Russia suffers heavy losses in failed river crossing as soldier goes on trial in Kyiv
Russia suffered heavy losses when Ukrainian forces destroyed the pontoon bridge enemy troops were using to try to cross a river in the east.
It is another sign of Moscow’s struggle to salvage a war gone awry.
Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, opened the first war crimes trial of the conflict.
The defendant, a captured Russian soldier, is accused of shooting to death a 62-yearold civilian in the early days of the war.
The trial got under way as Russia’s campaign in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas made faltering progress.
Ukraine’s airborne command released photos and video of what it said was a damaged Russian pontoon bridge over the Siversky Donets River and several destroyed or damaged Russian military vehicles nearby.
Ukrainian news reports said troops thwarted an attempt by Russian forces to cross the river earlier this week, leaving dozens of tanks and other military vehicles damaged or abandoned.
The command said its troops “drowned the Russian occupiers”.
The Ministry of Defence said Russia lost “significant armoured manoeuvre elements” of at least one battalion tactical group as well as equipment used to deploy the makeshift floating bridge.
“Conducting river crossings in a contested environment is a highly risky manoeuvre and speaks to the pressure the Russian commanders are under to make progress in their operations in eastern Ukraine,” the MOD said in its daily intelligence update.
In other developments, a move by Finland and, potentially, Sweden to join Nato was thrown into question when Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country is “not of a favourable opinion” towards the idea.
He accused Sweden and other Scandinavian countries of supporting Kurdish militants and others Turkey considers terrorists.
Russian Sgt Vadim Shyshimarin, 21, could get life in prison if convicted at his war crimes trial of shooting a Ukrainian man in the head through an open car window in a village in the Sumy region, in the north-east, on February 28, four days into the invasion.
The killing is one of thousands of potential war crimes that Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating.
Many of the alleged atrocities came to light last month after Moscow’s forces ended their bid to capture Kyiv and withdrew from around the capital, exposing mass graves and streets strewn with bodies. In a small Kyiv courtroom, scores of journalists watched the start of proceedings, which will be watched by international observers to make sure the trial is fair.
The defendant, dressed in a blue and grey hoodie and grey joggers, sat in a small glass cage during the hearing, which lasted about 15 minutes and will resume on Wednesday.
Shyshimarin was asked a series of questions, including whether he understood his rights and whether he wanted a jury trial. He declined the latter. His Ukraine-assigned lawyer, Victor Ovsyanikov, acknowledged the case against the soldier is strong and has not indicated what his defence will be.