This week, fighting continued to rage all along the front lines. Russia continued to pound Ukrainian cities and towns deep in the rear with missiles and drones.
Russia has captured the village of Zvirove, in Donetsk region, and is staging attacks into Pokrovsk from there. Russia launched 324 drones and seven missiles at Ukraine overnight into Monday, causing destruction in Kyiv and Kropyvnytskyi. The main target for the attack was the city of Starokostyantyniv in the western region of Khmelnytskyi. Three Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles it used in the attack did not reach their target, the Air Force said.
Russia used up to eight jet-powered drones alongside 70 others in its Wednesday attack on Ukraine. A Russian airstrike on a prison in Zaporizhzhia region on Monday night killed at least 17 inmates and wounded more than 80 other people. A Russian missile strike on a hospital in Kamyanske in the region of Dnipro on Tuesday killed three, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman. Russia carried out a major missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight into Thursday, killing 31 people, including five children, and wounding 159 others, including 16 children.
Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday passed a bill that restores the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Nationwide protests and the EU’s pressure appear to have had a decisive role in maintaining the agencies’ powers.
The U.S. has recently mounted pressure on Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump set a new deadline on Monday of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne that the Senate needs to move on the Russia sanctions bill and that Russian leader Vladimir Putin doesn’t deserve to be given more time. Putin is unlikely to make any concessions in his war aims unless he is forced to do so by significant Ukrainian battlefield victories, the Institute for the Study of War said in an update on Monday.
Trump wants deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine by August 8, U.S. representative tells UN.
U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear that he wants a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine by August 8, the U.S. Acting Representative to the UN, John Kelley, told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.
“Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace,” Kelley said, as cited by Reuters.