Ukraine-Russia battle newest: Putin’s forces launch glide bomb assaults on Kherson after Trump warns of Moscow revenge
Russia fired four glide bombs at the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local authorities have said, heavily damaging the government building and injuring two people.
Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of the Kherson region, reposted footage of the aftermath of the attacks, which also destroyed several high-rise buildings. A huge chunk of the top of the administrative building is seen missing in the video.
“Four KABs flew through this place,” he wrote, using the Ukrainian phrase for glide bombs, which are modified, Soviet-era munitions carrying up to 1,500kg of explosives.
It comes as US president Donald Trump has warned that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will respond to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, after the two leaders spoke on a phone call for around one hour and 15 minutes yesterday.
Mr Trump says Mr Putin told him “very strongly” that Russia “will have to respond” to the audacious Ukrainian drone attack last weekend that wiped out a significant portion of Moscow’s fleet of bomber jets, and that there will be “no immediate peace” in Ukraine.
Kherson regional administration building hit by devastating glide bomb strike
Below we have some footage taken by the Kherson regional administration detailing the impact of this morning’s Russian glide bomb attacks on the port city in southern Ukraine.
Russia says it will repair warplanes damaged by Ukraine’s drones
Russian warplanes were damaged but not destroyed in a 1 June attack by Ukraine, and they will be restored, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has claimed.
Ukrainian strikes targeted airfields in Siberia and the far north where Russia houses heavy bombers that form part of its strategic nuclear forces.
The United States assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit and around 10 were destroyed, two US officials told Reuters, a figure that is about half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But Ryabkov, who oversees arms control diplomacy, told state news agency TASS: “The equipment in question, as was also stated by representatives of the Ministry of Defence, was not destroyed but damaged. It will be restored.”
It was not immediately clear how swiftly Russia could repair or replace the damaged aircraft – if at all – given the complexity of the technology, the age of some of the Soviet-era planes, and Western sanctions that restrict Russian imports of sensitive components.
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
As we bring you reports that a Russian glide bomb attack has heavily damaged several buildings in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, we remind you of a piece written last year explaining these devastating munitions.
Introduced to the battlefield around last March, glide bombs are modified, Soviet-era munitions that can carry up to 3,000kg warheads. Russian military bloggers, at the time, took to referring to these munitions as “building destroyers”.
One British humanitarian living in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, described to me the devastation wrought by glide bombs as a kind of “psychological torture”.
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Ukraine to revise 2025 budget, increasing financing for defence, lawmaker says
Ukraine’s finance ministry plans to revise the 2025 budget, increasing financing for defence, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Thursday.
He said that Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko reported in parliament on the budget situation, saying Ukraine needed to channel more funds to its army. The 2025 budget targets 2.23 trillion hryvnias (£40 billion) for defence spending.
Crimean bridge attack and Operation Spiderweb show Zelensky has a fist full of wild cards against Russia
Below we have some snap analysis from our World Affairs editor, Sam Kiley, on the significance of Ukraine’s covert operations in occupied Crimea and across the border in mainland Russia over last weekend and into this week.
Ukraine strikes Russian missile systems – video
Ukraine’s military says it successfully struck Russia Iksander ballistic missile systems that were being used to strike Kyiv.
In a post on Facebook, Ukraine’s General Staff posted a video of the reported attack. The target was a unit of the 26th missile brigade of the Russian army, located in the Bryansk region near the border with Ukraine.
They said the operation was conducted alongside Kyiv’s security services, which is largely responsible for operations outside of mainland Ukraine.
“One Russian missile launcher exploded, and two more were likely damaged,” they said.
In pictures: Russia launches drone attacks across Ukraine
Below, we have some pictures showing the aftermath of another overnight Russian drone strike. At least five people have been killed, including a one-year-old.
Russia fired more than 100 drones and missiles in overnight attack, says Kyiv
Russia fired more than 100 drones and missiles at targets across Ukraine, Kyiv’s air force has reported.
In a statement on Telegram, the air force said Russia had attacked with 103 drones and one Iksander ballistic missile.
They said they shot down 74 of those drones, slightly below the average for downing Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Family of fire chief killed in Russia drone strike, says Kyiv
The family of a local fire chief has been killed after a Russian drone struck their home in central Ukraine, Kyiv’s interior ministry has reported.
Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s interior minister, said the fire chief’s wife, daughter and granddaughter were all killed in the strike.
The fire chief, Mr Klymenko added, had been attending to fires around the city, the consequence of additional Russian drone strikes, when his home was struck.
“My condolences for the irreparable loss,” wrote Mr Klymenko on Telegram. “The killings and suffering of civilians are the style of a cruel Russia, for which human lives have no value.”
Ukraine to receive up to €1.3bn from allies for weapons production
Ukraine will receive up to €1.3bn (£1.09bn) for domestic weapons production in 2025 from allies, the war-hit nation’s defence minister said after a conversation with his Danish counterpart.
Kyiv’s European allies have significantly ramped up their efforts to back Ukraine in fighting against the Russian invasion with the required military aid and ammunition.
The first tranche of €428m (£360m) will come from Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Norway and Iceland, minister Rustem Umerov said on his Telegram channel this morning.
“The money will soon be allocated to the production of Ukrainian weapons: artillery, strike drones, missiles, and anti-tank weapons created in Ukraine for our soldiers,” he said.
Source: independent.co.uk
