaled-back festivities are planned for this year's anniversary celebration.

“The history of Ukraine is a long-standing irritant for complex Russians,” said Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, said on Telegram on Sunday. “Ancient Kyiv, Ukrainian Kyiv … UAV attack.”

The attack's came as speculation ratcheted up about a long-anticipated counteroffensive from Ukrainian forces.

“We are preparing the battlefield for the new phase of the war. It’s going on now. It is a large number of measures in different sectors of the front line,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told NBC News Saturday.

Conceding that preparation was well underway, Podolyak also praised a slickly produced video posted on Telegram Saturday by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces.

It showed Ukrainian troops training, swearing an oath and preparing for battle, alongside the caption “The time has come to return what is ours.”

If Ukraine’s top general is suggesting that, he’ll have a good reason, Podolyak said, adding that it showed “that Ukraine may be almost ready to start a big operation aimed at the liberation of its territories.”

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Moscow warns West against ‘playing with fire’

The US and its allies are “playing with fire” by doubling down on their support for Kiev amid the conflict with Moscow, including by planning to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

“Of course, it’s an unacceptable escalation” Lavrov said regarding potential deliveries of American-made warplanes to Kiev in an interview with Russia 1 TV on Sunday. “I think there are reasonable people in the West who understand this. But everything is being dictated by Washington, London, and their satellites inside the EU.” 

According to the minister, it is Poland and the Baltic States – Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia – that are “executing on the ground the aim set by the US to weaken Russia, deliver it a strategic defeat.”

Some in the West “are already discussing ‘decolonization’ of Russia, meaning the dismembering of our country,” Lavrov said, warning that “this is playing with fire. There can be no doubts about that.”

“I hope reasonable people will step away from unconditional support for the neo-Nazi regime that the West itself created,” he added.

The foreign minister suggested that the words of the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, who acknowledged earlier this week that “in the near term,” Ukraine will not be able to recapture the territories it lost to Russia, were a “step forward to understanding the reality on the ground.” 

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been pressing his Western backers for F-16 warplanes for months, arguing they are crucial for defending Ukrainian airspace amid Russia’s missile campaign targeting military facilities and energy infrastructure.

At the G20 summit last week, US President Biden Joe Biden said that Washington would support efforts by the UK, the Netherlands, and other European countries to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated at the event that the US “will work with our allies to determine when planes will be delivered, who will be delivering them, and how many.”

Several outlets reported that the jets will not be provided by the US, but that the Biden administration would instead allow its allies to transfer their F-16s to Kiev.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that deliveries of more sophisticated weapons to Ukraine by the US and its allies could cross its ‘red lines’, leading to a major spike in the hostilities. Russia has said that the provision of arms, intelligence sharing, and training to Kiev’s troops makes Western nations de facto parties to the conflict.

NBC News/RT

Saudi Arabia, US say Sudan factions posturing for escalation

Saudi Arabia and the United States called on Sunday for the extension of a ceasefire deal that has brought some let-up in a six-week war between military factions, but said both sides had impeded aid efforts and were posturing for further escalation.

Clashes could be heard overnight and on Sunday in the capital Khartoum, residents said, while human rights monitors reported deadly fighting in El Fashir, one of the principal cities in the western region of Darfur.

The conflict between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that erupted on April 15 has left the capital reeling from heavy battles, lawlessness and a collapse in services, driving nearly 1.4 million people from their homes and threatening to destabilise the region.

A week-long ceasefire brokered in Saudi Arabia and U.S.-led talks in Jeddah are due to run until Monday evening.

Both countries are remotely monitoring the truce and called on the army and the RSF to renew the "imperfectly observed" ceasefire to allow for humanitarian work.

"There were violations by both parties that significantly impeded delivery of humanitarian assistance and restoration of essential services," Saudi Arabia and the U.S. said in a joint statement.

BREACHES

The statement cited breaches of the truce, including air strikes and commandeering of medical supplies by the army, and the occupation of civilian buildings and looting by the RSF.

"Both parties have told facilitators their goal is de-escalation to facilitate humanitarian assistance and essential repairs, yet both parties are posturing for further escalation," it said.

