𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

More than 300 people were evacuated from their apartments overnight following a Ukrainian drone attack on the Rostov region, Yuri Slyusar, the governor of the southern Russia region, said this morning.

“An unexploded (drone) shell was discovered in one of the apartments,” Slyusar said on his official Telegram channel.

“As a precaution, 320 residents of the building are being evacuated,” he said.

He said that the attack damaged several apartment buildings and sparked small fires in the region. Three people, including a child, were lightly injured, Slyusar said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has gone back on his word at the Alaska summit with Donald Trump by increasing his “despicable” bombing campaign against Ukrainian cities, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent says.

On being asked if the Trump administration is considering new sanctions against Russia, Bessent said: “All options are on the table.”

Since that meeting in Anchorage last month, Putin has “done the opposite of following through on what he indicated he wanted to do. As a matter of fact, he has, in a despicable, despicable manner, increased the bombing campaign,” Bessent told Fox News yesterday.

“So I think with President Trump, all options are on the table, and I think we’ll be examining those very closely this week,” he added.

At least 25 people were killed and 63 people, including 11 children, in a single attack by Russia last week.

As Ukrainians gathered to mark Independence Day across the country last Sunday, Russia accused Kyiv of launching dozens of drones at a nuclear power plant in Kursk.

The attack, which sparked a large fire and destroyed parts of the plant’s infrastructure, was one of the most audacious attacks on Russian territory so far this year.

Damage was done to an auxiliary transformer and there was a 50 per cent reduction in a nuclear reactor’s operating capacity, according to Russian authorities.

Ukraine’s military refused to comment on the attack. But in a message shared shortly after it took place, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasised his nation’s resolve in the face of Russian aggression.

Read more here by Bryony Gooch:

Pupils across Ukraine returned to school on Monday, embarking on a new academic year under the shadow of Russia’s ongoing invasion, with many lessons now taking place underground.

Since the war began in February 2022, schools have innovated to keep education alive.

In Bobryk, a village in the northern Sumy region, close to the front line, one school moved its classrooms into a basement two years ago.

This drastic step was taken as air raid alerts could stretch for up to 20 hours, paralysing surface-level classes.

Principal Oleksii Korenivskyi emphasised the critical importance of their work, stating: “We must do everything so this generation is not lost. Time is the only thing you cannot make up.

“This is our future, and we must give it everything we have.”

France will host a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing,” a group of countries supporting Ukraine, on Thursday, the French presidency has said.

The meeting, which will be held in hybrid format, will focus on security guarantees for Ukraine and on Russia’s refusal to make peace, the Elysee added.

“Following the meeting held between Europeans and Americans in Washington on August 18, the heads of state and government will discuss the work on security guarantees for Ukraine conducted in recent weeks and will take stock of the consequences of Russia’s persistent refusal to make peace,” President Emmanuel Macron’s office said in a statement on Monday.

President of Ukraine Volodymr Zelensky met with German leaders today to discuss “financial and defense support for Ukraine, as well as the next steps in diplomacy.”

In a post on X he wrote: “In recent weeks, Russia has shown no intention of being ready for a meeting at the level of leaders and has continued striking our people. That is why we count on Germany’s support in increasing pressure on Russia. Only strong actions can change Russian behaviour.”

So much for the Ukraine peace process. So much for ending the war there in 24 hours flat, metaphorically or otherwise. So much for Donald Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize.

Patience is one of the many virtues President Trump lacks, and so, not quite a whole week on from the “historic” Alaska summit, he has seemingly lost interest in getting the deal of the century brokered.