Russian drones attacked Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa for the second night running on Wednesday, with nearly 90,000 people affected by blackouts and loss of heating, said the regional governor, Oleh Kiper, and the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Four people, including a child, were injured in the initial attack on Tuesday.
A Russian guided bomb killed at least one person on Wednesday in and around Ukraine’s north-eastern city of Kupiansk, east of Kharkiv, said the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. Russian forces hit a residential area of Kupiansk and rescuers retrieved the body of one resident from under rubble; while two people were injured in an attack on a village south of the city. Prosecutors in the region put the death toll for the day at two people.
In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Russian forces hit a multi-storey apartment building with guided bombs, injuring three people and causing serious damage, said Roman Mrochko, head of the city’s military administration. The injured included 13-year-old twins.
Ukrainian drones hit the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region on Wednesday, said the local governor. The refinery suspended oil processing afterwards, industry sources told Reuters. It is about 700km from the Ukrainian border.
EU officials have proposed boosting it military aid for Ukraine amid uncertainty about continued backing from the US, whose president, Donald Trump, has started direct talks with Russia and on Wednesday launched a tirade laced with pro-Kremlin falsehoods against the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Reuters news agency said a paper suggested each EU member state contribute based on the size of its economy to produce a package that would include 1.5m rounds of artillery ammunition to be delivered this year, as well as air defence systems, missiles for deep precision strikes and drones. Diplomats held initial talks on the plan this week in Brussels and said EU foreign ministers may discuss it on Monday.
EU envoys have also agreed a 16th package of sanctions on Russia. It includes restrictions on Russian banks, measures to strengthen the G7 oil price cap, a Russian aluminium import ban and new export bans. The package is expected to be adopted by the bloc’s foreign ministers on Monday to mark the third anniversary of the war.
Britain and France are leading efforts to create a European “reassurance force” intended to prevent future Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, ports and critical infrastructure in the event of a US-brokered peace deal, Dan Sabbagh writes. The proposal, western officials said, would involve less than 30,000 troops and would be likely to be concentrated on air and maritime defence. Ground forces would be minimal and not deployed near the frontline in the east of Ukraine. Among the aims would be safe reopening of Ukraine’s airspace to commercial flights and the security of its seaborne trade over the Black Sea such as food and grain exports.
South Korea has affirmed that a North Korean soldier captured by Ukraine has the right to start a new life on its side of the border. An official from Seoul’s foreign ministry said “North Korean soldiers are constitutionally considered our nationals” and the South “would provide the necessary protection and support”. The South’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper published an interview with a North Korean soldier on Wednesday describing “brutal” fighting on the frontline. The soldier, whom the newspaper called Ri, said he was “80%” decided that he “plans to apply for refugee status and go to South Korea”.
Ri – visibly wounded – told Chosun that many of his fellow North Korean soldiers had been killed by drones and artillery fire. “Everyone who joined the army with me is dead. When I finally entered the battle, it was truly brutal … I had never seen people die before.”
Ukraine on Wednesday denied claims by Vladimir Putin of a ground attack into Ukrainian territory from the Kursk region, which would have been a first in the region since 2022. “Putin’s information about a large-scale Russian offensive is a lie,” said Andriy Kovalenko, an official responsible for countering disinformation, who added that a Russian reconnaissance unit had tried to cross but was destroyed. Russia’s president claimed fighters of the 810th brigade had crossed into Ukrainian territory overnight.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would meet on Thursday with Donald Trump’s US envoy, retired Gen Keith Kellogg, and hoped for “constructive” work with the US.
Article by:Source: Warren Murray with Guardian writers and agencies
