𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Ukraine’s armed forces continue to control a sizable chunk of the Kursk region in Russia, despite the Kremlin’s efforts to push them out, said a top US general.

US Army general Christopher Cavoli, commander of the United States European Command, said that Ukrainian forces had also entered the nearby Belgorod region, expanding their presence on Russian territory.

He said during a congressional hearing on Thursday: “There is a sizable force holding a sizable — diminished, but sizable — chunk of ground inside Russia’s Kursk Oblast right now. And they’re holding on very good defensive terrain south of there in Belgorod.”

“The Ukrainians, a couple of weeks ago, pushed a smaller counteroffensive back into Russia [in Belgorod]. So, we still have a back and forth going up in that area.”

Ukraine’s air force has said that they shot down 51 out of 91 drones launched by Russia overnight in the north, south, east and centre of the country.

They added that 31 enemy drone simulators were lost in location without negative consequences, meaning they used electronic warfare to intercept or block them

The country’s capital, as well as its Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Zhytomyr regions suffered as a result of the attack.

They advised citizens in Sumy to stay in shelters as more drones were heading towards the city and its surroundings.

Russia’s top negotiator Kirill Dmitriev has been visiting not only the US but several other countries in Moscow’s push to unlock frozen Russian assets, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“He (Dmitriev) was not only in the US – we are monitoring the movements of our adversaries,” Mr Zelensky said during the briefing.

The Ukrainian president said Moscow is pressuring foreign governments to help release the funds by offering deals involving high-tech goods such as aircraft construction.

Russia is actively trying to have sanctions lifted, but as of now both Europe and the US remain firm in their stance of continuing to impose them, Mr Zelensky said.

Mr Dmitriev, Mr Putin’s investment envoy, said on Thursday that he saw a “positive dynamic” in relations between Moscow and Washington after holding two days of meetings in Washington, but said more meetings were needed to sort out differences.

European military planners could be ready within a month with details of a foreign troop contingent in Ukraine seen as critical to ending the war with Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv after meeting British and French military chiefs, Mr Zelensky said many other countries would also contribute to the effort, which envisages foreign troops patrolling Ukrainian land, sea and airspace.

“I think the teams need about a month, no longer, and we will be fully ready with an understanding of this infrastructure,” he said.

Mr Zelensky added that military working groups would meet weekly until then to finalise the details. He did not specify which other nations would contribute.

Kyiv is seeking security guarantees from its allies in the event of a peace agreement with Moscow to prevent a repeat of its February 2022 full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian army leaders including Kyiv’s top general and the chief of its general staff also met the visiting European military officials yesterday.

Ukraine’s military said early today that Russia was “again spreading false information” by saying it had targeted a gathering of servicemen in a missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.

“The missile struck a residential area with a playground,” the military’s General Staff said in a statement on Telegram.

“Through this latest violation of the norms of international human rights, the insidious enemy shows that it is in no way seeking peace but rather intends to continue its invasion and war to destroy Ukraine and all Ukrainians.”

Local officials say the strike killed at least 18 people, including nine children.

There must be red lines in terms of a timetable when it comes to a Ukraine ceasefire, Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said yesterday.

“(Russian president Vladimir Putin) is asking more and he is not asking only more about Ukraine. He’s just putting new conditions on the table (…) there must be some kind of red lines on the timetable”, he said as he arrived in Brussels to meet his Nato counterparts.

The UK and French foreign ministers have accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire talks aimed at halting Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine and demanded a swift response from Russia after weeks of US efforts to secure a truce.

“Our judgment is that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet,” foreign secretary David Lammy told reporters at Nato headquarters, standing alongside French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in a symbolic show of unity.

“We see you, Vladimir Putin. We know what you are doing,” Mr Lammy said.

Mr Barrot said that Ukraine had accepted ceasefire terms three weeks ago, and that Russia now “owes an answer to the United States.”

“Russia has been flip-flopping, continuing its strikes on energy infrastructure, continuing its war crimes,” Mr Barrot said. “It has to be ‘yes.’ It has to be ‘no.’ It has to be a quick answer.”

The death toll in Russian attack on Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih rose to 19 last night, including nine children, local officials said.

Photos posted online showed bodies of the dead, including elderly, and wounded lying on the pavement as grey smoke rose into the sky.

Rescue workers toiled through the night with flashlights in Kryvyi Rih, moving around wrecked cars, buildings with shattered windows and a gaping crater. Residents carried armloads of foil and timber for emergency home repairs, according to a Reuters eyewitness.

At least 50 people were wounded, the emergency services said, adding that the figure was growing. More than 30 people, including a three-month-old baby, were in hospital, said regional governor Serhiy Lysak.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed it targeted a military gathering there but did not explain the death of children and an infant.

“There were dead children lying there, crying parents, it was horrible,” Yulia, 47, told Reuters as she surveyed the damaged blinds, fixtures and furniture in her apartment.