norway cruise ship accident

Norwegian cruise ship loses ability to navigate after rogue wave hits

A Norwegian cruise ship lost the ability to navigate after a rogue wave crashed into it Thursday, the cruise company HX said.

The MS Maud lost power after the wave hit as the ship was sailing toward Tilbury, England, from Florø, Norway, HX, a unit of Norway’s Hurtigruten Group, said in a statement.

None of the 266 passengers or 131 crew members were seriously injured, HX said.

"The situation is stable, the ship has propulsion and they are able to navigate the ship manually via emergency systems," the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said in a statement Friday local time.

The rogue wave shattered windows on the ship's bridge, which caused water to enter the vessel and resulted in a power outage, Reuters reported.

The ship was in the North Sea at the time, in an area hit by a storm late Thursday with hurricane-force gusts forecast to continue Friday, the Danish Meteorological Institute said according to Reuters.

One passenger posted a video on Facebook showing the view from her room's window Thursday with the cruise ship bobbing up and down and creaking in the throes of high waves. 

Because of a lack of navigational abilities, the ship had to be steered manually from the engine room, per the news agency.

Two civilian support vessels are aiding the ship in its journey to port, Danish rescue authorities said.

The ship, traveling under its own power, is currently sailing to Bremerhaven, Germany, for disembarkation, HX said in an updated statement Friday.

“Following ongoing safety checks and technical assessments, given the weather conditions, we decided to amend the planned sailing route. Across the fleet, there are thorough operational protocols in place and we always prioritize the safety of those onboard,” HX said.

"Our team are working to arrange onward travel back home for guests onboard," the statement added.

Irene Byon is a booking producer for NBC News.

Rebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Norwegian cruise hits iceberg near Alaska, no injuries reported

The ship will return to Seattle on Thursday.

A Norwegian cruise ship has canceled its nine-night Alaskan trip after the ship crashed into an iceberg off of the Alaskan coast on Saturday.

While there were no injuries and patrons and staff made it to Alaskan docks safely, the cruise line has canceled the rest of the scheduled trip and will return to Seattle Thursday morning.

The Norwegian Sun was transitioning to Hubbard Glacier in Alaska when the ship made contact with a growler, the cruise line told ABC News.

A growler is a small iceberg that has less than 3.3 feet of ice showing above the water, and is under 6.6 feet in width, the National Snow & Ice Data Center reports.

After impact, the ship changed course to dock in Juneau, Alaska, for further assessment. There, the company decided the cruise would be shortened and future trips canceled.

"The ship was given clearance by the United States Coast Guard and other local maritime authorities to return to Seattle at reduced speed," a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line said. "All guests currently onboard will disembark in Seattle as originally planned."

MORE: Cruise prices remain low as summer travel costs skyrocket

A Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson told Cruise Hive the ship was "engulfed by dense fog, limiting visibility and resulting in the ship making contact with a growler."

MORE: Fully vaccinated ship docks in San Francisco with multiple COVID cases aboard

Stewart Chiron, a cruise industry expert known as The Cruise Guy, told ABC News that growlers are very common when passing through areas with glaciers.

Chiron said ships do not usually get within 1,000 feet of the glaciers themselves, and commonly have impact with small pieces of ice that have broken off and floated away from the glaciers.

While impact with these pieces is common in the area, it is uncommon for a cruise to change its scheduled trip due to such an impact, Chiron said.

Chiron believes that Norwegian acted with "an abundance of caution" when it decided to start its voyage back to Seattle after assessing damages.

MORE: Norwegian Cruise Line CEO says requiring vaccines is 'safest way to travel'

He said the ship was "obviously safe enough" since passengers were allowed to stay on the ship to return to Seattle.

Chiron does not think the patrons should worry because ship captains are used to these waters and will continue to sail there without issue.

Norwegian Cruise Line said guests on the canceled cruise would receive a full refund, plus an additional future cruise credit valued at 100% of the original voyage fare paid. Travelers on the canceled cruise scheduled for June 30 will also receive a full refund, a future cruise credit valued at 50% of the original voyage fare, plus up to $300 per person for any airline cancelation/change fees.

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Cruise ship hits iceberg in alaska, returns to seattle for repairs.

