Russia launches 600 drones against Ukraine, causing deaths and injuries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media on Saturday that Russia launched 26 cruise missiles and 597 attack drones against his country.
He said more than 20 missiles and the vast majority of drones were destroyed.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media that the western cities of Chernivtsi, Lviv and Lutsk particularly suffered.
Local authorities say at least two people were killed by falling debris in Chernivtsi, and houses and a university building were damaged in Lviv, leaving 10 people injured.
Russia has been intensifying its bombardment of Ukraine since last month. In a period through last Wednesday, it launched more than 700 drones, the most since it started its invasion.
The series of Russian attacks comes as weapons delivery from the United States to Ukraine was partially suspended by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy said on social media that he has received good signals from high-level officials from the US and European friends. He added that aid shipments have resumed, according to all reports.
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Japan Times
11 hours ago
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Stalin makes a comeback in Putin's wartime crackdown on dissent
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Amid regular drone attacks, airport closures and internet outages, a growing number of Russians express support for Putin and satisfaction with the economic and political situation in the country despite the war and international sanctions. Those who are opposed are largely keeping quiet. "This is Putin's stability 2.0,' said Denis Volkov, director of the independent Levada Center pollster, who drew parallels with the public mood around 2007, when rising oil prices boosted incomes and ushered in a period of optimism under Putin after the turmoil of the Soviet Union's collapse. Levada's most recent surveys in June showed 70% of Russians believed the country is headed in the right direction with only 17% opposed. Putin's approval rating was 86%. A sense of fear reaches into parts of the Russian elite, too, amid intensifying pressure from Putin's security services in a purge of corruption. 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Artists who criticize the war are blacklisted, losing access to venues unless they publicly recant. Books by writers who left Russia and opposed the war were initially sold wrapped in plain paper and hidden on inconspicuous shelves, only to disappear entirely once their authors were declared extremists. Under pressure from security services, publishers have withdrawn and destroyed books deemed "unauthorized.' Criminal cases have been opened against staff at one of the country's largest publishers for "recruiting for extremist activities.' That can mean anything from anti-war literature to books that mention LGBTQ+ themes. There's "a form of self-censorship,' said Moscow-based political scientist Andrei Kolesnikov. "Modern Russian authorities have gone further than Soviet ones. Back then, censorship was mostly preventive. Now, they jail people retroactively.' 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NHK
14 hours ago
- NHK
Zelenskyy: New round of Ukraine-Russia talks Wednesday
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NHK
a day ago
- NHK
North Korea starts building third new-class destroyer: State media
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