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Russian bomb hits Kursk school with dozens of civilians inside, says Zelensky
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Ukraine has accused Russia of launching a deadly missile strike that killed at least four people in the dormitory of a boarding school in Kursk.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said a Russian bomb destroyed the school building “even though dozens of civilians were there”. The school is located in a part of Kursk held by Ukrainian forces.
On the war front, Russia has marked its most senior casualty in the Ukraine war – a deputy governor of a region killed fighting in Ukraine.
Sergey Efremov, the deputy governor of Russia’s eastern region of Primorsky Krai, was killed after he returned to the Russian frontline from a battle with Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. He was reportedly travelling in a car blown up by a landmine along with another Russian army officer.
It comes as Mr Zelensky said Nato membership for Ukraine would be a “great victory” for US president Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian president said joining the alliance would be the “cheapest” way of guaranteeing Kyiv‘s security while also strengthening Mr Trump geopolitically.
The crack and the ear-splitting blast – two in a row, then a third – rattle windows and set off car alarms. But, in a city under constant bombardment, a smoker in a doorway tips a little ash and takes another drag.
A hotel receptionist, pooled in lamplight, doesn’t look up from her papers.
The explosions, they know, come from outgoing long-range anti-aircraft missiles being fired from the centre of the Ukrainian capital against incoming attacks.
While the citizens of Kyiv won’t move for these, the sound of lawnmower engines in the sky will prompt an immediate race to cellars and shelters.
Sam Kiley reports from Kyiv region:
Swarms of Iranian-made Russian Shahed unmanned drones target Ukraine almost every night – it is up to these men and their World War Two-style machine guns to shoot the UAVs out of the sky. World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley reports from the Kyiv region
Ukraine’s overnight drone attacks targeted fuel and energy facilities in Russia, sparking fires at a Volgograd oil refinery and disrupting flights at several airports, Russian officials said this morning.
“The air defence forces of the defence ministry repelled a massive attack by aircraft-type drones on the territory of the Volgograd region,” governor Andrei Bocharov said in a statement.
Falling drone debris sparked several fires at an oil refinery, the statement said. Mr Bocharov did not say which refinery was on fire but said the blazes had been contained.
Baza, a Russian news Telegram channel that is close to Russia’s security services, said that a series of explosions were heard in the area around a refinery operated by Russia’s second-largest oil producer Lukoil.
In Astrakhan, the drone attack sparked a fire, the region’s governor said, without disclosing what was ablaze.
“Ukrainian armed forces attempted a drone attack on objects located in the region, including fuel and energy facilities,” Igor Babushkin, the governor, said on Telegram.
“There were no casualties.” Baza said that Ukraine attacked a gas processing plant near Astrakhan.
Russia’s air defence units intercepted and destroyed 70 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said this morning.
In the earlier hours, a swarm of Ukrainian drones had forced suspension of operations at several Russian airports.
Prime minister Keir Starmer is travelling to Brussels today to call on Europe to shoulder more of the burden to keep the region safe from president Vladimir Putin’s Russia and redouble efforts to crush his “war machine”.
Sir Keir, in Brussels to further his post-Brexit reset with the European Union, will meet Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and then dine with leaders from the 27 member states, the first time a British leader has done so since Britain quit the bloc.
He will urge leaders to up the pressure on Mr Putin, saying US president Donald Trump’s suggestion he would add new tariffs to his sanctions threat against Moscow if there was no deal to end its war in Ukraine had rattled the Russian leader.
“We need to see all allies stepping up, particularly in Europe,” Sir Keir will say, according to remarks provided by his Downing Street office.
“I’m here to work with our European partners on keeping up the pressure, targeting the energy revenues and the companies supplying his missile factories to crush Putin’s war machine.”
The crack and the ear-splitting blast – two in a row, then a third – rattle windows and set off car alarms. But, in a city under constant bombardment, a smoker in a doorway tips a little ash and takes another drag.
A hotel receptionist, pooled in lamplight, doesn’t look up from her papers.
