Russian drone attacks kill girl, 9, ahead of 'uncertain' peace talks
Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine have killed at least two, including a nine-year-old girl, as Putin continues his onslaught against the country.
It came as uncertainty remained about whether Kyiv diplomats would attend a new round of peace talks proposed by Moscow for early next week in Istanbul.
Russian troops launched 109 drones and five missiles across Ukraine overnight and into Saturday. Three of the missiles and 42 drones were destroyed, and another 30 drones failed to reach their targets and caused no damage..
The girl was killed in a strike on the frontline village of Dolynka in the Zaporizhzhia region, and a 16-year-old was injured, Zaporizhzhia's governor, Ivan Fedorov, said.
'One house was destroyed. The shockwave from the blast also damaged several other houses, cars, and outbuildings,' he wrote on Telegram.
Another man was killed by Russian shelling in Ukraine's Kherson region, governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram.
Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday that it had gained control of the Ukrainian village of Novopil in the Donetsk region, and took the village of Vodolahy in the northern Sumy region.
Ukrainian authorities in Sumy ordered mandatory evacuations in 11 more settlements as Russian forces made steady gains in the area.
The new additions bring the total number of settlements under evacuation orders to 213 in Sumy, which borders Russia's Kursk region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said 50,000 Russian troops have amassed in the area to launch an offensive to carve out a buffer zone inside Ukrainian territory.
Speaking on Saturday, Ukraine's top army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russian forces were focusing their main efforts on Pokrovsk, Torets and Lyman in the Donetsk region, as well as the Sumy border area.
Mr Syrskyi also said Ukrainian forces are still holding territory in Russia's Kursk region, which Moscow has repeatedly denied.
Russia said on April 26 that it had pushed all Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region after Kyiv's troops seized land there during a surprise incursion in August 2024. More Trending
Elsewhere, 14 people, including four children, were injured after Ukrainian drones struck apartment buildings on Saturday in the Russian town of Rylsk and the village of Artakovo in the western Kursk region.
Andrii Yermak, a senior adviser to Mr Zelensky, said on Friday that Kyiv was ready to resume direct peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on Monday – but that the Kremlin should first provide a promised memo setting out its position on ending the more than three-year war.
Mr Zelensky said Russia was 'undermining diplomacy' by withholding the document: 'For some reason, the Russians are concealing this document. This is an absolutely bizarre position. There is no clarity about the format.'
Moscow previously said it would share its memorandum during the talks.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
Britain to ‘send message to Moscow' with 12 new nuclear-powered submarines
Britain plans to build up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack Submarines amid rising global threats, according to an upcoming defence review by Sir Keir Starmer. The Ministry of Defence will allocate £15bn to develop new warheads for the UK's nuclear deterrent as part of a broader effort to enhance the country's war readiness. Defence Secretary John Healey emphasised the need to confront Russian aggression and ensure Britain 's security, highlighting daily cyber attacks from Russia targeting the UK's defence systems. On Sunday, Mr Healey described the review as a 'message to Moscow '. The 130-page defence review, expected to be published on Monday, includes 62 recommendations and aims to boost investments in shipbuilding, drone technology, and cyber defence, potentially creating tens of thousands of skilled jobs. The nuclear investments are projected to support 30,000 skilled jobs across the UK and will necessitate significant infrastructure upgrades at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston.
