This week, fighting continued to rage along the front lines. Russia carried out major aerial attacks against Ukraine, pummeling rear areas with ballistic missiles. Ukraine struck an unprecedented number of Russia’s shadow fleet tankers in the Azov Sea and continued to hit oil refineries deep inside the country.
Russia launched a major drone and missile attack on Kyiv overnight on Monday, killing 19 people and damaging apartment buildings. Nine more people were killed in the city of Vyshneve, in the wider Kyiv region. Ukraine called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council following the attack. A Russian drone and missile attack on Kharkiv on Wednesday killed two people and injured 42 others, including four children, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.
Throughout the week, the Ukrainian military carried out strikes that targeted Russia’s shadow fleet tankers in the Azov Sea. Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces struck eight Russian tankers, a dry cargo ship and a ferry in the Azov Sea overnight, said the branch’s commander, Major Robert Brovdi on Tuesday. Ukraine struck another nine tankers on Wednesday. Twelve more Russia’s shadow fleet tankers, a tugboat and a dry cargo ship were hit overnight on Thursday.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces struck two oil refineries in Nizhnekamsk, in Russia’s Tatarstan region on Wednesday.
A NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey stood out as this week’s major event on the diplomatic front. Ukraine secured further financial assistance from the allies and made agreements to reinforce its air defenses. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would grant Ukraine the license to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors.
Ukraine secures agreements with allies for supply of Patriot interceptors, Zelenskyi says.
Ukraine expects to get military assistance from the U.S. and some European allies following conversations with them on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said, speaking to reporters online on Thursday. The supplies will include interceptors for the Patriot air defense systems, he explained.
“In the coming days, we’ll receive a package from the United States, and I also had some separate agreements with the Europeans. There are no dates there yet, but there will be additional PAC-3 missiles,” Zelenskyi said.
He added that with a political agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump on licences for production of Patriot interceptors now in place, the “technical” work to implement it will quickly begin.