SEATTLE (KABC) -- A cruise ship that struck an iceberg in Alaska has docked in Seattle for repairs.

Video shows the moment the ship hit the iceberg on Saturday.

The ship was turned around to Juneau, where it underwent inspection. It was cleared to travel at lower speeds to Seattle by authorities.

The Norwegian Sun arrived in Seattle Thursday. It hit part of the iceberg near Hubbard Glacier in Alaska.

Passengers said the impact was so hard that it caused some of them to fall over.

A Nevada family who was onboard says the impact sounded like a loud door being slammed.

Benjamin Talbott was hanging out with family when his brother, Anthony Romo, noticed something in the water and told him to take out his phone. Talbott recorded as the cruise ship struck the big chunk of iceberg.

"Then all sudden, boom, the whole ship shakes. And I'm like, 'Well, what's going on?' And then I had to start recording and I looked at the front of the ship and all I see is this an iceberg just turning over and coming down. And I was like, Oh my God, we hit an iceberg," he said.

The voyage was cut short and guests disembarked in Seattle due to necessary repairs for the ship, a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line said.

No injuries were reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Exclusive photos, terrifying video shows passengers hanging on for dear life after massive wave stranded cruise ship.

Terrifying footage has emerged of panicked passengers bracing aboard a Norwegian cruise ship that lost power when it was hit by a rogue wave in the North Sea.

The passengers aboard the stranded MS Maud were captured on video wearing life vests and holding onto tables after the vessel was hit by 70-foot waves and gale-force winds caused by Storm Pia last week.

“Lay on the floor!” one panic-stricken person is heard shouting during the stomach-churning incident, according to footage shared by SWNS.

The ship, which departed from Tilbury Docks in the UK on Dec. 9 carrying 266 passengers and 131 crew, lost its power and navigational equipment when it ran into the storm on Dec. 21.

Among the passengers were Brian Launder, 75, and his wife, Carole, who was celebrating her 70th birthday with their first-ever cruise, according to the outlet.

Launder, of Richmond, North Yorkshire, said he saw waves reaching their cabin windows on the fifth deck and water gushing through the corridors.

“At the one stage they were getting the lifeboats ready,” he told SWNS on Saturday, adding that they had hoped to be back home for Christmas before the maritime mishap.

“The cruise had to be cut short as they had to cut through the storm. We spent lots of hours not moving with no power. We were talking to the officers and they estimated the waves were 15 to 20 meters,” he said.

“We were worried when the water came through the door. My wife was so calm, she was helping this lady. She got her sorted out,” Launder continued.

He said one person was hurt on the ship, owned by Hurtigruten Expeditions.

“She had a baby in her arms but she went flying,” he said, adding that the “captain had to move the bridge to the passenger lounge due to three windows blown out by a wave.”

On Sunday, he said, a rescue ship was alongside the Maud to provide navigation aid after the ship was diverted to Bremerhaven, Germany.

The couple planned to travel back to Hamburg for an early morning flight to Frankfurt and then finally back to the UK, where they expected to arrive in London on Christmas Eve.

Even in moments of sheer fear, our fellow passengers found levity from the destruction of the Gingerbread Town that collapsed, fragmented & slid around us in Muster Station A Deck 5 18.19 21.12.23 #Hurtigruten #MSMaud whilst #StormPia raged around us. https://t.co/vBjwTDa3v1 pic.twitter.com/iqRkGdZGTG — Oscar Dog (@OscarWoofs) December 23, 2023

“Apart from the drama, we’ve actually quite enjoyed it,” the grandfather of four quipped. “We’ve never been on a cruise ship before. I’d definitely go on one again.”

Meanwhile, another video captured some passengers who enjoyed some humor during the scary incident.

“Even in moments of sheer fear, our fellow passengers found levity from the destruction of the Gingerbread Town that collapsed, fragmented & slid around us in Muster Station A Deck 5 18.19 21.12.23 #Hurtigruten #MSMaud whilst #StormPia raged around us,” X user Oscar Dog wrote.

He shared a video of a woman displaying a smiling elf puppet as she sat on the floor on the debris-strewn deck, where she was surrounded by other passengers wearing orange survival gear.

