3 killed and scores injured as Russia targets Ukraine with new attacks
According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched a barrage of 63 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight. It said that air defenses destroyed 28 drones while another 21 were jammed.
Ukraine's police said two people were killed and six were injured over the past 24 hours in the eastern Donetsk region, the focus of the Russian offensive. One person was killed and 14 others were also injured in the southern Kherson region, which is partly occupied by Russian forces, police said.
The head of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said that 15 people, including four children, were injured by Russian drone attacks overnight.
Kharkiv city mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian drones targeted residential districts, educational facilities, kindergartens and other civilian infrastructure.
'Kharkiv is holding on. People are alive. And that is the most important thing,' Terekhov said.
The Russian military has launched waves of drones and missiles in recent days, with a record bombardment of almost 500 drones on Monday and a wave of 315 drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday. The recent escalation in aerial attacks has come alongside a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line.
While Russian missile and drone barrage have struck regions all across Ukraine, regions along the front line have faced daily Russian attacks with short-range exploding drones and glide bombs.
Ukraine hit back with drone raids. Russia's Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 52 Ukrainian drones early Thursday, including 41 over the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine. Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said three people were injured by Ukrainian attacks Thursday.
The attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During their June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making any quick deal unlikely.
Speaking at a meeting of leaders of southeast European countries in Odesa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the European Union to toughen its latest package of sanctions against Russia. He argued that lowering the cap on the price of Russian oil from $60 to $45 as the bloc has proposed isn't enough.
'Real peace comes with a $30 cap -– that's the level that will truly change thinking in Moscow,' Zelenskyy said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv Thursday on an unannounced visit, noting that the stepped-up Russian attacks on Ukraine send a message from Moscow that it has 'no interest in a peaceful solution at present,' according to German news agency dpa.
Pistorius said his visit underlines that the new German government continues to stand by Ukraine.
'Of course this will also be about how the support of Germany and other Europeans will look in future – what we can do, for example, in the area of industrial cooperation, but also other support,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Zelenskiy approves bill 'preserving independence' of anti-corruption bodies
KYIV, Ukraine, July 24 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy approved draft legislation on Thursday that he said would restore the independence of the country's anti-corruption agencies, reversing course after an outburst of public criticism. Measures enacted earlier this week that established greater control by the prosecutor general, a political appointee, over the two bodies had fuelled rare wartime protests and had thrown Kyiv's EU bid into question. Zelenskiy said on X he had approved the draft for submission to parliament later in the day. "It is important that we are maintaining unity. It is important that we are preserving independence. It is important that we respect the position of all Ukrainians," he said. Zelenskiy, whose image as a tireless leader of the three-year-old war against Russia's invasion has been tarnished by the controversy, said the text of the new bill is "well-balanced". He did not give further details, saying only that it "guarantees real strengthening of Ukraine's law enforcement system, independence of anti-corruption agencies, and reliable any Russian influence". On Monday, security forces arrested two anti-corruption officials on suspicion of ties to Russia and launched sweeping searches of other employees. Critics had decried the measures putting a Zelenskiy-appointed prosecutor in control over the anti-corruption agencies, saying they went too far and looked like political pressure against the agencies. Opposition lawmakers had collected enough signatures to register their own legislation to revoke the restrictive measures, which had been fast-tracked with help from Zelenskiy's ruling party. It was not immediately clear how soon parliament, which was meant to start its summer holiday this week, would consider either bill. The European officials expressed strong criticism over changes curbing the authority of the anti-corruption bodies and on Thursday welcomed an earlier pledge by Zelenskiy to retain their independence.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Shocked Ukrainians leave apartment block after Russian bomb hits Kharkiv
The Ukrainian authorities have said at least 33 people were injured after Russia fired a glide bomb at a residential neighbourhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The regional governor said those injured included a 10-year-old child and one-month-old infant. Footage from Kharkiv shows cars on fire and black smoke billowing from an apartment block.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Kazakh Black Sea oil exports resume as tankers given access, sources say
MOSCOW, July 24 (Reuters) - Russia's FSB security service has started handing out clearance for foreign tankers to access the Black Sea ports, allowing for Kazakhstan's oil exports to resume after they were halted for nearly a day, four industry sources said on Thursday. The suspension led to the disruption of around 2% of global supply and drove international oil prices to almost $70 a barrel on Thursday before they pared gains. Russian regulations mean foreign ships require the approval of Russia's FSB security service to access the country's ports. The new law was signed by President Vladimir Putin on Monday and came into effect after a decision by the European Union at the end of last week to impose further sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine. Two industry sources said on Wednesday foreign tankers were being temporarily barred from loading at Russia's main Black Sea ports. That effectively halted oil exports from Kazakhstan via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium that connects Kazakhstan's oil fields with export markets. Shareholders of the CPC include U.S. majors Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab and ExxonMobil (XOM.N), opens new tab. None of the source Reuters spoke to could be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Kazakhstan's energy ministry said the country's pipeline operator KazTransOil was in talks with the oil terminal owner over operations and additional security measures in the Russian Baltic Sea's port of Ust-Luga. The ministry did not elaborate. An industry source, familiar with the matter, said the talks related to the additional costs for the Russian insurance coverage and divers' inspections. Black Sea CPC Blend oil exports from the CPC terminal in Russia were set at 1.66 million barrels per day for August, or about 6.5 million metric tons, almost unchanged from the July export plan, Reuters reported last week. Exports and oil transit via Novorossisk are expected to be around 2.2 million metric tons in July, according to industry sources. Supplies from Novorossisk and the CPC terminal together account for around 2% of global oil supplies. Adding to nervousness on international oil markets about supplies, BP (BP.L), opens new tab said on Thursday that contaminants were detected in some of the oil tanks at Turkey's BTC Ceyhan terminal. It said however that loadings continued from other reservoirs.
