Military
Ukraine to call for heavy arms when top U.S. officials visit Kyiv
Ukraine to call for heavy arms when top U.S. officials visit Kyiv
U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, were set to visit Kyiv on Sunday to discuss Ukraine’s call for more powerful weapons, two months after Russia’s invasion began.
The trip, announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday, would be the highest-level by U.S. officials since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The White House has not confirmed any visit by Blinken and Austin.
The State Department and Pentagon declined to comment.
As Christians in Ukraine marked Orthodox Easter on Sunday, there was no end in sight to a war that has killed thousands of people, uprooted millions more and reduced cities to rubble.
“I pray that this horror in Ukraine ends soon and we can return home,’’ said Nataliya Krasnopolskaia, who fled to Prague from Odesa last month, one of the more than five million Ukrainians estimated to have escaped the country.
Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region, said Easter celebrations had been shattered by the conflict.
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He said that seven churches in his region had been “mutilated by Russian artillery”.
Reuters could not independently verify his report.
Pope Francis called for an Easter truce: “Stop the attacks in order to help the exhausted population. Stop,’’ he said.
Zelenskiy said in an Easter video message from Kyiv’s 1,000-year-old Saint Sophia Cathedral that Ukraine would not be defeated by “wickedness” and prayed that God returns happiness to children and brings solace to grieving mothers.
He had earlier said talks with his U.S. visitors would cover the “powerful and heavy weapons” Ukraine needed to retake territory and the pace of deliveries.
The U.S. and NATO allies have shown growing readiness to supply heavier equipment and more advanced weapons systems.
Britain has promised to send military vehicles and said it was considering supplying British tanks to Poland to free up Warsaw’s Russian-designed T-72s for Ukraine.
Moscow, which describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation”, denies targeting civilians and rejects what Ukraine says is evidence of atrocities, saying Kyiv staged them to undermine peace talks.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks by phone with Zelenskiy that Ankara was ready to assist in negotiations with Russia.
Zelenskiy said he discussed with Erdogan the need for the immediate evacuation of civilians from the southern city of Mariupol and an exchange of troops.
Russian forces are attempting to storm the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol by land, backed up by aerial and artillery bombardment, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, said on Sunday.
“Russian troops are trying to finish off the defenders of Azovstal and more than 1,000 civilians who are hiding at the plant,’’ Arestovych wrote on Facebook.
He said on Saturday that troops in the steel complex were attempting counterattacks.
Moscow has previously declared victory in the city and said it did not need to take the plant.
Capturing Mariupol, the site of biggest battle of the conflict, would link up pro-Russian separatists who control parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk that make up the Donbas with the Southern Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014.
Ukraine estimates tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Mariupol and says 100,000 civilians are still in the city.
The UN and Red Cross say the civilian toll is at least in the thousands.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, called for humanitarian corridors in Mariupol and other areas of Ukraine, where he said “an indescribable human tragedy is unfolding’’.
The governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said two children were killed by shelling in his area on Sunday.
Ukraine said its forces repulsed 12 attacks on Donetsk and Luhansk a day earlier, destroying four tanks, 15 armoured equipment units and five artillery systems.
Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.
British military intelligence said Ukrainian resistance had been strong, especially in Donbas, despite some Russian gains.
“Poor Russian morale and limited time to reconstitute, re-equip and reorganise forces from prior offensives are likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness,’’ it said.
Russia said on Sunday its missiles hit eight military targets overnight, including four arms depots in the northeast Kharkiv region and one facility in the Dnipropetrovsk region producing explosives for the Ukrainian army.
Russian strikes on Saturday severed an arterial gas pipeline and caused a fire at an electricity substation, cutting gas supply to 5,500 people, Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk region wrote on Telegram on Sunday.
Moscow said on Saturday its missiles destroyed a logistics terminal in the southern city of Odesa containing weapons supplied by the U.S. and European states.
Zelenskiy said eight people, including a 3-month-old child, were killed in the Odesa strike.
(Reuters/NAN)
Military
Military Air Interdiction Neutralizes Scores, Decimates Terrorist Gathering and Destroy Gun Truck in Borno
Military Air Interdiction Neutralizes Scores, Decimates Terrorist Gathering and Destroy Gun Truck in Borno
By: Zagazola Makama
The Nigerian Military in Operation HADIN KAI has recorded another significant success against terrorist elements in Borno State, neutralising scores of insurgents and destroying a gun truck during a precision air interdiction mission.
Military sources disclosed that the operation was carried out on June 4 following credible intelligence and aerial surveillance over the Madamari general area in Magumeri Local Government Area of Borno State.
