Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv hits warplanes in Russia as missile attack kills five in Ukraine
Ukraine's military has said it struck four warplanes at an airbase in central Russia's Volgograd region as part of a drive to hit Russian war assets. It said on Telegram it had hit four Su-34 aircraft at the Marinovka base outside the city of Volgograd, about 900km (550 miles) from the Ukrainian border. The post on Friday said the operation was conducted by the military's special operations branch, together with the SBU security service and other services of the military. 'According to preliminary information, four aircraft were hit, specifically SU-34 planes, as well as technical-operational facilities where different warplanes are serviced and repaired,' the statement said. There was no immediate comment from the Russian military.
Ukraine's military said the damage to Marinovka was being assessed and described the Su-34 as Russia's main aircraft used in bombing raids on Ukrainian territory. Volgograd governor Andrei Bocharov on Friday listed the region's Kalanchyovsky district where Marinovka is located among three areas targeted by Ukrainian drones and said traffic on the bridge over the Don River in the district was temporarily restricted.
A Russian missile attack killed at least five people and wounded 25 in the industrial city of Samar in Ukraine's south-east on Friday, officials said – the second strike on the city in three days. At least four of the wounded were in severe condition and taken to hospital, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. Officials gave no immediate details on damage in the city, where an attack on an infrastructure facility on Tuesday killed two people.
In the Kherson region to the south, authorities urged residents on Friday to prepare for extended periods without power after a Russian attack hit a key energy facility. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the attack caused power cuts in some settlements in the region, which is close to the front lines with Russian forces.
Russia said its troops had captured the village of Nova Kruhlyakivka in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region. The report on Friday from Russian state news agency Tass, citing the defence ministry, could not be independently verified.
Russian president Vladimir Putin said Russia and Ukraine's demands for peace were 'absolutely contradictory', after two rounds of talks have failed to bring a ceasefire. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators exchanged memorandums on how to end the war at talks in Istanbul this month and the Russian president said in Minsk on Friday: 'As for the memorandums, as expected, nothing surprising happened ... these are two absolutely contradictory memorandums.'
At the press conference in Minsk after a meeting with allies in Belarus, Putin also denounced what he called an 'aggressive' pledge by Nato members to increase their defence spending to 5% of GDP. US president Donald Trump called Nato's decision a 'big win' for western civilisation. Putin also said on Friday that Russia was ready to hold a new round of peace talks with Ukraine, potentially in Istanbul, although the time and venue had yet to be agreed.
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The Guardian
35 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Just when the world desperately needs wise elders, its fate is in the hands of old and ruthless patriarchs
Let's attempt something delicate: talking about age without slipping into ageism. Never before in modern history have those with the fate of the world in their hands been so old. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are both 72. Narendra Modi is 74, Benjamin Netanyahu 75, Donald Trump 79, and Ali Khamenei is 86. Thanks to advances in medical science, people are able to lead longer, more active lives – but we are now also witnessing a frightening number of political leaders tightening their grip on power as they get older, often at the expense of their younger colleagues. This week, at their annual summit, the leaders of Nato – including Emmanuel Macron and Mette Frederiksen (both 47), Giorgia Meloni (48) and Pedro Sánchez (53) – were forced to swallow Trump's demand for increased military spending. The average age of Nato heads of state is 60. Germany's Friedrich Merz is 69, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is 71. All bowed to a new 5% defence spending target – an arbitrary figure, imposed without serious military reasoning or rational debate, let alone serious democratic debate at home. It was less policy, more deference to the whims of a grumpy patriarch. Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte – himself just 58 – went so far as to call Trump 'Daddy'. That's not diplomacy. That's submission. This generational clash plays out in other arenas. Ukraine's 47-year-old president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is resisting the imperial ambitions of septuagenarian Putin. Septuagenarian Xi eyes a Taiwan led by a president seven years his junior. Netanyahu, three-quarters of a century old, is overseeing devastation in Gaza, where almost half the population is under 18. In Iran an 86 year old rules over a population with an average age of 32. Cameroon's Paul Biya, 92, has been in power since 1982 in a country where the median age is 18 and life expectancy just 62. There is no gerontocratic conspiracy at work here – no senior citizens' club bent on global domination. But there is something disturbing about a world being dismantled by the very people whose lives were defined by its postwar architecture. Khamenei was six when the second world war ended. Trump was born in 