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
UK to build up to 12 new attack submarines and invest £15bn in warheads
UK government unveils strategic defence review but opponents question commitment to defence spending of 3 per cent of GDP by 2034 Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The UK will build up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines and invest £15 billion in its warhead programme, the Prime Minister will announce on Monday as the Government unveils its strategic defence review. Significant investment in the UK nuclear warhead programme this parliament and maintaining the existing stockpile are among the 62 recommendations that the Government is expected to accept in full. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But questions were also raised about its commitment to defence spending after the Defence Secretary could not confirm the Treasury had guaranteed funding to bring it up to 3 per cent of GDP by 2034. Defence Secretary John Healey appearing on the BBC1 current affairs programme, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, ahead of today's publication of the strategic defence review | PA Building the new submarines, which is part of the Aukus partnership with the US and Australia , will support 30,000 highly skilled jobs into the 2030s as well as 30,000 apprenticeships and 14,000 graduate roles across the next 10 years, the Ministry of Defence said. Defence Secretary John Healey said: "Our outstanding submariners patrol 24/7 to keep us and our allies safe, but we know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression. "With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering on our Plan for Change with 30,000 highly skilled jobs across the country." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The £15 billion investment into the warhead programme will back the Government's commitments to maintain the continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent, build a new fleet of Dreadnought submarines and deliver all future upgrades. From the late 2030s, the fleet of up to 12 SSN-Aukus conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines will replace seven astute class attack submarines the UK is due to start operating. Getting ready for war In response to the strategic defence review, the Government will also commit to: - Getting the armed forces to a stage where it would be ready to fight a war Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad - Boosting weapons and equipment stockpiles and making sure there is capacity to scale up production if needed in a crisis or war - Buying up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons in a move due to support 800 defence jobs - Setting up a new cyber command and investing £1 billion in digital capabilities - More than £1.5 billion of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sir Keir Starmer will say: "From the supply lines to the front lines, this Government is foursquare behind the men and women upholding our nation's freedom and security. "National security is the foundation of my Plan for Change, and this plan will ensure Britain is secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering a defence dividend of well-paid jobs up and down the country. "This strategic defence review will ensure the UK rises to the challenge and our armed forces have the equipment they need that keeps us safe at home while driving greater opportunity for our engineers, shipbuilders and technicians of the future." Opponents question Labour's funding commitment The Conservatives and Lib Dems questioned Labour's commitment to funding the promises it was making. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Government has previously set out its "ambition to reach 3 per cent in the next parliament", after meeting its pledge to ratchet up defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by April 2027 . Mr Healey had said there was "no doubt" the UK would reach 3 per cent in an interview with The Times. But on Sunday, he sidestepped questions about whether he had any guarantee from the Treasury to provide the funding when asked on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme. He said he does not expect to increase the number of people in the armed forces until the next Parliament amid a recruitment and retention crisis. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Asked when the Army would reach the target of 73,000, Mr Healey said: "We've narrowed the gap, but we've still got more people leaving than joining. "The first job is to reverse that trend and then I want to see in the next parliament our ability to start to increase the number." Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said: "All of Labour's Strategic Defence Review promises will be taken with a pinch of salt unless they can show there will actually be enough money to pay for them. "Whereas, far from guaranteeing the funding, John Healey has been hung out to dry by Rachel Reeves . Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "As recently as Thursday, Healey promised that defence spending would definitely hit 3 per cent, but today he's completely backtracked. "These submarines are not due to enter service till the late 2030s, so how can we have any confidence Labour will actually deliver them when they can't even sustain a policy on defence spending for more than 48 hours?" Lib Dem defence spokesperson Helen Maguire said: "This signals absolutely the right intent about the need to bolster the UK's defences in the face of Putin's imperialism and Trump's unreliability. "But this must come with a concrete commitment and detail on full funding. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "Labour's mere 'ambition' rather than commitment to reach 3 per cent of GDP on defence leaves serious questions about whether the money for these projects will actually be forthcoming. "The 2034 timeline suggests a worrying lack of urgency from the Government.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Zelensky praises Ukraine's security service for ‘brilliant operation' against Russian warplanes
Volodymyr Zelensky praised Ukraine's security service for the "brilliant operation" that saw drone swarms target "military targets" deep inside Russian territory. 'Today, a brilliant operation was carried out. The preparation took over a year and a half,' the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address on 2 June. 'What's most interesting is that the 'office' of our operation on Russian territory was located directly next to FSB headquarters in one of their regions.' Kyiv claimed the drone attack destroyed over 40 Russian warplanes. The attack came on the same day Zelensky announced that Ukraine would send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday.
