Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky tells Putin to ‘take a step towards peace’

Former Russian defence minister Sergei Ivanov, as soon as seen as a potential successor to president Vladimir Putin, has died on the age of 73.

Ivanov was a key member of the ⁠group often known as the “siloviki,” or “strongmen,” who, like Putin, had risen by the ranks of the Soviet KGB safety service and wielded big affect after Putin took energy on the flip of the millennium.

The Kremlin issued a quick assertion, saying solely: “Vladimir Putin expressed his deepest condolences to the household and mates of Sergei Ivanov on his passing.”

Ivanov helped form Russia’s post-Soviet safety state and oversaw the armed ⁠forces through the early years of Putin’s presidency. He was defence ​minister ⁠through the second Chechen warfare, launched by Putin to crush a separatist insurgency within the Muslim area of Chechnya that attempted to interrupt away from Russia after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

A fluent English-speaker, ⁠Ivanov was a combative determine who frequently jousted with journalists on the Munich Safety Convention and solid himself as a ​pragmatist ⁠looking for to maneuver past Chilly Struggle divisions.

On the identical ‌time, he persistently warned that Russia’s safety pursuits had been being undermined, notably by US missile defence plans and the erosion of arms management agreements.

A Russian drone strike killed two passengers aboard a minibus in Ukraine’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk area and one particular person within the border Sumy ⁠area, regional officers mentioned.

Dnipropetrovsk ​regional ⁠governor Oleksandr Hanzha mentioned ⁠two folks died and 12 ​had been injured, ⁠together with two youngsters, ‌within the strike in Nikopol. The city, on the alternative financial institution of ‌the Dnipro River from ‌the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant, is a frequent goal of Russian assaults.

Within the ⁠Sumy area, which is below practically fixed Russian assault on the border, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov mentioned a drone strike killed a person in a village outdoors the principle regional centre, ‌additionally referred to as Sumy.

Within the ​southeastern Zaporizhzhia area, governor Mikhail Fedorov ‌mentioned two ⁠folks had been injured in day-long ⁠Russian strikes, which additionally broken the facades of ‌condominium buildings.

Russian-installed authorities of Crimea and the town of Sevastopol have imposed a state of emergency on the peninsula to cope with financial points, they mentioned on Friday.

Crimea has suspended vacationer actions and kids’s summer time camps till September citing each gas shortages and safety issues, and gas stations halted all gas gross sales to people and companies from June 21.

The shortages come as Kyiv scales up its assaults on Russian oil and power infrastructure.

The European Fee has on Friday proposed to increase momentary safety for Ukrainians who’ve sought refuge within the European Union till March 2028.

The transfer underlines the necessity for flexibility concerning Ukrainian refugees, as Russia’s warfare in Ukraine drags on in its fifth yr.

The proposal would restrict entry to momentary safety for newly arriving males who are usually not authorised by Ukrainian authorities to go away Ukraine due to their army obligations.

Russia attacked Ukraine with seven ballistic missiles and 189 drones in a single day going into Friday, the Ukrainian Air Drive mentioned.

Three of the missiles and 174 drones had been shot down, it added.

The air assault was launched from Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk areas, concentrating on largely the Kyiv and Poltava areas of Ukraine.

“As of 09:00, air defence had shot down or jammed 177 aerial property – three Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 174 enemy UAVs, together with Shahed, Gerbera and Italmas drones, in addition to drones of different sorts, over the north, south, centre and east of the nation,” the Air Drive mentioned.

Strikes had been recorded by 4 ballistic missiles and 11 assault drones at 12 places.

Ukrainian forces launched one in every of their largest drone assaults on Russian territory and illegally annexed Crimea, with Russian air defences claiming to intercept 660 unmanned aerial autos throughout 12 areas, the Black Sea, and the Azov Sea throughout a serious in a single day assault on Friday.

This vital barrage marks some of the in depth drone operations concentrating on Russian areas and the occupied peninsula since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine over 4 years in the past.

Kyiv has more and more deployed long-range drones to strike deep inside Russia, specializing in important oil manufacturing and power services.

Western officers and analysts counsel this technique goals to cripple Russian gas and army provides, thereby hindering Moscow’s battlefield operations and intensifying stress on President Vladimir Putin.

The in depth drone assault adopted remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X, the place he introduced an order for a “40-day affect operation.”

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European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen will go to Armenia subsequent week, mentioned the EU on Friday, in a transfer aimed toward highlighting Brussels’ help for Armenia because it faces political stress from Russia.

The EU mentioned von der Leyen would additionally go to Azerbaijan.

Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, who’s working in direction of the objective of European Union membership, received re-election this month regardless of what worldwide displays mentioned was blatant interference and stress from Russia.

In flip, Moscow accused Western nations of interfering within the vote in favour of Pashinyan.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has instructed Putin to “get out of Ukraine” including that “we wish no warfare”, in a video posted to X., as he referred to as for Russia to make a step in direction of peace.

Within the caption he wrote: “Russia should get out of Ukraine with its warfare – we wish no warfare.

“Ukraine has put ahead proposals to our key companions, and Putin’s mates have additionally heard from us {that a} assembly is feasible and that ending this warfare is feasible. Russia should now take that step towards peace.”