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Details emerge after Viking ship replica sinks off Norway, killing U.S. woman

August 29, 2024 / 12:11 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A strong wave was likely responsible for the capsizing of a Viking ship replica earlier this week off Norway's coast that killed a U.S. citizen , police said Thursday, describing it as a "tragic accident" that did not constitute a criminal matter.

The wooden replica, called Naddodd, was crossing the North Atlantic from the Faeroe Islands to Norway with an international team of six people. The 33-feet double-masted vessel built on the Faeroes had departed the islands located halfway between Scotland and Iceland on Saturday.

On Tuesday, it sailed into strong winds and high waves and late that night, the ship capsized off the coastal town of Stad, about 215 miles from the capital of Oslo.

Survivors told police that the weather "suddenly turned significantly worse than predicted with very high waves." Rescuers said some of the waves were up to 16 feet high at the time.

Norway's Sea Rescue Society posted video of one of its boats navigating the rough seas during the search for the capsized ship.

#Redningsskøyta «Idar Ulstein» er på nå på stedet hvor vikingskipet har kantret vest av #Stad . Vi holder øye med skipet, og gjør det vi kan for å bistå med bergingen, men værforholdene gjør det svært krevende. pic.twitter.com/iLUUeo6Qoz — Redningsselskapet (@NSSR) August 27, 2024

The five survivors had managed to get into an inflatable life raft and were later airlifted to safety by helicopter. A sixth person, who had been trapped underneath the vessel, drowned, police said. The victim's body was found on Wednesday.

Police have not released the name of the victim but Norwegian and Faeroese media identified her as 29-year-old archaeologist Karla Dana, from Florida.

"Thrilled to be a part of this crew, fearlessly embarking on this Nordic voyage on a Viking ship replica across the North Sea, pushing through physical and mental limits to sail into history," Dana had posted on her LinkedIn profile before the trip.

Sail2North Expeditions, which organized the trip, told CBS News they would release more information about the incident on Friday. In a June Instagram post , Sail2North called Dana "the youngest member of our crew and embodies both the curiosity of a field researcher and the boldness of an adventurer."

In 2023, Dana joined the Florida chapter of The Explorers Club,  BBC News  reported. Joseph Dituri, the chairman of club's Florida chapter, told the outlet that her death is a reminder "that we make these dangerous expeditions and explorations look easy but they are not."

"This brave explorer left this planet doing something she loved entirely too early," he told BBC News. "Her exploration spirit was evident in everything she did as well as her zest for life! It is a better world having had her in it."

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Viking Ship Sinking That Killed Us Archaeologist Blamed on Freak Wave

A powerful wave likely led to the death of an American archaeologist after a replica Viking ship capsized off the coast of Norway, local police said on Thursday.

Police have not officially released the victim's name, but media reports in Norway and the Faeroe Islands have identified her as 29-year-old Karla Dana from Florida.

The incident, which police described as a "tragic accident," occurred after the wooden ship encountered unexpectedly severe weather conditions.

The vessel, named Naddodd, was a 33-foot double-masted replica built in the Faroe Islands.

The ship's international crew was taking part in a project known as the "Legendary Viking Voyage," which involved sailing across the North Atlantic from the Faroe Islands to Trondheim in Norway, according to the trip's organizers.

They had set sail from the Faroe Islands, located between Scotland and Iceland, on Saturday.

Disaster struck on Tuesday night as the vessel approached the Norwegian coastal town of Stad, which is located around 215 miles from Oslo.

The Norwegian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) told CNN that the boat sent out a distress signal at around 5:45 pm local time, and that a rescue team arrived around 50 minutes later.

But the crew onboard signaled that they were safe, prompting the team to turn back.

Then, at around 8:00 pm local time, the vessel issued another distress call. Local civilian boats arrived at the scene soon afterwards and reported that the boat had capsized and five people were found on an inflatable life raft, according to the JRCC.

The survivors were rescued by helicopter and airlifted to safety.

Emergecy workers continued to search through the night for the missing crew member, and found a body on Wednesday morning after weather conditions improved, according to the JRCC.

Norwegian police later confirmed that the surviving crew members included one Faroese and four Swiss nationals.

According to the survivors, the weather suddenly turned significantly worse than predicted, with waves reaching up to 16 feet high. The ship was unable to withstand the conditions and capsized.

