KYIV, UKRAINE — Latest developments:
- After a break of almost two weeks, Russia launched a drone attack Sunday on Kyiv, Reuters reports. There have been no reports of casualties or damage.
- The United States is confident Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia is making progress despite the lack of any significant break in the Russian lines. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley told an audience in Washington Friday the slow pace of Ukraine’s advance is “part of the nature of war.”
- Milley also said the U.S. is openly considering providing Ukraine with cluster-munitions, long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles and even some of its own F-16 fighter jets. "These things are on the table,” he said. “There's no decision at this point.”
- The U.N. expressed concern Friday that no new ships have been registered since June 26 under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of grain from Ukraine. "We call on the parties to commit to the continuation and effective implementation of the agreement without further delay," U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. Moscow said Modi expressed support for what the Kremlin called the Russian leadership's decisive actions in handling the mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group last Saturday. The call comes after the U.S. and India declared themselves "among the closest partners in the world" last week during a state visit to Washington by Modi. India has yet to condemn ally Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
- Russian forces hit a school in Serhiivka, Donetsk oblast, on Friday, killing two members of staff and injuring six others, the regional prosecutor's office reported.
Ukraine has published a package of sanctions against 300 legal entities and almost 200 individuals, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his daily address. The president said the sanctions against individuals are not only Russian citizens, but “anyone in the world who helps the aggressor.”
Ukrainian officials reported more civilian casualties from Russian shelling in the country’s east and south Saturday, as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez began a visit to Kyiv as a show of continuing support from Madrid and the European Union for Ukraine’s fight to dislodge invading Russian forces.
In an address to Ukraine's parliament that received several standing ovations, Sánchez said, “We’ll be with you as long as it takes.”
“I am here to express the firm determination of the European [Union] and Europe against the illegal and unjustified Russian aggression to Ukraine,” he said on the day that Spain took over the six-month rotating presidency of the 27-nation EU.
At a later news conference with Zelenskyy, Sanchez announced Spain would deliver more heavy weaponry to Ukraine including four Leopard tanks and armored personnel carriers, as well as a portable field hospital. He also said Spain will provide an additional 55 million euros to help with reconstruction needs.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, regional officials reported that at least three civilians were killed and 17 wounded by Russian shelling Friday and overnight in the front-line eastern Donetsk region, where fierce battles are raging, Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that fierce clashes continued in three areas in Donetsk where it said Russia has massed troops and attempted to advance. It named the outskirts of three cities — Bakhmut, Lyman and Marinka — as front-line hot spots.
Five people including a child were wounded Friday and overnight in the Kherson region in the south, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. Prokudin said that Russian forces launched 82 artillery, drone, mortar shell and rocket attacks on the province, which is cut in two by a stretch of the 1,500-kilometer front line and still reeling from flooding unleashed by the collapse earlier this month of a major Dnipro River dam.
In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Russian shelling over the previous day wounded a 57-year-old civilian man, said Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. In the Sumy region farther west, a teenage boy was hurt in a strike from across the Russian border, the local military administration reported.
Referring to possible peace talks, Sanchez said that “only Ukraine can set the terms and times for peace negotiations. Other countries and regions are proposing peace plans. Their involvement is much appreciated, but, at the same time, we can’t accept them entirely.
“This is a war of aggression, with an aggressor and a victim. They cannot be treated equally and ignoring the rules should in no way be rewarded. That is why that is why we support President Zelenskyy’s peace formula,” Sánchez added.
Zelenskyy at the news conference expressed frustration about the lack of clarity over Western training for Ukrainian fighter pilots. He said Western allies have not yet set a timetable to train pilots on U.S.-made F-16s despite their expressions of readiness. "I think that some partners are delaying this process, why they do this I have no idea,” he said.
He also renewed Ukraine's claim that Russia is prepared to cause a potential nuclear catastrophe at the Moscow-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as Ukraine continues to make steady advances along the front line.
“Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station that could cause an emission of dangerous substances in the air. We are clearly communicating, we discussed the need with our partners, so everyone understands why Russia is doing this,” he said.
The introduction of F-16s to the war could give Ukraine a much needed edge over Russia, which currently enjoys air superiority.
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