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 Kyiv Oblast


Missile strikes kill civilians in Kyiv and other cities, with Russian-held areas hit

The Japan Times

The Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under ballistic missile attack from Russian forces early on Sunday, local authorities said, while other regions suffered bombardments later during the day that killed at least six people. Russia said areas of Ukraine under Moscow's control had also come under attack, with four people killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Horlivka. In its morning note, Ukraine's air force said Russia had launched seven ballistic missiles and 136 drones at Ukraine overnight. In the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, a Russian drone hit a supermarket, killing two people -- including a 9-year-old child -- and wounding 25, Ukraine's emergency services said. "This is deliberate Russian terror that has no military justification," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. In the eastern city of Kharkiv, one person was killed and 16 others required medical attention after a daytime drone attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.


Zelensky tries to fix crisis over removal of defence minister and counts the cost

BBC News

With an acting defence minister in place and a new commander-in-chief in charge of the military, Ukraine's recent political crisis is over, right? The political fallout from President Volodymyr Zelensky's 15 July decision not to re-appoint Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister, as part of a cabinet reshuffle, continues to reverberate about Kyiv and beyond, even as air raid sirens wail and Russian drones and missiles are intercepted overhead. Fedorov's mostly young supporters are still mounting daily street protests, demanding that Zelensky reinstate the popular young innovator widely credited with driving much of Ukraine's recent technological innovation. On Thursday, Fedorov said he had rejected Zelensky's offers of alternative posts in government, saying there were only three positions worth having to influence the course of the war: minister of defence, commander-in-chief of the military or president of Ukraine. If you don't have a ministry under you, you don't have a budget, ex-deputy defence minister Alina Frolova said, and you don't actually have the authority to do something. Fedorov's reference to the presidency did not go unnoticed.


Ten killed in Russian attack near Kyiv

BBC News

At least 15 people have been killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine, with 10 dead in ballistic missile strikes just outside Kyiv, according to a national official. Writing on social media, Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed about 100 people had been injured in Kyiv, where emergency services are still at the scene, with five other people killed in the eastern city of Sloviansk. Meanwhile, an overnight Ukrainian strike killed six people and wounded 26 near the Russian city of Kirov, more than 1,000 km (600 miles) behind the front line. Ukraine also attacked the warehouses of Wildberries - Russia's biggest online retailer - in St Petersburg and the surrounding area, setting off huge fires. In the attacks near Kyiv, Russia also appeared to have targeted Defence Ministry adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov, aka Flash, and Lyuba Shypovych, who has been involved in developing technology for the Ukrainian army.


At least 11 killed in Ukraine as Moscow and Kyiv continue to trade attacks

Al Jazeera

Is the war entering a new phase? At least 11 people have been killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine, while Ukrainian attacks on Russia's Kirov region killed six others, officials on both sides of the conflict said. A Russian missile attack killed six people and wounded "dozens" in the Kyiv region on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Earlier, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the city and called on residents to stay in shelters as air defence systems were operating. Separately, Vadym Filashkin, the governor of the city of Sloviansk, said five people were killed and nine others injured after Moscow dropped two aviation bombs on the city.


Russia's businesses under strain from Ukraine's attacks on Wildberries

BBC News

Ukrainian drones have hit several retail warehouses belonging to Russia's biggest online retailer, Wildberries, in a matter of days, dealing a blow to a large number of small and medium-sized businesses. After months of drone attacks on oil depots and refineries, Kyiv says it is now targeting logistics hubs used by Russians to buy military equipment, and disrupting supplies to the Russian army. But it has also frustrated hundreds of Russian sellers who depend on online marketplaces for their livelihoods, making the war feel closer to home after almost four and a half years. I am a mother of a disabled child, I've built the business myself, one woman complained on an expletive-laden social media post that went viral. I've lost 1m roubles (£9,500; $12,700)... We're already getting screwed over from every direction as it is.


Ukrainian drones hit Russian online retailer Wildberries, media and governor say

BBC News

Ukrainian drones have hit warehouses belonging to Russia's biggest online retailer again, injuring 10 people, according to Russian media and the region's governor. Logistics hubs belonging to Wildberries in Krasnodar and Stavropol were struck during overnight strikes, forcing workers to be evacuated, the company's owner said. It is the second time Ukraine has attacked the firm's facilities in four days, with warehouses in Tambov and Elektrostal hit on Saturday, killing eight and injuring 62. Kyiv has claimed the warehouses have been used to supply components to make Russia's drones and navigation equipment. Wildberries owner Tatyana Kim said on Telegram that there are no words to describe all the feelings and emotions caused by the attacks on ordinary people, on our employees, on us, who are simply doing our jobs. But these situations demonstrate the most important thing: we must continue to do what we do for the benefit of people.


Can AI systems make moral decisions in war?

Al Jazeera

What is Iran's Pickaxe Mountain? Can AI systems make moral decisions in war? Artificial intelligence is reshaping how wars are fought. From autonomous drones to AI-powered command-and-control, machines are paving the way for fewer decision-makers in the war room and boots on the ground. That transformation is already reshaping conflicts by introducing new technologies in Kyiv, Gaza and Tehran.


Has Ukraine's Zelenskyy created a rival by sacking his defence minister?

Al Jazeera

But he was acclaimed for his reforms while serving as Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, and his new duties included logistics, budgets, reforms, anticorruption measures and deals to secure multibillion-dollar Western aid or loans. After his appointment in January, Fedorov provided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a list of urgent problems and ways to solve them. He mentioned a "chaotic" management system, constant rotations of commanding officers, non-transparent distribution of arms and military equipment, bureaucracy, resistance to reforms from Commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskii's General Staff of Armed Forces, decision-making based on loyalty and not data analysis, and "isolation" of effective commanders and proponents of reforms. Then on Wednesday, just seven months into his role, Fedorov was removed from his position by Zelenskyy. The changes that Fedorov was trying to bring about in Ukraine's military had angered Syrskii. But Fedorov's ouster appears to have angered Ukrainians even more -- potentially presenting Zelenskyy with a political challenge. Rallies, relatively large by wartime Ukraine's standards, have since erupted in Kyiv and key Ukrainian cities. "He's a young, smart, educated person who proved with his previous job that he really is a reformer and can make Ukraine a nation of the future," Taisiya, who rallied on Thursday in central Kyiv, told Al Jazeera.


Kyiv under fire from Russian missiles after EU-Ukraine sign drone deal

Al Jazeera

Is the war entering a new phase? Ukrainian officials say the capital city of Kyiv has endured a major Russian assault as ballistic missiles rained down on multiple districts, setting off explosions. Writing on Telegram early on Thursday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that emergency services were battling blazes across the capital after a warehouse in the Sviatoshynskyi district and a non-residential building in the Darnytskyi district were hit. He added that falling missile debris had also struck a non-residential development area in Darnytsia, triggering additional fires. Ukraine's Air Force Command later confirmed that the immediate threat was lifted after approximately one hour.


Ukraine strikes 20 Russian vessels

Al Jazeera

Is the war entering a new phase? Ukraine released video of strikes on 20 Russian vessels in the Black Sea, including 17 oil tankers, two gas tankers and a tugboat, in a large-scale drone operation. Kyiv says it has targeted 136 ships linked to Russia's shadow fleet across the Black and Azov seas in the past 10 days. Pezeshkian vows Iran will defend'every inch' of its territory The history of the US and Iraq's complicated relationship