Dana had expressed her excitement about the voyage on her LinkedIn profile, describing her anticipation of "fearlessly embarking on this Nordic voyage on a Viking ship replica across the North Sea, pushing through physical and mental limits to sail into history."

The incident is not being treated as a criminal matter and police emphasized that it was an accident caused by a powerful wave.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

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Mayhem Erupts on Carnival Cruise After Passengers Learn Ship Rerouting Entire Trip

Cruise passengers angry after last-minute itinerary changes, mom arrested for selling knock-offs and other stories about fake goods, how a veteran overcame being legally blind to perform at carnegie hall, inside deals on cuisinart nonstick bakeware set, tabletop fire pit, foam cushions — up to 75% off, taylor swift rocks red thigh-high leather boots at kansas city chiefs nfl game, jaleel white hosts new game show 'the flip side', woman shocked to see her dad's hoarder home, never-before-seen video shows karen read preparing for trial, trump goes to court to appeal e. jean carroll verdict, 14-year-old colt gray charged in deadly school shooting, defendant who attacked judge in court claims mental illness, mom gets tummy tuck after dropping 90 pounds on mounjaro, new york bystanders help rescue motorist trapped inside minivan, inside deals on nonstick cookware set, electric toothbrush, wireless headphones — up to 81% off, man dies after surgeon allegedly took his liver by accident, students send parents panicked texts during school shooting, 'dwts' gets backlash for casting fake heiress anna delvey, mosquito interrupts donald trump's rant during town hall, new hampshire 911 call center hires comfort dog to join the team, students describe what happened when 14-year-old opened fire at school, check out these moms' chic outfits for school drop-off, "they knew about the problem prior to us getting onto the ship," ashley ball tells inside edition. "they just didn't say that until we were already on the ship, and, you know, went through customs and the lines and securities and all that.".

A mutiny nearly broke out on a recent Carnival Cruise in Florida when passengers learned their planned vacation had been scraped in favor of an entirely new itinerary,

Guests on the Vista only learned on the day of departure that instead of heading to Aruba, Curacao and Turks and Caicos, the ship would be stopping in the ports of Nassau, Princess Cays, Freeport and Half Moon Cay.

Carnival told passengers that the change of course was due to engine troubles that prohibited the ship from moving at full speed once it left Port Canaveral in Florida.

"Our engineers have been working to address an issue that is limiting Carnival Vista’s cruising speed," the cruise line said in a statement. "We apologize for this unanticipated disruption to your vacation plans and are disappointed that we will not be able to deliver the cruise we had planned."

The cruise line did offer a full refund for any guests who wished to cancel their trip or a $400 voucher that could be used onboard if they opted to travel on the ship despite the revised itinerary.

Despite those offerings, passengers were less than thrilled when they learned the news.

Ashley Ball was on the cruise ship with her mother and sister.

"They knew about the problem prior to us getting onto the ship," Ashley tells Inside Edition. "They just didn't say that until we were already on the ship, and, you know, went through customs and the lines and securities and all that, and then decided to display that information."

It is even worse news for those travelling on the Vista's next trip, with Carnival announcing the trip set to sail this Saturday has been canceled.

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Norwegian Joy accidents and incidents

Former names Norwegian Bliss

Length (LOA) 333 m / 1093 ft

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CruiseMapper's Norwegian Joy cruise ship accidents, incidents and law news reports relate to a 4622-passenger vessel owned by Norwegian Cruise Line . Our Norwegian Joy accidents page contains reports made by using official data from renown online news media sources, US Coast Guard and Wikipedia.

Here are also reported latest updates on cruise law news related to ashore and shipboard crimes still investigated by the police. Among those could be arrests, filed lawsuits against the shipowner / cruise line company, charges and fines, grievances, settled / withdrawn legal actions, lost cases, virus outbreaks , etc.

• formerly named "Norwegian Bliss"
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American Tourist Dead After Viking Ship Replica Sinks Off Coast of Norway: Reports

There were six people on the vessel when it capsized about 60 miles off the country’s west coast

A U.S. tourist has died after a Viking replica boat sank off the coast of Norway, according to multiple reports.

Six people were on board the 30-foot open wooden vessel when it encountered rough seas — with waves that were between 13-16 feet high — during an expedition from the Faroe Islands to Norway, on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 27, according to Agence France Presse and the BBC .

