Donald Trump “was not happy” about Russia’s massive wave of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s capital, the White House has said.
The US president planned to talk more about the subject later, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added, after at least 21 people, including four children, were killed in the overnight attack on Thursday.
The airstrikes drew international condemnation, with Britain’s foreign office summoning the Russian ambassador to the UK after the British Council said its offices in the capital were left “severely damaged”.
It is the first major attack by Moscow on Kyiv since Vladimir Putin met with Mr Trump in Alaska, though the Russian leader has since stalled any efforts to kickstart peace talks.
A spokesperson for the British Council said the office would be closed until further notice but its work continues. Scott McDonald, the chief executive of the Council, said a guard was injured in the attack and was “shaken but stable”. The EU delegation building in the Ukrainian capital was also damaged in the attack.
Russia used a combination of decoy drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration.
Recap: Russian forces break into another region of Ukraine with peace efforts stuck
Russia’s invading forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said on Wednesday, seeking to capture more ground in their three-year war of attrition as US-led peace efforts struggle to gain traction.
Some Russian troops have entered the villages of Novoheorhiivka and Zaporizke in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, a major Ukrainian industrial center next to the Donetsk region where fierce fighting has been taking place, Victor Trehubov, spokesman for local ground forces, told The Associated Press by phone.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed earlier this month that its forces had taken the two villages.
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Starmer accuses Putin of ‘sabotaging’ hopes of peace
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “sabotaging” hopes of peace following the “senseless” strikes early on Thursday.
Russia launched a major air attack on Kyiv that included a rare strike on the city centre, killing at least 19 people, wounding 48 and damaging European Union diplomatic offices, authorities said.
Recap: Watch as Russia strikes key Ukraine energy facility in large-scale drone attack
Analysis: Russia’s devastating attack on Kyiv proves Trump’s Ukraine peace plans have failed. It is time for Europe to show leadership
At least 18 people have been killed in another Russian drone and missile swarm attack on Ukraine. The offices of the European Union and the British Council were struck, along with a five-storey block of flats destroyed in Kyiv. Lots and lots of outrage. So what?
That’s a statement of the obvious – but not the statement of a statesman.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
Italy’s foreign minister sees “no end to Ukraine war this year”
Italy’s foreign minister has said he does not anticipate the war in Ukraine ending this year.
Speaking following a cabinet meeting in Rome Antonio Tajani added it was “clear” there would have to be new sanctions if Russia continued “like this”.
“The war isn’t going to end as soon as some people said and believed … I don’t want to be a pessimist but I don’t think there can be solutions before the end of the year,” he said.
Pictures show moment drone strike hits Kyiv
Pictures from a clip published in The Guardian show the moments a drone strike hit a neighbourhood in Kyiv on Wednesday night.
Fuel crisis across Russia following Ukrainian drone strikes
- Parts of Russia are experiencing severe petrol shortages, leading to dry pumps, long queues, and rationing in some regions.
- The shortages are primarily due to recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, compounded by soaring wholesale prices and high demand for harvest and summer holidays.
- Regions most affected include the Far East and the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula, with reports of exorbitant prices and sales restrictions.
- Ukrainian drone strikes have successfully targeted an arc of Russian refineries, causing significant drops in petrol and diesel production.
- Russia has responded by pausing petrol exports, and while experts suggest the shortage is not ‘system critical’ and diesel supplies are abundant, it highlights a domestic vulnerability.
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Germany’s Merz says it seems clear there will be no meeting between Putin and Zelensky
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that it seems clear there will be no meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a statement alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron welcomed Merz for a working dinner at Bregancon Fort in southern France, where the leaders gave a statement to the press before their meeting.
Merz said he and Macron will hold bilateral discussions on several topics, including economic collaboration between the two countries, the situation between Ukraine and Russia, and the de-bureaucratisation of Europe.
Turkey ready to help high-level Russia-Ukraine talks take place, Erdogan tells Zelensky
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has told Zelensky Ankara is ready to help any high-level talks between Ukraine and Russia take place, his office said in a statement.
It said in a phone call between the pair, Erdogan also told Zelensky that Turkey would continue to contribute to Ukraine’s security after peace was achieved.
US State Dept green lights sale of air delivered munitions to Ukraine
The US state department has approved a potential sale of air delivered munitions and related equipment to Ukraine for an estimated cost of $825 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
The principal contractors for the sale are Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire.
