Ukrainian drone attack kills at least 7 people hours after Kyiv and Washington's mineral agreement
Seven people were killed in a drone attack by Ukraine, hours after Kyiv and the US signed an agreement giving Washington DC access to the nation's precious minerals.
Missiles hit the partially occupied region of Kherson which also wounded more than 20 people, according to local reports. The deaths came as the ink had yet to dry on the minerals agreement finally signed which will give the US access to new investment projects to develop Ukraine's natural resources - including aluminium, graphite, oil and natural gas. The deal is considered a crucial step in gaining Trump's backing in ceasefire talks with Russia, and potentially end the brutal war.
Moscow-appointed Governer Vladimir Saldo said: 'At the time of the attack, there were many people in the market.' The governor claimed after the first wave of strikes, Ukraine sent further drones to 'finish off' any survivors.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone strike on the Black Sea port city of Odesa early Thursday killed two people and injured 15. Following the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had ignored US proposals for a full and unconditional ceasefire for more than 50 days.
He said: 'There were also our proposals, at the very least, to refrain from striking civilian infrastructure and to establish lasting silence in the sky, at sea, and on land. Russia has responded to all this with new shelling and new assaults.'
The US Treasury announced the deal with Ukraine on Wednesday evening, agreeing to establish an America-Ukraine reconstruction investment fund. For Ukraine, the deal is seen as a key move to gain access to future US military aid in its war against Russia.
The US Treasury said "in recognition of the significant financial and material support" the US has provided to the "defence of Ukraine [...] this economic partnership positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together to [...] accelerate Ukraine's economic recovery".
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent added: "This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term."
Despite that, Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed any peace deal is still 'far apart'. He added on Fox News Channel's 'Hannity: 'They're still far apart. They're closer, but they're still far apart,
'It's going to take a real breakthrough here very soon to make this possible, or I think the president is going to have to make a decision about how much more time we're going to dedicate to this.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump rebukes Goldman's Solomon over bank's tariff impact research
Aug 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump hit out at Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab CEO David Solomon on Tuesday, saying the bank had been wrong to predict tariffs would hurt the economy and questioning whether Solomon should lead the Wall Street institution. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said it was mostly foreign companies and governments absorbing the cost of his tariffs. "But David Solomon and Goldman Sachs refuse to give credit where credit is due. They made a bad both the Market repercussion and the Tariffs themselves." Trump said Solomon should maybe focus on being a DJ, a hobby Solomon abandoned some time ago, "and not bother running a major Financial Institution." The bank CEO is the latest corporate boss to become the target of Trump's ire. A Goldman Sachs spokesperson declined to comment. A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Since February 1, when Trump kicked off trade wars by slapping levies on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, at least 333 companies worldwide have reacted to the tariffs in some manner, as of August 12, according to a Reuters tracker. While Trump did not specify which Goldman research he was referring to, the Wall Street bank - like many of its peers - has taken a bearish stance on Trump's tariffs. In a note published on Sunday, Goldman Sachs analysts, led by chief economist Jan Hatzius, said U.S. consumers had absorbed 22% of tariff costs through June and that figure could rise to 67% if recent tariffs continue on the same trajectory. "I think that David should go out and get himself a new economist," Trump wrote. Hatzius declined to comment. In April, Goldman also warned sweeping U.S. tariffs would weigh on global growth and prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates more aggressively than previously expected. Last week, the president demanded Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab CEO Lip Bu-Tan resign due to his ties to Chinese firms, and has repeatedly targeted Apple boss Tim Cook for making U.S.-sold iPhones outside the country. Trump has also taken aim at other Wall Street banks, alleging, without providing evidence, that JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab and Bank of America (BAC.N), opens new tab discriminated against him by refusing his deposits after his first term. Tariffs are taxes levied on imported goods to typically protect domestic industries or influence trade policies. Their cost can be distributed among manufacturers, retailers and consumers, depending on market conditions and supply-chain dynamics. As the second quarter earnings season progresses, companies have reported a combined financial hit of $13.6 billion to $15.2 billion between July 16 and August 8 for the full year from Trump's tariffs, according to Reuters' global tariff tracker.