The ship sent a distress signal, and five people, including its skipper, were able to get into an inflatable life raft, and were airlifted by a helicopter with help from the Norwegian coast guard ship KV Bergen , which arrived on the scene, per Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) .

The body of the woman, who was reported to be an American citizen in her 20s by Norwegian media, was found Wednesday, Aug. 28, near where the Naddoddur capsized about 60 miles off the country’s west coast, according to the outlets.

Per the BBC, the expedition had already been postponed for several days due to the weather, and Norway’s Sea Rescue Society posted a video that showed strong winds and high waves in the area at the time the vessel went down.

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The passengers on board were attempting a voyage, from the Faroe Islands to Alesund in Norway — similar to one that Vikings conducted more than 1,000 years ago, per the AFP.

The survivors were from Switzerland and the Faroe Islands, according to VG.

The local newspaper also reported that the boat's skipper has yet to be questioned, but authorities have opened an investigation.

Related Articles

Ukraine war latest: Iran transfers 'more than 200 missiles' to Russia; Putin 'cocky and smug', says CIA chief

The US has warned of "dramatic" Iranian escalation - after reports emerged that short-range missiles had been sent from Tehran to Moscow. Putin was branded both "cocky" and "smug" by the CIA director during a joint security conference with the head of MI6.

Saturday 7 September 2024 17:15, UK

• Iranian missiles transferred to Russia, source tells Sky News
• US warns of 'dramatic' Iranian escalation
• Explained: What Iran is getting out of its 'strategic partnership' with Russia
• Watch: Putin 'cocky and smug', CIA chief says
• Russia claims capture of Donetsk village
• Analysis: Russia's imminent delivery of ballistic missiles is very worrying
• Your questions answered : Could Zelenskyy's 'buffer zone' aim lead to war's end?
• Live reporting by Ollie Cooper

We're pausing our live coverage - thanks for following along. 

We've spent much of the day discussing Iranian-Russian relations - with Sky News being told by a Ukrainian source that hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles have arrived in Russia from Iran. 

Kyiv expressed concerns - just a day after Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed calls for the West to supply Ukraine with weapons that could strike airfields on Russian soil. 

On the battlefield, Moscow reported further advances in the east of Ukraine, while Kyiv continues to hold a significant portion of the Kursk region in Russia 

We'll be back tomorrow with more updates on the Ukraine war. 

Funerals for those killed in a massive Russian attack on a military academy in Poltava have taken place today. 

More than 50 people were killed in Tuesday's attack, which the country's first lady described as a "stunning tragedy for all of Ukraine". 

Russia's defence ministry said the strike targeted soldiers and foreign instructors. 

Iran's alleged supply of ballistic missiles to Russia is worrying, our   military analyst Sean Bell   says.

Bell says Russia "tends to use older weapons" but unlike Ukraine it "has the volume". 

"Both sides are struggling for weapons and at the moment Russia has ramped up its domestic production but it desperately needs weapons from Iran and North Korea," he says.

The delivery reportedly contains short-range ballistic missiles.

"They will give Russia more volume of missiles but it will also mean Russia's limited supply of its own Iskander missiles can now be focused on long range targets - that's very worrying," he says.

"We [also] understand that Russian soldiers have been in Iran doing training for the last few weeks."

Speaking on the UK's announcement yesterday that it will supply more than 650 missiles to Ukraine, the military expert says the challenge will be the need for caution about providing the war-torn country with the most modern weapons in case they fall into Russian hands.

He adds: "Ukraine desperately needs that technology and volume, so that's the big challenge at the moment."

More from the directors of the CIA and MI6, who were speaking at the FT weekend festival earlier today. 

During the event, Bill Burns discussed the prospect of nuclear war erupting at the start of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Speaking alongside the head of MI6 he said: "There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of a potential use of tactical nuclear weapons.

"The [US] president sent me to talk to our Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryshkin, at the end of 2022 to make very clear what the consequences of that kind of escalation would be," he added.

"I don't think we can afford to be intimidated by that sabre-rattling or bullying [but] we've got to be mindful of it."

Russia has frequently threatened nuclear war since the start of the conflict in February 2022. 

