Latest news with #droneattacks
CTV News
7 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
2 killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine as prospects for talks remain uncertain
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) KYIV, Ukraine — Russia's drone and missile attacks on Ukraine on Saturday killed at least two people, including a nine-year-old girl, officials said, as uncertainty remains whether Kyiv diplomats will attend a new round of peace talks proposed by Moscow for early next week in Istanbul. Russian troops launched some 109 drones and five missiles across Ukraine overnight and into Saturday, the Ukrainian air force said. Three of the missiles and 42 drones were destroyed and another 30 drones failed to reach their targets without causing damage, it said. A 9-year-old girl was killed in a strike on the front-line village of Dolynka in the Zaporizhzhia region, and a 16-year-old was injured, Zaporizhzhia's Gov. Ivan Fedorov said. 'One house was destroyed. The shockwave from the blast also damaged several other houses, cars, and outbuildings,' Fedorov wrote on Telegram. Another man was killed by Russian shelling in Ukraine's Kherson region, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram. Moscow did not comment on either attack. Russia's Ministry of Defense said 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 make steady gains in the area. The new additions bring the total number of settlements under evacuation orders in Sumy, which borders Russia's Kursk region, to 213. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said some 50,000 Russian troops had amassed in the area with the intention of launching an offensive to carve out a buffer zone inside Ukrainian territory. Elsewhere, 14 people were injured including four children after Ukrainian drones struck apartment buildings Saturday in the Russian town of Rylsk and the village of Artakovo in the western Kursk region, local acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein said. Andrii Yermak, a top adviser to Zelenskyy, said 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 memorandum setting out its position on ending the more than three-year war. Zelenskyy said Friday that 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,' Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. Moscow previously said it would share its memorandum during the talks. The Associated Press
Washington Post
8 hours ago
- General
- Washington Post
2 killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine as prospects for talks remain uncertain
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia's drone and missile attacks on Ukraine on Saturday killed at least two people, including a 9-year-old girl, officials said, as uncertainty remains whether Kyiv diplomats will attend a new round of peace talks proposed by Moscow for early next week in Istanbul. Russian troops launched some 109 drones and five missiles across Ukraine overnight and into Saturday, the Ukrainian air force said. Three of the missiles and 42 drones were destroyed and another 30 drones failed to reach their targets without causing damage, it said.
Japan Times
19 hours ago
- General
- Japan Times
As Russia intensifies attacks, Ukraine air defenses under strain
A wave of massive Russian aerial attacks has stretched Ukraine's air defenses, raising fears about Kyiv's reliance on Western systems to protect its skies in the fourth year of Russia's invasion. As the two sides open peace talks and Kyiv pushes for an immediate ceasefire, Moscow has launched its heaviest air assaults of the war, pummeling Ukraine with more than 900 drones and 90 missiles in a three-day barrage last weekend. Ukraine downed over 80% of the incoming projectiles, but more than a dozen people were killed. Experts worry how long the country can fend off the nightly attacks if Russia maintains — or escalates — its strikes. "Ukraine's air defenses are stretched thin and cannot guarantee protection for all cities against persistent and sophisticated Russian attacks," military analyst Franz-Stefan Gady said. Russia's drone and missile attacks have become more complex — and harder to thwart — throughout the war. Kyiv's air force says around 40% of drones launched recently are decoys — cheaper dummy craft that mimic attack drones and are designed to exhaust and confuse air defenses. Russia increasingly sets drones to fly at a higher altitude — above 2,000 meters — and then dive down onto targets. "At that altitude, they're more visible to our radars but unreachable for small arms, heavy machine guns and mobile fire teams," air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat told RBK Ukraine. In addressing the threat, Ukraine is trying to strike a balance between pressing the West to deliver new systems and not wanting to concern a war-weary public at home. "There's no need to panic," a Ukraine military source said. "We're using all air defense systems that are available in Ukraine now, plus helicopters and aircraft. We are fighting somehow," they said. 'Scale up' Moscow has the capacity to fire 300 to 500 drones a day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this week. "By scaling up the use of Shaheds, they are forcing us to resort to expensive options," military analyst Sergiy Zgurets said, referring to the Iranian-designed drones that are packed with explosives to detonate as they crash into buildings. "This is a war of attrition that must be based on economic grounds — we must shoot down Shaheds with less sophisticated alternatives," he said. A residential building in Kyiv damaged by a drone strike on May 25. | AFP-Jiji Ukraine uses several tools to protect its skies — from advanced Western fighter jets and air defense batteries like the U.S.