Russia launches strike in east Ukraine amid stalled peace talks
The northeastern city of Kharkiv, just 30 kilometres from the Russian border, again bore the brunt of the attack. "Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs (drones) were carried out in two districts of the city tonight," Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said on Telegram. Kharkiv regional Governor Oleg Synegubov said three people had been killed.
"Every new day now brings new cowardly strikes from Russia, and almost every strike is demonstrative. Russia deserves increased pressure," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media after the shelling of Kharkiv. Journalists in the city saw damaged apartment blocks, burnt out cars and streets strewn with debris after the attacks.
Ukraine's air force said that Russia had fired 85 drones overnight — fewer than in recent days. On the front line, Moscow's troops have been advancing steadily. The Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday that more units had crossed into the Dnipropetrovsk region.
US President Donald Trump has been urging the two sides to strike a peace deal, but has seen little progress. Zelensky has in turn called on the West to increase the pressure on Russia with hard-hitting economic sanctions that he says would limit its capacity to wage war. He is expected to press that message with Trump and European leaders at a G7 summit in Canada, which kicks off on Sunday.
Leaders from several countries across southeastern Europe were expected in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday, hours after it was targeted by Russian strikes. Two rounds of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have failed to yield a breakthrough in ending the war.
Russia has rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and demanded that Ukraine give up large swathes of territory and its bid to join Nato. But the two sides agreed to swap more than 1,000 prisoners of war and hand over the bodies of dead soldiers. Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russia had handed over the corpses of 1,212 killed soldiers and was working to identify them.
Russia's top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed the handover and said Russia had received "the remains of 27 Russian soldiers." Ukraine did not say how many bodies it returned to Russia, which says Western estimates of the number of its deaths are untrue.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
3 hours ago
- Observer
Ukraine drone attack disrupts Volgograd railway power
KYIV: Falling debris from destroyed Ukrainian drones disrupted railway power supply and train operations in part of the Volgograd region, the administration of the region in Russia's south said on Sunday. There were no injuries as a result of the attacks, the administration said on the Telegram messaging app, citing Governor Andrei Bocharov. Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram that its air defence units had destroyed nine Ukrainian drones over the region. In total Russia downed 99 drones overnight over 12 Russian regions, the Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea, the ministry said. Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Telegram that it had suspended flights soon after midnight at the airport in the city of Volgograd, the administrative centre of the Volgograd region. The flights had not resumed on Sunday morning. Because of the attack, trains were delayed in parts of the region, RIA state news agency reported. The extent of the damage inflicted by the Ukrainian drone attack was not clear. The Russian defence ministry reports only how many drones its units destroy, not how many Ukraine launches. There was no comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has often said that its attacks are in response to Moscow's relentless strikes on Ukraine since Moscow attacked in 2022 and are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Russia's war efforts. Russia prefers political and diplomatic means to resolve conflict in Ukraine, but Kyiv and the West rejected that path, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "Our preferred route is through political and diplomatic means," Peskov said, according to TASS state news agency. Peskov added, without providing evidence, that Moscow continues its military operation in Ukraine because "all proposals for dialogue were rejected, both by Ukraine and by Western countries." Meanwhile, Russian air defence units downed 291 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones, the Russian Defence Ministry said. "Air defence systems downed two guided aircraft bombs, three projectiles of Czech-made Vampire multiple rocket launch systems and 291 fixed-wing drones," the ministry said on its Telegram channel. It added that Russian warplanes and drones struck drone production facilities and control centres within Ukraine. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday its forces had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine, including one in Dnipropetrovsk region where Moscow says its troops have begun to make advances. Ukrainian forces made no acknowledgement that the villages had changed hands, but reported heavy fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an assessment of the situation along the 1,000 km front line, said the logistics hub of Pokrovsk remained the focal point of battles. He also said Ukrainian forces had recorded "successful actions" in Sumy region on Ukraine's northern border, where Russian forces have established a foothold in recent weeks. The front-line clashes were reported three days after the two sides held their third direct meeting in Turkey aimed at resolving the nearly 3 ½ year-old war. Both sides reported progress in swaps of prisoners or the remains of war dead, but no breakthroughs were announced in terms of a ceasefire or a meeting of the two countries' leaders. Russia said on Sunday a major annual navy parade had been cancelled for "security reasons", without specifying the threat or concern. "It has to do with the general situation. Security reasons are of utmost importance," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies. The parade was meant to be the highlight of Russia's Navy Day, which falls on the last Sunday of July each year and honours the country's sailors. But local authorities in the coastal city of Saint Petersburg, where the warships and submarines were scheduled to pass, said on Friday the parade had been cancelled without giving a reason. Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared in a video message hailing the "bravery" and "heroism" of Russia's sailors participating in the offensive in Ukraine. "We are celebrating the holiday in a working atmosphere," Putin said later on Sunday, in a video address to Russian forces involved in large-scale naval manoeuvres called "July Storm". The drills, launched earlier this week in the Baltic and Caspian seas as well as in the Arctic and Pacific oceans, involved more than 150 ships and over 15,000 troops, Putin said. "Our main task is to ensure Russia's security and firmly protect the sovereignty and national interests," Putin said in Saint Petersburg, where he was travelling on Sunday, according to the Kremlin. — Agencies
Observer
3 hours ago
- Observer
Israel declares Gaza fighting pause amid hunger crisis
Israel declared a "tactical pause" in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. The military also said it had begun air-dropping food into the territory and rejected allegations it was using starvation as a weapon against Palestinian civilians. In a statement, the army said it coordinated its decisions with the UN and international organisations to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip". There was no immediate official response from the UN or non-governmental aid agencies operating in Gaza, and privately sceptical humanitarian sources said they were waiting to see the results on the ground of the Israeli announcement. The pause in fighting would be limited to areas where the military says Israeli troops are not currently operating -- Al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah, and Gaza City -- and last from 10:00 am (0700 GMT) until 8:00 pm every day. But the Israeli statement added that "designated secure routes" had been opened across all of Gaza to enable the safe passage of UN and humanitarian aid organisation convoys delivering and distributing food and medicine. Before Israel announced the airborne delivery of seven pallets of food, the United Arab Emirates had said it would restart aid drops, and Britain said it would work with partners, including Jordan, to assist them. On Saturday alone, the Palestinian civil defence agency said over 50 more Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes and shootings, some as they waited near aid distribution centres. 'Starving civilians' - Several Western and Arab governments carried out air drops in Gaza in 2024, when aid deliveries by land also faced Israeli restrictions, but many in the humanitarian community consider them ineffective. "Air drops will not reverse the deepening starvation," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. "They are expensive, inefficient, and can even kill starving civilians." Israel's military insists it does not limit the number of trucks going into Gaza, and alleges that UN agencies and relief groups are not collecting aid once it is inside the territory. But humanitarian organisations accuse the army of imposing excessive restrictions while tightly controlling road access within Gaza. A separate aid operation is underway through the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But it has faced fierce international criticism after Israeli fire killed hundreds of Palestinians near distribution points.
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Russia seizes two villages in central Ukraine
MOSCOW: Russia on Saturday said it had wrested two villages in Ukraine, including one in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, marking a fresh advance into an area largely spared seizures of land since Moscow launched its offensive in 2022. Overnight strikes by both sides meanwhile claimed six lives — four in central Ukraine and two in western Russia, according to officials in both countries. The Russian army said its forces had 'liberated the settlement of Maliyevka' in Dnipropetrovsk weeks after it seized the first village in the region — not one of the Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia. In a separate message on Saturday, Moscow said it had 'liberated the settlement of Zeleny Gai' in Donetsk region on the border with Dnipropetrovsk, adding that it was an important stronghold used by Ukraine to protect the area. Further north in Kharkiv, a Russian strike destroyed a large boiler room that will be impossible to repair before winter, while in Sumy, another strike hit a regional administration building, local authorities said. Further Russian advances could harm Ukraine's economy and energy supplies as Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk, which has been occupied since 2014, are part of Ukraine's mining heartland, particularly for coal that powers the electricity grid. Ukrainian authorities have already been ordering civilians with children to flee a front line that is creeping closer. — AFP