By Deborah Haynes , security and defence editor

Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, a Ukrainian source has told Sky News.

The move - reportedly involving more than 200 missiles - would mark a significant ramping up of Iranian military support to Moscow, if confirmed.

Bill Burns, the director of the CIA, was asked about the claim when he appeared at an event in London with his British counterpart, Sir Richard Moore, the head of MI6.

He did not confirm the allegation, but said: "Should Iran ship ballistic missiles... it would be a dramatic escalation of the nature of the defence partnership."

The Ukrainian source said a Russian ship delivered the Fatah-360 missiles - each with a range of more than 70 miles - to a Russian port in the Caspian Sea.

It's anticipated that the munitions will now undergo tests.

The Russian military will then conduct training on them - before they are launched against Ukraine.

Iran has long been feared of having supplied ballistic missiles to Russia.

The Iranian regime has already supplied large quantities of attack drones as well as artillery shells and ammunition, helping to bolster Russian firepower on the battlefield to devastating effect.

Ukrainian drones hit a munitions depot in the Russian region of Voronezh overnight, a Ukrainian security source has told the Reuters news agency. 

The attack, which took place last night, was on what Ukraine believed to be a depot used to transfer weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.

You can see the Voronezh region highlighted on this map - bordering both the Belgorod and Kursk regions. 

"At this moment, there are still four pockets of a powerful fire observed at the site, as well as the unceasing detonation of munitions," the source said, adding that the attack was carried out by the Ukrainian SBU security service.

Alexander Gusev, the Russian governor, said this morning "explosive objects" had detonated after a fire in the region's Ostorogozhsky district.

He said there had been no casualties, but that a state of emergency had been declared locally, with several hundred people evacuated and a major road closed.

Our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes   was there for us - and noted one particularly interesting part of the discussion between Sir Richard Moore and Bill Burns...

Vladimir Putin was branded both "cocky" and "smug" by the CIA director during a joint security conference with the head of MI6 run by the Financial Times.

You can watch Bill Burns and Sir Richard Moore discuss the Russian president here...

Ukraine's foreign ministry has expressed concern over reports that Iranian short-range ballistic missiles have been transferred to Russia. 

In a statement sent to journalists, the ministry said the deepening military co-operation between Tehran and Moscow was a threat to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East.

It also called on the international community to increase pressure on the two countries. 

CNN and the Wall Street Journal both reported yesterday that Iran had already transferred missiles to Russia, citing unidentified sources, although how many was not yet clear.

However, Reuters  reporting  from August suggested that Russia was expecting "hundreds" of the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles - and that Russian military personnel were being trained inside Iran on how to use them. 

Earlier this morning, we reported that the US would view this move as dramatically escalatory (see 8.12am post). 

You can also read about what Iran gets out of its dealings with Russia in our 10.30am post. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday Ukraine now controls more than 1,300sq km in the Kursk region. 

The Ukrainian president also suggested that the invasion has resulted in about 6,000 casualties among Russian forces so far. 

But how has that impacted the war inside Ukraine?

Analysts have suggested that Russia has moved some troops from the frontlines, but has not committed the crack forces required to throw Ukraine off its soil thus far. 

Ukraine's top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi told CNN that the operation in the Kursk region was working and that there had been no Russian advances on a key sector of the eastern front inside Ukraine for six days.

"Over the last six days, the enemy hasn't advanced a single metre in the Pokrovsk direction. In other words, our strategy is working," he said.

Mr Syrskyi said the military had also noted a decrease in shelling and the intensity of the Russian offensive in other sectors.

'Significant tactical achievement' 

Speaking at a joint security conference with the head of MI6, CIA chief Bill Burns said the invasion marks a "significant tactical achievement".

However, MI6 boss Richard Moore said it was too soon to say how soon Kyiv could hold the territory. 

The national picture...

When it comes to the national picture, Russia is pressing on with its goal to take over the east of the country.

They are slowly inching forward towards the city of Pokrovsk - just northwest of Donetsk - which provides critical rail and supply links for the Ukrainian army. 

Losing the city could put additional Ukrainian cities at risk.

This morning, Russia's defence ministry claimed Moscow's troops have claimed the village of Kalynove -just lies southeast of Pokrovsk.

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