War in Ukraine - Ukraine: Politician shot and new territorial losses
After the assassination attempt on ultranationalist politician Iryna Farion in the western part of Ukraine, the leadership in Kiev also rules out a Russian trace. "All versions are being investigated, including those leading to Russia", said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Farion, who fought for the Ukrainian language and faced justice issues in her country due to her anti-Russian statements, was shot near her house in Lviv (Lemberg). The 60-year-old died in the hospital on a Friday, according to authorities. There was initially no information about the possible perpetrator.
The recordings of all surveillance cameras will be evaluated, witnesses will be interviewed, and several neighborhoods will be searched, Zelenskyy said. Forces from the National Police and intelligence services are in action to find the perpetrator. Zelenskyy expressed his condolences to Farion's family, who were parliamentarians of the right-nationalist Swoboda party in the Verkhovna Rada in Kiev.
Farion campaigned against the Russian language in Ukraine
The philologist Farion had mainly combated the widespread Russian language in Ukraine with radical statements. Her party Swoboda suspects a Russian connection in the murder case. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko also sees a link between the attack and Farion's social and political activities. "The basic versions considered at present are personal enmity, social and political activities of Mrs. Farion. We do not exclude the possibility of an assassination contract", wrote the Minister at Telegram.
Satisfaction in Moscow
Farion had also faced criticism from the Ukrainian justice system for her statements against the Russian-speaking population. For example, the university professor had sharply criticized that many Ukrainian soldiers at the front continued to speak Russian. For the fight against the Russian aggression war, she reportedly bought drones herself.
Farion was often criticized for dividing Ukrainian society. However, the Russian state propaganda welcomed the news of the politician's death with satisfaction. "Iryna Farion, who dreamed of the 'complete elimination' of the Russian-speaking population, has been eliminated. God deals with things there without us", wrote the editor-in-chief of the Russian state television broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonyan.
Civil rights activists see Russian universities under pressure
Meanwhile, the Moscow leadership continues to suppress any possible criticism of the Ukraine war. According to human rights activists, this also applies to universities. They are subject to increasing political pressure in Russia.
The organization Molnija, which advocates for the rights of students, has recorded a significant increase in cases of forced enrollment since the war began in 2022. Students and students were removed from universities due to criticism of the war or for other political reasons. A study on academic freedom in Russia lists several cases for 2023 where teachers were dismissed or punished for political reasons. However, exact numbers are not available.
In Russia, approximately 4.3 million students learn at about 1,000 universities and colleges, according to official figures. The universities are one of the most sensitive areas of society, said journalist Vera Ryklina from the media project "Country and World" at an event of the German Sakharov Society.
Russian troops report further advance [
(Note: The last sentence seems to be incomplete and unrelated to the rest of the text. It is not included in the translation.)
In the particularly fierce fighting in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, Kiev's troops are reportedly suffering new territory losses. The Russian military announced a further advance in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. The city of Krasnohoriwka (Russian: Krasnogorovka), northwest of the annexed territorial administrative center of Donetsk, is reportedly almost completely captured, according to the state news agency Tass, citing military sources.
Ukrainian soldiers reportedly surrendered and were taken prisoner. The Russian military also reported the capture of two villages in the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions. The Russian military's claims were not verifiable from independent sources.
The pro-government Ukrainian military channel Deep State confirmed the Russian advance in Krasnohoriwka and other areas. For example, the village of Progress in the Pokrowsk district of the Donetsk region has been occupied by Russian troops for three months. An official confirmation from Kiev regarding the territory losses was not available.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian aggression for over two years with Western military aid. Approximately one fifth of the country is occupied by Russian troops. Russia declared the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson as part of its territory against international law - but does not have complete control there.
- Despite the assassination attempt on Iryna Farion being ruled out as having a Russian trace by Kiev's leadership, suspicions of a Russian connection persist among Farion's party, Swoboda.
- In her role as a philologist, Farion was a vocal critic of the widespread use of the Russian language in Ukraine, leading to justice issues due to her anti-Russian statements.
- The interior minister of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, also acknowledges a potential link between Farion's murder and her social and political activities, suggesting possible motives such as personal enmity or an assassination contract.
- The Russian state propaganda出 той сторони критикувала Farion за свої антиросійські висловлення та звинуватила її в розділенні українського суспільства.
- The Russian state propaganda welcomed the news of Farion's death with satisfaction, with the editor-in-chief of RT, Margarita Simonyan, commenting that "God deals with things there without us".
- Civil rights activists in Moscow have chronicled an increase in cases of forced enrollment in Russian universities since the war began, as well as reports of teachers being dismissed or punished for political reasons.
- According to journalist Vera Ryklina from the media project "Country and World", Russian universities are under increasing political pressure, making them one of the most sensitive areas of society in Russia.
- In the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian troops are reportedly suffering new territory losses, with the Russian military announcing a further advance in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.
- The Russian military claims to have captured the city of Krasnohoriwka (Russian: Krasnogorovka), northwest of the annexed territorial administrative center of Donetsk, and several villages in the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, although these claims have not been verified from independent sources.
- Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian aggression with Western military aid for over two years, although approximately one fifth of the country remains occupied by Russian troops, despite Russia's claims of annexation against international law.
