Ukraine shoots down six of seven missiles, 133 of 213 drones that Russia launched overnight. A G7 statement on Ukraine in limbo as the nations disagree with U.S. position on the war. Ukraine, Europe need to prepare for a war with Russia without U.S. support, a former Lithuanian Foreign Minister says.
Ukraine shoots down six of seven missiles, 133 of 213 drones that Russia launched overnight
The Ukrainian Air Force said on Tuesday that it shot down six out of seven missiles and 133 out of 213 drones launched by Russia overnight. Seventy-nine drones disappeared off radar after likely being disabled by electronic warfare systems.
Russia sent Shahed attack drones and decoy drones from the area of Russia’s Oryol, Bryansk, Kursk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. Seven Kh-101 missiles were launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers.
The intercepts took place over the regions of Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kropyvnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Zhytomyr, the Ukrainian military said.
The attack caused destruction in Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions.
G7 statement on Ukraine in limbo as nations disagree with U.S. position on war
The Group of Seven nations are still discussing a possible joint statement to mark the third anniversary of the war between Ukraine and Russia, Canada’s foreign minister said on Monday, noting a disagreement with Washington’s position on the conflict, according to Reuters.
“We’ve been working, indeed, with the Europeans and Americans. We are still having some conversations,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told a virtual briefing with reporters when asked about the status of a joint G7 statement. Canada holds the G7 presidency in 2025.
Washington has been objecting to language on “Russian aggression” in any joint G7 statement on the war, Reuters reported last week.
“It is a fluid situation and we’ll continue to engage, but I’ve been foreign minister now for three years and a half, and it’s never been so intense in terms of diplomatic engagement, to say the least,” Joly added.
“Canada and other countries don’t agree with the position that the U.S. advocated at the UN, particularly the resolution that they brought up,” Joly said, referring to a U.S. bid to tone down the U.N. General Assembly’s stance on the war.
The United States, since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last month, has taken a less-friendly stance on Ukraine and pushed for a quick deal to end the war.
The U.S. is opposed to calling Russia the aggressor in a G7 statement on the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, threatening to derail a traditional show of unity, according to the Financial Times.
Other media reports earlier said that the U.S. had voiced threats to withdraw its support for the statement entirely.
Ukraine, Europe need to prepare for war with Russia without U.S. support, Gabrielius Landsbergis says
Europe needs to prepare to take a stand against Russia without the U.S. by its side, former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in an interview with the European Pravda released Tuesday.
The United States is more aligned with Russia rather than Europe, but it does not mean that Europe has been defeated, Landsbergis said.
When asked if he believes that Ukraine has lost the U.S. as its ally, he said: “The word ‘lost’ is permanent. But as you know, there is a chance that President Trump would tweet something next week which would contradict his statements last week. It is possible.”
Trump hardly has a “particularly straightforward policy, with clear goals,” he added, as quoted in English by the outlet.
“The biggest problem with Trump is that Putin has caught him and trapped him. Trump is trapped because he wanted a fast deal, and Putin said: ‘I can give you a fast deal, if nothing else matters,’” Landsbergis said.
“Nothing else matters” means “Putin is getting everything”, he added.
Trump earlier said he was in talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about an economic-development deal.
