Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Russia fired more than 620 drones and long-range missiles overnight, killing four people, Ukraine said Saturday, calling for fresh sanctions on Moscow to halt its wave of record barrages. Moscow has stepped up aerial strikes over recent months, and US-led ceasefire talks aimed at pausing the over three-year war have stalled.
“Twenty-six cruise missiles and 597 attack drones were launched, of which more than half were ‘Shaheds’,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, referring to Iranian-made drones. The Ukrainian air force stated it had downed 319 Shahed drones and 25 missiles, adding that one missile and about 20 drones hit “five locations.” Zelensky noted that the strikes had killed at least two people and wounded 20 in the southwestern Chernivtsi region, far from the front lines of the east and south. Twelve people were wounded in Lviv, also in the west. In the east, two people died in Dnipropetrovsk, and three were wounded in Kharkiv, according to local authorities.
The Russian defense ministry claimed it had targeted companies in Ukraine’s military-industrial complex in Lviv, Kharkiv, and Lutsk, as well as a military aerodrome. On Friday, Ukrainian retaliatory drone and shelling attacks resulted in the deaths of three people in Russia. US special envoy Keith Kellogg is scheduled to begin his latest visit to Ukraine on Monday as a Washington-led peace effort flounders. US President Donald Trump also stated he would make a “major statement…on Russia” on Monday.
On Friday, the Kremlin reiterated its opposition to a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned that Kyiv’s allies had a plan “ready to go…in the hours after a ceasefire.” Trump spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last week but indicated that there had been no progress toward ending the war. The Kremlin stated that Putin would not abandon Russia’s war goals but would continue participating in negotiations. Moscow has expressed that its aim in Ukraine is to address the “root causes” of the conflict and has demanded that Kyiv abandon its NATO ambitions.
In Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, a drone “hit the Belgorod Arena sports center, where classes were taking place,” regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported Saturday, noting that there were no casualties. However, he confirmed that a man died after a separate strike hit a house in the city of Shebekino.
Washington’s announcement earlier this month that it would pause some armament deliveries to Ukraine was a setback for Kyiv, which relies heavily on Western military support. On Saturday, Zelensky urged his Western allies to send “more than just signals” to stop the war initiated by Russia in February 2022. “The pace of Russian air strikes requires swift decisions, and it can be curbed right now through sanctions,” he stated on social media. Zelensky specifically called for penalties against those who “help Russia produce drones and profit from oil.” Oil exports are crucial for the Russian economy, especially in light of existing Western sanctions.
Sanctions imposed on Russia—the world’s largest fertilizer producer—after the invasion have spared its grain and fertilizer exports. However, prices have skyrocketed, raising concerns about food insecurity. The United Nations signed a deal with Russia in July 2022 to facilitate exports of food and fertilizer to limit global price increases. Yet, on Friday, it announced that the accord would not be renewed when it expires on July 22. Russia has frequently complained that the agreement does little to protect it from secondary sanction effects.
© 2024 AFP