Leader Live
26 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Trump's Washington takeover begins as National Guard troops arrive
It comes after the White House ordered federal forces to take over the city's police department and reduce crime in what the president called — without substantiation — a lawless city. The influx came the morning after Mr Trump announced he would be activating the guard members and taking over the department. He cited a crime emergency — but referred to the same crime that city officials stress is already falling noticeably. The president holds the legal right to make such moves for at least a month. Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged to work alongside the federal officials Mr Trump has tasked with overseeing the city's law enforcement, while insisting the police chief remained in charge of the department and its officers. 'How we got here or what we think about the circumstances — right now we have more police, and we want to make sure we use them,' she told reporters. The tone was a shift from the day before, when Ms Bowser said Mr Trump's plan to take over the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and call in the National Guard was not a productive step and argued his perceived state of emergency simply did not match the declining crime numbers. Still, the law gives the federal government more sway over the capital city than in US states, and Ms Bowser said her administration's ability to push back was limited. Meanwhile, attorney general Pam Bondi called the Tuesday morning meeting productive in a social media post and said the justice department would 'work closely with the DC city government' to 'make Washington, DC, safe again.' While Mr Trump invokes his plan by saying that 'we're going to take our capital back', Ms Bowser and the MPD maintain that violent crime overall in Washington has decreased to a 30-year low after a sharp rise in 2023. Carjackings, for example, dropped about 50% in 2024 and are down again this year. Ms Bowser, a Democrat, spent much of Mr Trump's first term in office openly sparring with the Republican president. She fended off his initial plans for a military parade through the streets and stood in public opposition when he called in a multi-agency flood of federal law enforcement to confront anti-police brutality protesters in summer 2020. She later had the words 'Black Lives Matter' painted in giant yellow letters on the street about a block from the White House. In Mr Trump's second term, backed by Republican control of both houses of Congress, Ms Bowser has walked a public tightrope for months, emphasising common ground with the Trump administration on issues such as the successful effort to bring the NFL's Washington Commanders back to the District of Columbia. She watched with open concern for the city streets as Mr Trump finally got his military parade this summer. Her decision to dismantle Black Lives Matter Plaza earlier this year served as a neat metaphor for just how much the power dynamics between the two executives has evolved. Now that fraught relationship enters uncharted territory as Mr Trump has followed through on months of what many DC officials had quietly hoped were empty threats. The new standoff has cast Ms Bowser in a sympathetic light, even among her long-time critics. 'It's a power play and we're an easy target,' Clinique Chapman, chief executive of the DC Justice Lab, said. A frequent critic of Ms Bowser, whom she accuses of 'over policing our youth' with the recent expansions of Washington's youth curfew, Ms Chapman said Mr Trump's latest move 'is not about creating a safer DC. It's just about power'. Ms Bowser contends that all the power resides with Mr Trump and that her administration can do little other than comply and make the best of it. For Mr Trump, the effort to take over public safety in Washington reflects an escalation of his aggressive approach to law enforcement. The District of Columbia's status as a congressionally established federal district gives him a unique opportunity to push his tough-on-crime agenda, though he has not proposed solutions to the root causes of homelessness or crime. 'Let me be crystal clear,' attorney general Pam Bondi said during Mr Trump's announcement news conference. 'Crime in DC is ending and ending today.' Mr Trump's declaration of a state of emergency fits the general pattern of his second term in office: He has declared states of emergency on issues ranging from border protection to economic tariffs, enabling him to essentially rule via executive order. In many cases, he has moved forward while the courts sorted them out.
Channel 4
26 minutes ago
- Channel 4
Trump openly suggests land swap ahead of summit with Putin
Europe's leaders have warned President Trump that Ukraine must not be forced to surrender territory to Vladimir Putin in exchange for peace. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a ceasefire and security guarantees must be agreed first before territorial issues could be discussed. But with Trump openly suggesting a land swap ahead of his Alaskan summit with Putin on Friday, will the American President listen to the leader who seems to be winning the war or the European allies currently left out in the cold?
