Ukraine reports at least 11 dead and over 80 injured in Russian attacks
The alleged embezzlement has been cited as one of the reasons for deficiencies in Russia's defensive lines that failed to stem a surprise Ukrainian incursion in the region launched in August 2024.
Advertisement
Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said.
Russia recently has
Advertisement
Russia's bigger army is also
The strain of keeping Russia's invasion at bay, the lack of progress in
Zelensky said Saturday that Ukraine had signed deals with European allies and a leading US defense company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives 'hundreds of thousands' more this year.
'Air defense is the main thing for protecting life,' Zelensky wrote on Telegram Monday.
That includes developing and manufacturing interceptor drones that can stop Russia's long-range
Extensive use of drones has also helped Ukraine compensate for its troop shortages on the front line.
One person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, another person was killed, and 71 were injured in northeastern Kharkiv, and falling drone debris caused damage in two districts of Kyiv, the capital, during nighttime drone attacks, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two others in the northern Sumy region, officials said. Sumy is one of the places where Russia has
Also, nine people were injured and seven killed in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, regional head Vadym Filashkin said. He didn't specify the weapons used.
More Russian long-range drone strikes Monday targeted military mobilization centers for the third time in five days, in an apparent attempt to disrupt recruitment, Ukraine's Army Ground Forces command said.
Advertisement
Regional officials in Kharkiv and southern Zaporizhzhia said at least 17 people were injured.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said Monday that its troops shot down 91 Ukrainian drones in 13 Russian regions overnight, as well as over the Black Sea and the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
22 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
European court finds Russia responsible for international law violations. Here's the key takeaways
It's the first time an international court has concluded there have been widespread human rights abuses by Russian forces in Ukraine. The 501-page ruling by the Strasbourg court combined four complaints — three stemming from the separatist conflict that broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014, and one linked to alleged violations of international law following the invasion. Advertisement In all four cases, the court's 17 judges unanimously found Russian forces breached international humanitarian law. One of the complaints was brought by the Netherlands in connection with the downing of MH17 over separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine. It is the first time an international court has held Russia responsible for the tragedy in which 298 people died. The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, using a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels loyal to Moscow. Among the victims were 196 Dutch citizens. The ECHR judges found that Russia's refusal to acknowledge its involvement in the disaster also violated international law. Russia's failure to properly investigate it 'significantly aggravated the suffering' of the relatives and friends of the dead. Advertisement In 2022, a criminal court in the Netherlands convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel in absentia of multiple murders for their roles in the downing of Flight MH17 in a separate case. The ECHR is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the continent's foremost human rights institution. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Strasbourg, France, the Council of Europe is an international organization dedicated to promoting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. It has 46 member states. The organization expelled Moscow in 2022 in response to the invasion of Ukraine. However, the court can still deal with cases against Russia dating from before its expulsion and, legally, the country is still obliged to participate in the proceedings. The rulings won't be the last from the ECHR dealing with the war. Kyiv has other cases pending against Russia and there are nearly 10,000 cases brought by individuals against the Kremlin. The court will rule on financial compensation at a later date, but Russia's expulsion leaves little hope that damages will ever be collected. Typically, judges at the ECHR award damages to victims for financial loss or hardship suffered when their rights were violated. The court ordered Russia to pay millions of dollars in compensation to Georgia for a swath of violations after the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. That money has never been handed over. In 2023, more than 40 nations and the Council of Europe agreed to set up a system to tally the destruction Russia has inflicted on Ukraine in the hope of getting reparations. The Hague-based Register of Damage for Ukraine, also known as RD4U, began accepting claims last year. Advertisement Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky last month formally approved plans to set up a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the invasion of Ukraine. The special tribunal will be created through an agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe. It aims to target senior Russian leaders for the 'crime of aggression,' which underpins the countless war crimes Ukraine accuses Russian forces of committing since the start of the war. Existing international courts, including the International Criminal Court in The Hague, lack the jurisdiction to prosecute Russian nationals for that specific offense. The ICC has multiple outstanding arrest warrants for Russian officials for war crimes. They include President Vladimir Putin, who is accused of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