The RSF has said it is ready to discuss the possibility of renewal and that it would continue to monitor the truce "to test the seriousness and commitment of the other party to proceed with the renewal of the agreement or not".

The army said it was discussing the possibility of an extension.

Nearly 350,000 people have crossed Sudan's borders since the fighting erupted, with the largest numbers heading north to Egypt from Khartoum or west to Chad from Darfur.

In Khartoum, factories, offices, homes and banks have been looted or destroyed. Power, water and telecommunications are often cut, there are acute shortages of medicines and medical equipment, and food supplies have been running low.

"We left because of the impact of the war. I have children and I fear for them because of the lack of medical treatment," one resident of the capital, 29-year-old Samia Suleiman, told Reuters from the road to Egypt.

"I also want my children to have a chance of schooling. I don't think things in Khartoum will be restored soon."

SOME RESPITE

The truce deal has brought some respite from heavy fighting but sporadic clashes and air strikes have carried on.

The United Nations and aid groups say that despite the truce, they have struggled to get bureaucratic approvals and security guarantees to transport aid and staff to Khartoum and other places of need. Warehouses have been looted.

There have been increasing reports of gender-based violence, especially from people displaced within Sudan, the U.N. humanitarian office said in a statement.

Violence has flared in several parts of Darfur, already scarred by conflict and displacement, with hundreds of deaths recorded in El Geneina near the border with Chad during attacks that residents blamed on "Janjaweed" militias drawn from Arab nomadic tribes with links to the RSF.

The governor of Darfur, Minni Minawi, a former rebel whose faction fought against the militias in the Darfur conflict, said in a tweet that citizens should take up arms to defend their property.

In recent days, there has also been fighting in El Fashir, capital of North Darfur state.

One El Fashir hospital recorded three deaths and 26 injuries on Saturday, including children, according to the Darfur Bar Association, an activist group. Many more people were missing, it said.

Across the country, the health ministry has said at least 730 people have died in the fighting, though the true figure is likely much higher. It has separately recorded up to 510 deaths in El Geneina.

Reuters

"The measurement of a man is what he does with power." - Plato

Today marks the end of the two-term tenure of a man who came with tremendous goodwill, the kind never before witnessed in Nigeria’s chequered political history. One can still remember some young Nigerians trekking from one end of Nigeria to another in high hopes of the new president. However, unlike Caesar, it is doubtful if he can thump his chest and declare "Veni, vidi, vici"—I came; I saw; I conquered.

Muhammadu Buhari was the first to beat an incumbent president in a free and fair election in 2015.

Buhari had the backing of four major opposition parties that merged into a mega party and was seen as a no-nonsense, stern figure with a low tolerance for indiscipline and corruption, two vile practices that knock out public governance in the country.

Nigeria was struggling with Boko Haram and allegations of corruption, impunity and piling up debt against Jonathan’s administration. Buhari criticised the administration for wanting to borrow $1 billion to fight Boko Haram, which he dismissed with a wave of the hand, saying they "fought the civil war without borrowing."

Though he had a relative success in taming the insurgents, however, in a case of winning the battle but losing the war, the recruitment base of the insurgents and other violent crimes like kidnapping and banditry expanded through the loss of jobs as many small and medium-scale enterprises fell under the biting onslaught of inflation. The national unemployment rate has jumped from ten to thirty-three per cent. This was caused by the government’s closure of borders purportedly to boost local production, as well as an ever-mounting debt profile.

Nigeria’s debt in June 2015, a month after he became president, was ₦12.12 trillion, but he is now leaving it at over ₦80 trillion – the highest in our nation’s history. As of last week, he still wanted the National Assembly to approve another loan of $800 million from the World Bank. They want to use it “to share ₦5,000 per month to 10.2 million poor and low-income households for six months.” In what he called the National Social Safety Net Programme (NASSP), he planned to share it to these poor chaps "through digital transfers directly to beneficiaries’ accounts and mobile wallets."