1946, the year the United Nations held its first general assembly. Netanyahu was born a year after Israel was founded. Modi was born in 1950, as India became a republic. Putin entered the world in October 1952, months before Stalin died. Xi in June 1953, just after. And Erdoğan was born in 1954, two years after Turkey joined Nato. These men are the children of the postwar world – and as they near the end of their lives, they seem determined to tear it down. It almost looks like revenge. Dylan Thomas urged us to 'Rage, rage against the dying of the light'. Rarely has the line felt so literal. Yes, the rules-based international order was always messier in practice than on paper. But at least the ideal existed. There was a shared moral framework – shaky, yes, but sincere – built on the conviction that humanity must never repeat the atrocities of the first half of the 20th century and that dialogue and diplomacy were better. That conviction has now evaporated, not least in the minds of those who should cherish it most. This is an unprecedented moment. The architects of the previous global disorder – Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao – were all in their 30s or 40s when they rose to power. A new generation built a new world, and lived with its consequences. Today, that new world is being unmade by an old generation – one that will not live to see the wreckage it leaves behind. It's easier to shout 'drill, baby, drill' when you're statistically unlikely to experience the worst of climate collapse. Après nous le déluge, as the French say. You might think that a generation so fortunate to benefit from longevity would leave behind a legacy of care, gratitude and global stewardship. Instead, we are witnessing the worst resurgence of repression, violence, genocide, ecocide and contempt for international law in decades – waged, more often than not, by ruthless septuagenarians and octogenarians who appear more interested in escaping prosecution than preserving peace. But it doesn't have to be this way. After leaving office, Nelson Mandela founded the Elders, a network of former world leaders working to promote peace, justice and human rights. Inspired by African traditions of consensus and elder wisdom, the Elders are an example of how age can bring clarity, compassion and conscience – not just clout. The problem isn't old age. It's how some have chosen to wield it. The world doesn't need more ageing strongmen clinging to power. It needs elders who are willing to let go – and guide. The kind who think about legacy not as personal glory, but as the world they leave behind. In this age of age, what we need is not domination, but wisdom. And that, in the end, is what separates a ruler from a leader. David Van Reybrouck is philosopher laureate for the Netherlands and Flanders. His books include Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World and Congo: The Epic History of a People Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Metro
3 hours ago
- Metro
Humiliated Putin loses warplanes worth £148,000,000 despite stepping up security
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Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Humiliation for Putin as £37m jets destroyed in strike before vengeful tyrant kills two in blitz on Ukraine tower block
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Russia has drastically increased its drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks amid growing issues around securing a lasting ceasefire. Kyiv has continued to defend themselves valiantly against enemy attacks with them landing a humiliating blow to the Kremlin. Advertisement They launched a tactical drone attack on Russia's Marinovka military airfield in the Volgograd region in Friday. Ukraine used long range drones to fly 200 miles to inflict millions of pounds worth of damage to Putin's aerial firepower. The blitz targeted a set of four Su-34 fighter jets which are each worth a reported £37million. Furious Russian military analysts confirmed that two of the Su-34 multi-role fighters used on the frontline for bombing missions against Ukraine were destroyed. Advertisement The two others also suffered damage. Pro-war Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber raged that the hit 'could and should have been prevented'. 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Buildings and critical infrastructure facilities were damaged. Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it 'one of the most terrible strikes on Kyiv'. Days earlier, Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv was bombarded with 48 kamikaze drones, missiles and guided bombs. The assault killed three people and injured 21. Inside Russia's faltering war By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter THE Russian invasion of Ukraine has been advancing at an incredibly slow pace - with Kyiv's "dronegrinder" warfare miring Putin's summer offensive. The rate at which Moscow is capturing land has been dubbed "slower than a snail" - all while the human cost of Russian casualties is sky high. After 448 days of fighting inside Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, the Russians reportedly only managed to take control of 50 per cent of the city. Which means the troops, on average, are only able to take 0.00629 square miles of land per day - which is a painfully low conversion rate. 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Ukrainians have tasked a special defence group to strengthen fortifications near the frontlines, build anti-drone corridors and 'kill zones' It comes amid fears that Vladimir Putin may launch a fresh summer offensive to try and take as much land as he can before agreeing to a ceasefire. 6