-made Patriot anti-missile system, to small mobile air defense teams armed with guns. New technology has also become vital, such as the electronic jamming of drones to make them drop from the sky. Increasingly, interceptors are being deployed — smaller, cheaper drones that take on enemy drones mid-air. "We are already using them. The question now is when we will be able to scale up," Zelenskyy said of the interceptors. He too sees the issue as one of economics. "The question is no longer about production capacity... It is a financial issue," he told journalists. 'Real protection' Beyond drones, Russia is also deploying super-fast ballistic missiles, which are much more difficult to intercept. "The biggest vulnerability lies in defending against ballistic missiles," said analyst Gady. A midday strike last month on the northeastern city of Sumy killed at least 35 people, while a hit near a children's playground in Zelenskyy's home city of Kryvyi Rig left 19 dead, including nine children. To fend off ballistic missile attacks, Ukraine relies on a small number of Patriot systems. They are concentrated around Kyiv, leaving other areas more exposed than the relatively better-protected capital. Gady said the current supply of missiles for them is "sufficient" given the level of Russian strikes at the moment. "But it is generally insufficient when compared to Russian ballistic missile production." Ukraine also faces potential shortages given delays in U.S. output, according to Zgurets, creating "gaps" in Ukraine's "fight against enemy hypersonic targets and ballistics." Deliveries of other key Western systems are expected over the next 18 months, but uncertainty is high given President Donald Trump's criticism of aid for Ukraine. U.S. packages approved under predecessor Joe Biden are trickling in, but Trump has not announced any fresh support. "Delivering air defense systems to us means real protection for people — here and now," Zelenskyy said in a recent call for Western backing. On a visit to Berlin on Wednesday, he said: "Defending our cities requires constant support with air defense systems."
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Former Kremlin insider on Putin vs Trump rhetoric about Ukraine
In this episode of Global News Today, presented by Tom Burges Watson on Al Arabiya English, we bring you the latest on the war in Ukraine including a dramatic war of words between former President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The exchange follows a weekend of drone and missile attacks in Ukraine. After President Trump described Putin as 'absolutely crazy,' the Kremlin fired back, accusing Trump of showing signs of 'emotional overload.' Tom also speaks to a former White House physician as new questions emerge about President Biden's health and what the administration knew amid explosive claims of a cover-up in a newly released book. Guests:
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Putin is playing with fire, says Trump
Vladimir Putin is playing with fire over his continued assault of Ukraine, Donald Trump has warned. The US president heaped further criticism on the Russian leader after he launched the biggest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine since the war began almost four years ago. 'What Vladimir Putin doesn't realise is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He's playing with fire!' Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social. A record number of Russian drones killed at least 13 people across Ukraine at the weekend, despite a prisoner exchange and the US pushing for a truce. Russia mocks Trump Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, shot back at Mr Trump, saying: 'Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. 'I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!' RT, Russia's state broadcaster also mocked the US president, writing on X: 'Trump's message leaves little room for misinterpretation,' the outlet wrote. 'Until he posts the opposite tomorrow morning.' The rebuke from Mr Trump is the latest display of his apparent shifting attitude towards Putin. On Monday, the US president called Vladimir Putin 'absolutely crazy' for his attacks on Ukrainian cities in some of his strongest criticism to date. Mr Trump, who is growing increasingly frustrated with the pace of peace talks, could move ahead with new sanctions on Russia in the coming days. Options were drawn up in the past several weeks to apply new measures punishing Moscow, but they have yet to be approved by Mr Trump in fear they could push Russia away from negotiations entirely, according to CNN. In the aftermath of the missile and drone bombardment, the president said he would 'absolutely' consider new sanctions. 'He's killing a lot of people,' Mr Trump said of Putin. 'I don't know what's wrong with him. What the hell happened to him?' Lawmakers are lobbying Mr Trump to ratchet up US sanctions after the weekend attacks. Spearheaded by republican Senator Lindsey Graham, the bill aims to impose 'crippling' measures on Moscow. It would include massive secondary sanctions, aimed at countries who trade with Putin, including 500 per cent tariffs on those that buy Russian energy.