One may well ask the pertinent question: how many people who need ₦5,000 monthly to survive would have bank accounts? A court last week asked the government to account for a loan of $460 million taken from China in the name of providing CCTV cameras in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

In his speech after being sworn in, the outgoing president assured the nation that "we can fix our problems." Everyone - well, almost everyone, took him by his words. Boko Haram insurgency plagued Jonathan's tenure, and he brought in South African mercenaries to help. As we said, under Buhari's regime, the fight in the Northeast recorded significant progress, although other security issues arose due to economic challenges. Kidnapping and banditry in the North and separatism in the South are the new frontiers, taking their toll on our collective security and well-being.

We have found ourselves in an unfortunate situation we never knew before, where people negotiate with bandits and kidnappers and offer them what they request to release loved ones, or else they till the land and harvest the crops for the marauders. It has reached the extent where even a former commander-in-chief of the Nigerian armed forces had no option but to acquiesce to the brigands’ demands before schoolgirls who had been in kidnappers’ custody for about two years were released along with their children born while in captivity. Never before in our history have non-state actors run narratives and set national agenda as effectively as during the last eight years.

Contradictory responses to crimes were also seen when hundreds of Shiites were killed in Zaria "for touching a General’s chest", according to the president, while those who killed and cannibalised General Alkali in Jos are roaming about freely.

Those that saw Buhari’s coming in 2015 as a new dawn in our country’s history thought they would be seeing the end of clueless governance, and that he would arrest the galloping cost of governance and wanton corruption that bedevilled the administration of his predecessor.

Our democracy is copied from the American presidential system, but unfortunately, we did not adopt the Americans’ seeming desire for prudence, transparency, and accountability in the management of resources.

A vexatious aspect of the waste and unnecessary cost of governance is that whereas US presidents are not fed by the state, Nigerian presidents get more than enough in annual budgets to eat a whole elephant every day.

His altruism and prudence were called into question when he closed the border to the importation of food items, yet the Villa fed on foreign rice, for instance. Instead of closing the border on materials we could manufacture or cause to be assembled here, like vehicles, the Nigerian government spent about ₦100 billion in eight years importing foreign-made vehicles, thereby encouraging capital flight and keeping foreign companies afloat and their nationals employed, to our nation’s detriment.

Many people started to have second thoughts when it took the General six months to produce his first cabinet. Many thought he was sifting through the populace to select ‘saintly’ Nigerians to present a stellar cast to the Senate, but we ended up seeing a cabinet lopsided by the weight of dregs in all ramifications. Many square pegs were placed in round holes as confessed to last week by Adamu Adamu, Buhari's minister of education for eight years, who said he knew nothing about education but he became Nigeria’s longest serving minister of education.

Another controversial act was when his nephew, who was a call card seller before 2015, but now a multi-billionaire in any currency, was given a directorate cadre position at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and relocated to London with no security knowledge, training, or background! People have been asking whether the boy is just a front and, if so, to which powerful force(s).

At a point, his wife, who knew where history placed him would affect her and her children, came out lamenting how her husband's government was being derailed. Nigerians, who venerated her husband, came down hard on her, and she withdrew to her comfort zone, letting things be.

I was with a sage last week who told us, "Within the eight years Buhari held sway in Nigeria, a lot of people have been born, gone through their full cycle, and returned to their creator. In other words, their life cycle has passed."

Some still support Buhari, but many feel the illusion is gone and time has shown his true nature.

But like everything else in life, including his tenure, that too shall pass.

** Hassan Gimba is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Neptune Prime.

WhatsApp has released a new feature that allows users to edit messages after sending them. In recent years, several messaging apps have introduced features enabling users to unsend or edit messages with typos, grammatical errors, or wrong information. Most recently, Apple released the edit message feature for iMessage with a 15-minute time cap, and WhatsApp is following suit.

Editing a message on WhatsApp is very easy. All users need to do is press and hold a message, then select the 'Edit' button from the pop-up menu. They can then change the message in the text field and resend it. The new message will be displayed with an 'Edited' tag and a time stamp, indicating when it was edited. Editing messages on WhatsApp has been a long-requested feature, and one that has been available on other messaging apps like Telegram for years.