According to the sources, an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform, detected a group of about 15 terrorists who had dismounted from a gun truck and assembled under a tree within the target area.
Upon positive identification and confirmation of hostile activity, the platform designated the target and guided a strike aircraft onto the location.
“The strike aircraft executed a precise engagement on the terrorist gathering, resulting in the neutralisation of all the terrorists at the location,” the source said.
In a follow-up strike, the ISR platform tracked and designated the terrorists’ gun truck, which was subsequently destroyed by precision munitions. Four additional terrorists were neutralised in the process.
Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) conducted after the operation revealed that surviving terrorists in the vicinity were seen fleeing in different directions in an attempt to evade further air strikes, indicating the effectiveness of the engagement.
The sources said that the successful operation is part of sustained air offensives aimed at degrading terrorist capabilities, disrupting their freedom of movement and denying them safe havens across the North-East theatre.
Military high command at Operation HADIN KAI reiterated their commitment to maintaining relentless pressure on terrorist elements and their logistics networks, in its ongoing clearance operations across the region.
Military Air Interdiction Neutralizes Scores, Decimates Terrorist Gathering and Destroy Gun Truck in Borno
Military
Force Commander OPWS Visits Boundary Area Between Nasarawa and Kaduna States, Reviews Security Measures
Force Commander OPWS Visits Boundary Area Between Nasarawa and Kaduna States, Reviews Security Measures
By: Zagazola Makama
The Force Commander, Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Maj.-Gen. K.M. Gara, on Friday visited the boundary area between Nasarawa and Kaduna States to assess the security situation and strengthen operational coordination along the Akwanga–Kaduna highway corridor.
Security sources said the visit, which took place at about 12:42 p.m. on June 5, also included the Commander of the Garrison, Brig.-Gen. D.C. Nwakonobi, and the Nasarawa State Police Area Commander, DCP S. Alli.

According to the sources, the team inspected operational deployments and received briefings on the security situation and combat readiness of troops from the Sub-Sector 71 Commander under Operation Safe Haven.
The sources added that the visit was aimed at assessing the highway axis between Akwanga and the boundary between Nasarawa and Kaduna States, with a view to strengthening measures against persistent kidnapping incidents along the route.
They noted that the exercise also sought to enhance synergy between Operation Safe Haven and Operation Whirl Stroke in addressing insecurity in the general area.
“The visit was part of ongoing efforts to curb kidnapping along major highways and improve inter-agency coordination,” the sources said.
The sources further confirmed that the visit was conducted peacefully without any security incident.

They added that routine patrols were ongoing across the Joint Operations Area to protect schools, churches and other critical national infrastructure.
Troops’ morale and operational efficiency, the sources said, remained satisfactory across the theatre.
Force Commander OPWS Visits Boundary Area Between Nasarawa and Kaduna States, Reviews Security Measures
Military
Army Opens Combat Support Arms Training Week 2026 in Uyo
Army Opens Combat Support Arms Training Week 2026 in Uyo
By: Zagazola Makama
The Nigerian Army on Tuesday commenced the 2026 Combat Support Arms Training Week (COSAT) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, with a call for enhanced adaptability, resilience and indigenous innovation to strengthen operational effectiveness.
The event, hosted by the Headquarters Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps (NAIC), was held at the Ibom Hall in Uyo Local Government Area and brought together senior military officers, government officials and other stakeholders.
The theme of the training week is: “Strengthening Combat Support Arms Adaptability and Resilience Through Indigenous Innovation for Integrated Operational Support Within a Joint and Multi-agency Framework.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony, participants underscored the importance of leveraging local innovation and inter-agency collaboration to address evolving security challenges and enhance operational support capabilities.
The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, who was represented by the State Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Capt. Iniobong Ekon (Rtd), attended the event alongside top military officials and invited guests.
Also present were the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. W. Shaibu, represented by Maj.-Gen. A.A. Adekeye; the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division, Maj.-Gen. E.E. Emekah; and the Chief Host and Corps Commander, Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps, Maj.-Gen. R.E. Hedima.
Other attendees included corps commanders, senior serving and retired military officers, the Commander 2 Brigade/Sector 4 Operation Delta Safe, as well as representatives of various security agencies and organisations.
Activities conducted during the opening ceremony included professional lectures, static displays by combat support corps and the presentation of souvenirs.
The training week is expected to provide a platform for knowledge sharing, professional development and the exchange of ideas aimed at enhancing the Nigerian Army’s capacity to provide effective combat support within joint and multi-agency operations.
The event was conducted without any security or logistical incidents.
Army Opens Combat Support Arms Training Week 2026 in Uyo
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