Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky reveals ‘significant’ Russian losses in Kursk and says fight continues

The heaviest frontline battles stay round within the Pokrovsk area of Ukraine’s jap Donetsk, the nation’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has mentioned.

“Russian assault operations proceed, and our forces keep all mandatory fight exercise,” he mentioned in his nightly handle.

“Essentially the most intense state of affairs stays within the Donetsk area, significantly within the Pokrovsk path.”

He added that there have been persevering with operations in Russia’s two areas of Kursk and Belgorod, which border Ukraine’s northeast. “That is our lively and efficient defence of Sumy and Kharkiv areas,” the president added, referring to Ukraine’s northeastern areas.

Pokrovsk, a small metropolis with a prewar inhabitants of 60,000, has seemed to be the jewel of Russia’s creeping advance within the east for greater than a 12 months. Ukraine has closely fortified the world.

Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport briefly suspended arrivals and departures on Thursday, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia mentioned.

The announcement comes after the Russian MoD claimed Ukraine fired greater than 100 drones, together with dozens at Moscow, over the border in a single day.

To deliver you in control this morning, Russia has claimed it shot down a major salvo of Ukrainian drones, together with dozens heading in the direction of Moscow.

It was at the least the second day this week that Russia has made this declare.

The Kremlin’s Ministry of Defence alleged they’d shot down 105 Ukrainian drones between midnight and the early morning of Thursday. The day before today, Russia mentioned it shot down effectively over 300 Ukrainian drones.

Sergei Sobyanin, Moscow’s mayor, mentioned a number of drones had been shot down heading in the direction of the capital.

Ukraine has but to publish particulars of a attainable Russian aerial assault in a single day. I’ll deliver that data to you if/when it’s revealed.

President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s Kursk area for the primary time since Moscow claimed that it drove Ukrainian forces out of the world final month, the Kremlin mentioned.

Mr Putin’s unannounced go to seemed to be an effort to indicate Russia is answerable for the battle, though its full-scale invasion of its neighbor has been gradual and dear by way of casualties and tools.

Video broadcast by Russian state media confirmed that Putin visited Kursk Nuclear Energy Plant-2, which remains to be underneath building, and met with chosen volunteers.

Lots of the volunteers wore garments emblazoned with the Russian flag, some had the Latin letters “V” on them, one of many symbols of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“What you might be doing now throughout this tough state of affairs for this area, for this space, and for the nation, will stay with you for the remainder of your life as, maybe, essentially the most significant factor with which you had been ever concerned,” Mr Putin mentioned as he drank tea with the volunteers.

Ukrainian forces made a shock incursion into Kursk in August 2024 in considered one of their greatest battlefield successes within the greater than three-year battle. The incursion was the primary time Russian territory was occupied by an invader for the reason that Second World Warfare and dealt a humiliating blow to the Kremlin.

A key aide to a former Ukrainian president was shot useless on Wednesday morning outside an American school in Madrid.

Spain’s inside ministry confirmed Andriy Portnov, 51, a senior aide to Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovych, died after he was shot taking his youngsters to highschool within the prosperous neighbourhood of Pozuelo at 9.15am (8.15 UK time) native time.

Police mentioned witnesses had reported Portnov was shot “a number of occasions” within the head and physique by multiple gunman when he was stepping into his automobile, a black Mercedes Benz.

The assailants then fled on foot. Spanish media has reported investigators are searching for a tall, skinny man who fled in the direction of Casa de Campo.

A Spanish police supply earlier informed El Pais {that a} citizen reported discovering a person “wounded, mendacity on the bottom and unconscious”.

Britain and its allies, together with the US, issued an advisory yesterday, warning of a Russian state-sponsored cyber marketing campaign focusing on the supply of help to Ukraine and Western logistics entities and know-how corporations.

“This malicious marketing campaign by Russia’s navy intelligence service presents a critical threat to focused organisations, together with these concerned within the supply of help to Ukraine,” Paul Chichester, Director of Operations at Britain’s Nationwide Cyber Safety Centre (NCSC), mentioned.

Andriy Portnov, 51, was gunned down on Wednesday morning exterior the gates of the American Faculty in Madrid’s prosperous neighbourhood of Pozuelo.

Police obtained the decision concerning the capturing at 9.15 am native time. Radio station Cadena SER mentioned the person was taking his youngsters to highschool when he was shot.

Mr Portnov, from the jap area of Luhansk, is a former Ukrainian politician carefully tied to Yanukovych, having served as deputy head of the presidential workplace from 2010 to 2014.

My colleague Tom Watling studies:

Finland has accomplished the primary 35km (22 miles) of a 4.5-metre (15-ft) excessive fence it’s constructing on its closed jap border with Russia to cease migrants from crossing through the wilderness, the Finnish Border Guard mentioned.

Finland started developing the fence, which is able to ultimately cowl 200 km (124 miles) of the border’s complete 1,344 km (835 mile) size, final 12 months in response to migration through Russia by means of the border in 2023, which it believes was intentionally orchestrated by Moscow.

“The principle function of the fence is to regulate a big mass of individuals if they’re attempting to enter from Russia to Finland,” the deputy commander of Southeast Finland Border Guard District, Antti Virta, informed Reuters.

After a long time of peaceable relations with Russia, Finland joined the Nato navy alliance two years in the past in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting Moscow to threaten Helsinki with retaliation.

“The border barrier is totally mandatory to take care of border safety,” head of operations Samuel Siljanen mentioned.

A number of drones headed for Moscow have been shot down, mayor Sergei Sobyanin mentioned this morning.

The Russian defence ministry mentioned it shot down 105 Ukrainian drones over Russian areas, together with dozens heading in the direction of Moscow.

Russia solely studies the drones that it destroys and doesn’t disclose the whole variety of drones that focus on the nation, or what number of hit their targets.

The day before today, Russia mentioned it shot down effectively over 300 Ukrainian drones.

Kyiv’s European allies slapped new sanctions on Tuesday on Moscow, a day after a cellphone name between US President Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin failed to supply a breakthrough on ending the 3-year-old battle in Ukraine.

Diplomatic efforts have seen little progress in halting the combating, regardless of Monday’s cellphone name between Mr Trump and Mr Putin, and Friday’s direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul.

Within the cellphone name, the Russian president promised Mr Trump that his nation is “able to work with” Ukraine on a “memorandum” outlining the framework for “a attainable future peace treaty.”

However thus far, talks involving the US have produced little in the best way of concrete outcomes.

The brand new European Union sanctions focused nearly 200 ships from Russia’s “shadow fleet” illicitly transporting oil to skirt Western restrictions It additionally imposed asset freezes and journey bans on a number of officers in addition to on numerous Russian corporations.