Why You Can't Edit WhatsApp Messages

Since WhatsApp has a large user base, it might be a while before the edit message feature is available for everyone. In an official blog post, WhatsApp says the "feature has started rolling out to users globally and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks." If users don't see the edit button yet, they'll need to wait until the update is available for their device. Those who have turned off auto app updates can manually check if a newer version is available by searching for WhatsApp on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and tapping the 'Update' button if available.

Although WhatsApp now allows users to modify messages after sending them, this can only be done within 15 minutes of sending the message, similar to Apple's iMessage. If more than 15 minutes have passed since a user has sent a message, they won't see the edit option. Competitor apps like Telegram offer up to 48 hours to modify messages. WhatsApp's shorter time limit reduces the chances of people misusing the feature, as users who realize they've made a genuine typo or error will usually want to change their message immediately.

Before the edit message feature, WhatsApp users only had the option to delete a message they wanted to unsend. Like deleted messages, edited messages on WhatsApp will be displayed with a disclaimer, so that recipients are aware the contents have been edited. However, unlike iMessage, WhatsApp doesn't reveal the user's edit history, so any embarrassing typos will be hidden.

ScreenRant

Maybe think of this before you quit or opt for early retirement.

Here we are in the midst of the Great Resignation, with people in all lines of workconsidering whether it's really worth it to them to continue the paths they're on.

Then, from out of almost nowhere comes a new health study suggesting you might want to think twice about ditching your job.

In short, if your work is challenging, stimulating, demanding, and involves high levels of responsibility, the mental workouts you give your brain each day may help safeguard you against what is probably the medical condition most feared as people grow older: dementia.

Writing in The BMJ, which is the peer-reviewed journal of the British Medical Association, lead author Mika Kivimki, a professor at University College London's Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, along with his colleagues concluded two fascinating things:

First, people whose jobs are highly mentally stimulating wind up with a lower risk of dementia in their later years than those with less-stimulating work

Perhaps even more important, there's support for the idea that the nature of the work might help contribute to the lower rate of dementia, rather than simply reflecting a correlative relationship.

Let's go to the methodology. This was actually a study of studies, meaning that the researchers looked at analyses that incorporated more than 100,000 participants over a 17-year period, tracking the types of work that each person did, and their likelihood of being diagnosed with dementia later in life:

[The study] suggests that people with cognitively stimulating jobs have a lower risk of dementia in old age than those with non-stimulating jobs. A possible mechanism for this association is the finding that cognitive stimulation is associated with lower levels of plasma proteins that might inhibit axonogenesis and synaptogenesis and increase dementia risk in old age.

What that means in practical terms is that having a job that requires you to use your brain constantly under the right kinds of conditions can lead to less likelihood of brain difficulties later in life.

What are the right kinds of conditions? The researchers listed two main factors:

Cognitive stimulation, which basically involves demanding tasks and requirements

High "job decision latitude," also characterized as "job control."

Less demanding jobs with less control were linked to a higher degree of dementia.

This is a pretty accessible study for non-scientists, so I do recommend simply reading it in full. Also, it's not behind a paywall. But in terms of workplace and career guidance, what are the takeaways?

First, it's an argument in favor of finding and keeping the most challenging job you can find -- obviously, "challenging" in a positive sense of the word.

This isn't an argument for sticking with a position where you work for a toxic employer, or have to deal with a difficult commute. Rather, it's about never-ending growth, always seeking more responsibility, and looking for the kind of work that challenges you to learn and do new things.

(It's the difference between being paid to do Sudoku puzzles, and getting paid to count 10,000 toothpicks every day.)

Next, it's an argument in favor of continuing to work -- perhaps even giving up the notion of traditional retirement.

Again, nobody is saying to stick in a role that doesn't hold your attention or challenge you in a positive way. But, given the sheer degree to which so much of our society seems to view work-life as a vehicle designed simply to get you to retirement, maybe this kind of research suggests there's another, healthier path.

Worth noting: The researchers differentiated work-related cognitive stimulation from non-work-related cognitive stimulation, and found that work-related stimulation is likely far more beneficial.