29 minutes ago
Trump admin decision to pause and restart weapons shipments to Ukraine: TIMELINE
President Donald Trump is continuing to dodge questions on who ordered the pause on U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine last week. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump pushed back to a reporter who asked him on Tuesday who was responsible. He continued to obfuscate on Wednesday, when asked directly who made the order, not taking responsibility for the action and not blaming anyone else. Here's a detailed timeline of events, which shows the White House was aware of the pause in real time and Trump's decision to reverse the action -- following an unproductive phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a subsequent series of brutal Russian assaults on Ukraine. July 1: Announcement of pause On the evening of Tuesday, July 1, ABC News reported the White House confirmed it has stopped the shipment of some air defense and precision guided weapons that were on track to be sent to Ukraine. Officials said the decision followed an assessment of U.S. stockpiles. "This decision was made to put America's interests first following a DOD review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe," said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly. "The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned -- just ask Iran." July 2: Officials dance around how to describe the pause The next day, Wednesday, Pentagon and State Department officials danced around how to characterize a pause in weapons shipments to Ukraine. Three U.S. officials familiar with the effort said the U.S. has temporarily paused the shipment of air-defense interceptors and precision munitions intended for Ukraine. When asked, the White House confirmed the decision on Tuesday and said it was made "to put America's interests first following a DOD review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe." The Defense Department was calling this a "capability review" of all foreign munition shipments to US allies, with the chief Pentagon spokesman saying "we can't give weapons to everybody all around the world." "What we've done here at the Department of Defense is create a framework to analyze what munitions we're sending where, to help the President and the Secretary of Defense make decisions," said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. "This capability review, and that's exactly what it is, it's a capability review– is being conducted to ensure US military aid aligns with our defense priorities. And we will not be providing any updates to specific quantities or types of munitions being provided to Ukraine or the timelines associated with these transfers." July 3: Trump speaks with Putin, disputes question on weapons pause Trump wrote on social media that he would be speaking with Putin on Thursday morning. After, speaking with reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump suggested they didn't make any progress. "We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things, including Iran, and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine. I'm not happy about that," Trump said. Trump also notably disputed a reporter's question that the U.S. was pausing weapons. "We're giving weapons, but we've given so many weapons, but we are giving weapons, and we're working with them and trying to help them, but we haven't," Trump said. That same day, ABC News reported relevant congressional leaders were not informed of the Pentagon's decision to pause some munitions intended for Ukraine, two congressional sources told ABC News. July 4: Russia ramps up attacks on Ukraine, Trump speaks with Zelenskyy More than 500 Russian attack drones and missiles were fired at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X on Friday. Trump then spoke with Zelenskyy, who later provided a positive assessment. "As for the call with the President of the United States of America, which took place yesterday, I'd say it was probably the best conversation we've had so far, extremely fruitful. We discussed air defense among other things. I'm grateful for the readiness to assist. Patriot systems are the key to defending against ballistic threats. We also discussed several other topical issues, which our teams will follow up on in detail at upcoming meetings," Zelenskyy said. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Trump told Zelenskyy during that he wasn't responsible for the halt in weapons shipments to Kyiv. Trump said that he had directed a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles after the U.S. struck Iran's nuclear sites last month but hadn't ordered the department to freeze the arms deliveries, according to people briefed on the conversation, the Journal reported. July 5-6: Russia continues intense strikes on Ukraine Russia targeted Ukraine with 322 drones, according to the Ukrainian air force on Saturday, July 5. Approximately 292 of them were "neutralized", either shot down or suppressed by other means. Eleven people were injured in the Kharkiv, including 2 children, in a drone strike overnight there, according to local emergency services. On Sunday, ABC News reported 14 people were killed and 37 injured in Ukraine as a result of Russian attacks in the last 24 hours. July 7: White House changes tune, Trump says he'll ship weapons On Monday morning, Dozens were injured in Ukraine after another intense Russian drone attack that saw a residential building in Kharkiv take a direct hit. The Trump administration appears still to be blocking the shipment of air defense weapons it froze last week. The White House then changed its tune, saying pause was to review "all aid" to Ukraine during an afternoon press conference. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked to walk through the decision to halt weapons to Ukraine. Leavitt stated that this was a standard review by the Pentagon of all weapons and aid to all countries that the U.S. supports. Trump said he would ship weapons to Ukraine during dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. "We're going to send some more weapons. We have to, they have to be able to defend themselves," Trump said. "They're getting hit very hard. Now. They're getting hit very hard. We're going to have to send more weapons, your defensive weapons, primarily. But they're getting hit very, very hard." Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the munitions previously designated for Ukraine will be sent at Trump's direction. July 8: Trump says he doesn't know who approved pause During a meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sitting next to him, Trump said he didn't know who signed off on the weapons pause. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump told a reporter who asked who ordered the pause. Trump also repeated he was "very unhappy" with Putin and said he was looking into sanctions on Russia as a consequence. July 9: Trump continues to say he's unsure who issued pause On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials reported the largest aerial assault on Ukraine from Russia since the start of the war. Trump was asked about the conflict and the weapons pause again as he met with African leaders in the State Dining Room. "Yesterday, you said that you were not sure who ordered the munitions halted to Ukraine. Have you since been able to figure that out?" a reporter asked the president. "Well, I haven't thought about it, because we're looking at Ukraine right now and munitions, but I have, no I have not gone into it," he said. The reporter followed up by asking, "What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without you knowing?" "I would know if a decision was made, I will know," Trump stressed. "I'll be the first to know. In fact, most likely I'd give the order, but I haven't done that yet."
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
French police raid far-right National Rally headquarters in finance probe
Bardella slammed the raid in a message on X. 'This spectacular and unprecedented operation is clearly part of a new harassment operation. It is a serious attack on pluralism and democratic change,' he said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The raid came after Le Pen — runner-up to incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 — was convicted of embezzlement in April and barred from seeking office for five years. She and 24 other party officials were accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to instead pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, violating the 27-nation bloc's regulations. Advertisement However, Wednesday's raid stems from a different, more recent case. The Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement to the AP that searches were carried out at the National Rally's headquarters, at the headquarters of unidentified companies and at the homes of people leading those companies. Advertisement The searches were prompted by a judicial inquiry opened a year ago into a raft of allegations, including fraud, money laundering, and forgery, the prosecutor's office said. The inquiry aims to determine whether Le Pen's 2022 presidential campaign, and the party's campaigns for European Parliament in 2024 and French parliamentary elections in 2022, were financed by 'illegal loans from individuals for the benefit of the party or National Rally candidates,' the statement said. The inquiry is also investigating allegations that the National Rally overbilled for services or billed for fictitious services in order to artificially augment the amount of state aid provided to the party for its electoral campaigns. The prosecutor's office says no one has been charged in the case. Bardella wrote on X that the investigation targets National Rally members who loan money to the party because banks won't, calling the raids a 'spectacle″ serving political ends. Former party treasurer, Wallerand de Saint-Just, told reporters outside the headquarters, 'We did nothing wrong.″ Le Pen has not commented publicly. The National Rally was born from a party with racist and anti-Semitic roots founded by Le Pen's father. In recent years, the party has broadened its messaging and seen its support rise steadily. It has longstanding ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and took out a loan from a Czech-Russian bank in 2014 because it claimed it could not get credit elsewhere. Le Pen had been considered a top contender for France's 2027 presidential election before her March conviction. While her appeal in that case is pending, she asked the European Court of Human Rights for emergency action to suspend the ban on running for office. The court rejected her request Wednesday, arguing that there was no 'imminent risk of irreparable harm' to her human rights. Advertisement