The explosions, they know, come from outgoing long-range anti-aircraft missiles being fired from the centre of the Ukrainian capital against incoming attacks.
Read the full special dispatch from Sam Kiley here:
Swarms of Iranian-made Russian Shahed unmanned drones target Ukraine almost every night – it is up to these men and their World War Two-style machine guns to shoot the UAVs out of the sky. World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley reports from the Kyiv region
Russia has marked its most senior casualty in the Ukraine war after a deputy governor of a region was killed fighting in Ukraine.
Sergey Efremov, the deputy governor of Russia’s eastern region of Primorsky Krai, was killed after he returned to the Russian frontlines from a battle with Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region.
He was reportedly travelling in a car blown up by a landmine along with another Russian army officer.
“I know that his friends and comrades will do everything to avenge him,” Oleg Kozhemyako, the area’s governor, said in an emotional video. He confirmed that his deputy had died a “hero”.
His death is the first such significant military loss in the Russian ranks as the senior officials typically avoid combat roles.
The US call for Ukraine to hold an election after agreeing to a ceasefire with Russia looked like a “failed plan” if that is all it consists of, though more details were needed, an aide to president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
President Donald Trump’s top Ukraine official, Keith Kellogg, said the US wanted Ukraine to hold elections, potentially by the end of the year, especially if Kyiv can agree to a truce with Russia in the coming months.
“We haven’t seen Mr Kellogg’s full interview, only a few quotes about the elections, so it’s hard to fully assess his position,” said Dmytro Lytvyn, Mr Zelensky’s communications adviser.
“But if his plan is just a ceasefire and elections, it is a failed plan – Putin won’t be intimidated by just those two things,” he told Reuters in a written statement.
Kyiv has repeatedly said it does not want a ceasefire without obtaining security guarantees that would stop Moscow regenerating its forces and launching another invasion in the future.
Elections are currently prohibited under martial law, which Ukraine imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion.
A former Tory MP who lost his seat at the general election last year has joined the Ukrainian International Legion to help in the fight against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Jack Lopresti, a former deputy chair of the Conservative Party, was previously the MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke in Gloucestershire, but is now based in Kyiv using his skills in the ongoing war.
As an MP, Mr Lopresti visited Ukraine and was a strong advocate in parliament for more aid to be given to Volodymyr Zelensky to support the country’s efforts to defeat Russia. He has also served in the UK Army Reserve as a corporal.
Exclusive: Former deputy chair of the Conservative Party Jack Lopresti has given his first interview to The Independent after volunteering to serve in the Ukrainian military
Ukraine’s overnight drone attack in Russia sparked a fire in the Astrakhan region and forcing the suspension of flights at several airports, Russian officials and media said this morning.
The attack targeted fuel and energy facilities in Russia.
“Ukrainian armed forces attempted a drone attack on objects located in the region, including fuel and energy facilities,” said Igor Babushkin, governor of the Astrakhan region in southern Russia.
“Falling drone sparked a fire. There were no casualties,” he said on his Telegram channel.
The governor did not say what was on fire. Baza, a Russian news Telegram channel that is close to Russia’s security services, said that Ukraine attacked a gas processing plant near Astrakhan.
Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said that it was suspending flights from the airports of Astrakhan as well as from four others, in Kazan, Nizhnekamsk, Saratov and Ulyanovsk to ensure air safety.
Earlier, Rosaviatsia temporarily suspended flights from the Volgograd airport in southern Russia, but flights there have since been restored, it said on Telegram.
There were no official reports on any attack on Volgograd, but Baza, and other Russian news Telegram channels reported a large coordinated drone attack that reportedly targeted an oil refinery.
Downing Street has condemned a Russian arrest warrant issued for a UK journalist, calling it an example of “desperate rhetoric” from Vladimir Putin’s administration.
A court in Russia’s Kursk border region has issued an arrest warrant for Jerome Starkey, defence editor at The Sun, and put him on an international wanted list.
The Kursk regional court accused him of illegally crossing the border into Russia.
Read the full article here:
The Kursk regional court accused Jerome Starkey of illegally crossing the border into Russia.
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