So, perhaps forget about the notion that people can look forward to early retirement, living lives of leisure, and engaging part-time in activities that produce the same results. This study, at least, suggests that won't work.

The theory as to why is fairly straightforward: Work-related cognitive stimulation amounts to tens of thousands of hours, while non-work-related cognitive stimulation amounts to less total time in most cases, and also doesn't involve the same risks associated with not putting in the required effort.

Maybe that's too much to absorb; maybe it's too limited to make big career decisions on.

And of course, you have to make your own choices. But if you're wondering whether a challenging job that demands your full attention is the right thing for you -- at least now, you have another factor to consider.

Inc

Senate has amended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act — increasing the “ways and means borrowing” threshold for the federal government.

During an emergency session held on Saturday, the senate raised the limit from a 5 percent of revenue threshold to a maximum of 15 percent that the government can get from the CBN.

Ways and means is a loan facility through which the CBN finances the government’s budget shortfalls.

The facility allows the government to borrow from the apex bank if it needs short-term or emergency finance to fund important projects.

According to Ibrahim Gobir, senate leader, the amendment was necessary to “enable the federal government to meet its immediate and future obligation in the approval of the ways and means by the national assembly and advances by the CBN”.

“Mr President, my respected colleagues, permit me to lead the debate on this bill which seeks to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) act to increase the total CBN advances to the federal government from 5 percent to a maximum of 15 percent,” Gobir said.

“The bill was read for the first time in this chamber on Wednesday, 24th May, -2023.

“The very essence of this bill my respected colleagues is to enable the federal government to meet its immediate and future obligation in the approval of the ways and means by the National Assembly and advances to the federal government by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“This amendment is very consequential and it needs the support of us all. This is to enable the federal government to embark on very important projects that will inflate and rejig the economy.

“I, therefore, urge you all to support the passage of this bill.”

Section 38 of the CBN act, 2007, stipulates that the total amount of ways and means advances outstanding shall not at any time exceed 5 percent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the federal government.

But the federal government’s borrowings from the apex bank have repeatedly exceeded the 5 percent threshold.

“All advances shall be repaid as soon as possible and shall, in any event, be repayable by the end of the federal government financial year in which they are granted and if such advances remain unpaid at the end of the year, the power of the bank to grant such further advances in any subsequent year shall not be exercisable, unless the outstanding advances have been repaid,” the act reads in part.

The Cable

The supreme court has accused Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of using social media to bully and terrorise justices.

Inyang Okoro, justice of the supreme court, spoke on Friday while delivering judgment in an appeal filed by the PDP seeking to void the election of President-elect Bola Tinubu on the grounds that his running mate, Kashim Shettima, was guilty of double nomination.

The five-member panel of the apex court dismissed the appeal and held that the appellant had no locus standi to institute the suit.

Okoro held that the appellant tried to mislead the apex court by claiming that the lower court found that there was indeed a double nomination.

“The appellant stated to this court that the court below found that there was indeed double nomination and that the 4th respondent knowingly allowed himself to be nominated in two constituencies,” Okoro said.

“I have searched the entirety of the record and indeed the judgement of the court below and there is no such finding. To think that learned senior counsel will mislead the court is sad.

“For public policy sake, I must state that indeed the 4th (Shettima) respondent withdrew from the nomination for Borno central district on the 6th of July 2022 exhibited as exhibit APC 1 on page 58 of the record of appeal.

“The political party sent to the INEC same 6th of July, 2022 the notice of withdrawal. The political party further sent on the 10th of July 2022, a notification of dates for the conduct of fresh primaries for the senatorial district and the latter letter exhibit APC2 on page 59 of the record carried the reference of Exhibit APC1.

“That is as at the 6th of July, 2022 there was no longer nomination of the 4th respondent for Borno central senatorial distict and there could not have been double nomination on the 14th of July 2022.

“Using the social media to terrorize and bully the justices of the supreme court by the appellant is appalling and unprofessional.

“The appeal is without merit and is dismissed. I abide by the award of cost in the lead judgement.”

The Cable

• Christian teacher Joshua Sutcliffe was banned from the classroom by the Teaching Regulation Agency for failing to properly use the preferred pronouns of a transgender student.
• The Christian Legal Centre said that the agency’s ruling was believed to be the first time a teacher was banned by the department for misgendering a student, according to the press release.
• “I have been bullied and pursued and have had every part of my life scrutinized for expressing my Christian faith and biological truth,” Sutcliffe said in a press release.

A Christian math teacher was banned from the classroom in the United Kingdom for “unprofessional conduct” after misgendering a transgender student, according to a Tuesday press release from Christian Legal Centre (CLC).

CLC is representing Joshua Sutcliffe, a former teacher at The Cherwell School in Oxford, after he came under investigation by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) over allegations that he misgendered a biologically female student, referred to as Pupil A, who identifies as a male, according to The Telegraph. The TRA ruled this week that Sutcliffe had engaged in “unprofessional conduct” and accused him of “bringing the profession into disrepute,” according to the press release.

“Following an investigation, the TRA commenced a prosecution and after a 7-day hearing recommended a prohibition order removing Joshua from the classroom,” the press release read. “The order can be reviewed at the earliest after two years. Despite Joshua’s pleas for leniency and hearing good character evidence from two parents of children he had tutored, the Department of the Secretary of State for Education dismissed Mr Sutcliffe’s positive contribution to teaching concluding ‘that a prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest’ in order to maintain ‘confidence in the profession.'”

WND News Services

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russia eases Bakhmut attacks, Kyiv talks up counteroffensive

Russian troops have temporarily eased attacks in and around the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut to regroup and strengthen their capabilities, a senior Kyiv official said on Saturday.

Separately, senior Ukrainian officials indicated their forces were ready to launch a long-promised counteroffensive to recapture territory taken by Russia since the start of the war.

Russia's Wagner private army began handing over positions to regular troops this week after declaring full control of Bakhmut following the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.

Kyiv though has insisted that its forces still control a small part of the city.

In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian troops were continuing to attack but that overall offensive activity had decreased.

"Yesterday and today there have not been any active battles - neither in the city nor on the flanks," she wrote, adding that Moscow's troops were instead shelling the outskirts and approaches to Bakhmut.

"(Russian) troops are being replaced and regrouped," Maliar said. "The enemy is trying to strengthen its own capabilities."

Kyiv is expected to launch a highly anticipated counteroffensive soon to retake Russian-occupied territory.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, told the British Broadcasting Corporation that the push could begin "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week".

Presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak, speaking to Britain's Guardian newspaper, said preliminary operations such as destroying supply lines or blowing up depots had already begun.

The governor of the southern Russian region of Belgorod said he had come under artillery fire on Saturday when trying to enter the town of Shebekino, which is only about 7 km (4.5 miles) north of the border with Ukraine.

"I couldn't even get out of the car. Shells were exploding in a neighbouring street," Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram. This week Ukraine-based ethnic Russian fighters launched a cross-border raid into the region.

Ukraine's top general, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, posted a sleekly produced video on Saturday showing Ukrainian troops swearing an oath and preparing for battle.

"The time has come to return what is ours," he wrote.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

West’s involvement in Ukraine conflict grows day by day - Kremlin spokesman

Western countries are becoming more and more involved in the Ukraine conflict day by day, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the ‘Moscow. Kremlin. Putin’ TV program.

An excerpt of the program was posted by anchor Pavel Zarubin on his Telegram channel on Saturday.

"It’s hard to say where the breaking point is. In fact, the breaking point should bring nations of the collective West to senses, but regrettably, it is not happening. Obviously, the degree of direct and indirect involvement in this conflict by the countries of the collective West is surging day by day," he said when asked about limits of the escalation.

Peskov was asked this question in the context of new arms supplies to Kiev.

"This may protract the conflict, but will not turn the tide drastically. It cannot turn the tide at all," Peskov emphasized.

"Russia will press on with the [special military] operation, and Russia will ensure its interests one way or another and achieve the designated objectives," he added.

Reuters/Tass