Ukraine Government
Zelensky appoints new chief prosecutor after predecessor's corruption scandal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed a new acting prosecutor general, after the predecessor resigned over an anti-corruption investigation. Anton Kovalskyi, 42, was appointed on Thursday to replace Ruslan Kravchenko, who stood down last week following searches of his offices by Ukrainian anti-corruption officials related to illegal call centres in the country. Officials said they identified a money-laundering scheme led by an official in Kravchenko's office, a claim he rejected. The investigation into Kravchenko's office is the latest corruption scandal impacting Kyiv during the war against Russia. Accusations have been levelled at several members of Zelensky's inner circle.
At least 19 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine
Is the war entering a new phase? Ukrainian officials say at least 19 people have been injured in Russian missile and drone strikes targeting Kyiv and surrounding areas. Ukraine's Air Force said on Thursday that it destroyed or suppressed 131 Russian aerial targets during the overnight attacks, adding that the main areas targeted were the Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa regions. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces hit metallurgical and electronics plants, factories of the military-industrial complex, energy and transport facilities in the three regions. Three bulk carriers and a ferry used to carry supplies for the Ukrainian military were hit in the port of Chornomorsk, added the ministry.
At least five killed in Russian drone strike near Ukraine front line
Is the war entering a new phase? Ukrainian officials say that a Russian drone strike on a bus near the front line in southern Ukraine has killed at least five people and injured seven others. The attack on Wednesday hit an area around the city of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on the Telegram messaging app. Photos posted by Ukrainian officials showed windows blown out of a white minibus, with a trail of blood streaming down the side of the vehicle. "Russians cynically struck a passenger bus. They targeted a minibus which carried people going about their daily business," said Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council.
Ukraine drone strikes kill four as Russia attacks close to Poland border
Is the war entering a new phase? Several civilians have been killed and more than 20 others wounded overnight as Russia and Ukraine continue to attack each other with waves of drones to try to shift momentum in the more than four-year-long war. Russia launched 863 drones at Ukraine over the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Sunday. Russian forces shot down 389 Ukrainian drones during the night, the country's Ministry of Defence said, including over Tatarstan, other Russian regions, and the occupied Crimean Peninsula. Russia carried out two drone attacks near Ukraine's border with NATO member Poland, Polish and Ukrainian officials said.
Russians seek answers over hundreds missing after Ukraine's 2024 incursion
Russians seek answers over hundreds missing after Ukraine's 2024 incursion I used to have complete faith in our country, says Lyubov. The last time she spoke to her mother was a day after Ukrainian forces broke into Russia's Kursk region more than two years ago. Now she feels resentful towards the [Russian] state, in a country where most people avoid criticising the full-scale invasion unleashed on Ukraine in February 2022. The local governor says more than 300 Russians are still missing in Kursk region, but no-one really knows the true figure. Lyubov says she tried to persuade her mother to leave her village in the Sudzha area, but blames Russian state TV propaganda for her refusal to listen.
Four killed and 60 injured in Russian strike on shopping centre, Ukraine says
Ukrainian officials say four people were killed and 60 wounded when a Russian drone attacked a shopping mall in Pavlohrad, a city in Dnipropetrovsk region. Shops and vehicles were hit in the daylight attack which took place when the streets were full of people, Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said. Two other shopping malls - in the cities of Zaporizhzhia and Sumy - were targeted by Russian air strikes earlier this week, according to Ukrainian media. Russia reported a Ukrainian seaborne drone attack on the resort city of Sochi overnight on Wednesday, in which 28 people were wounded, as well as three more deaths blamed on Ukrainian attacks. A full-scale war has been raging between Russia and Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion more than four and a half years ago.
Russian drone incursion delays Zelensky flight
Image caption, Zelensky's plane after it landed in Norway after flying in from Moldova A plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was delayed by a Russian drone as he prepared to fly to attend a state funeral in Oslo, Moldovan and Norwegian authorities say. Zelensky and his wife Olena were on the jet at Chisinau, Moldova's capital, ahead of Wednesday's funeral of Norway's King Harald V when the unmanned aircraft crossed over the Moldovan border. The drone prompted an immediate airspace shutdown and Zelensky's plane was left on the runway for around an hour before it could take off. The flight was only authorised after it was confirmed the drone had come down 160km (100 miles) away. Asked by reporters on Thursday, the Kremlin said there had been no threat to the jet. Zelensky's plane had been due to take off at around 16:30 (14:30 GMT) from Chisinau International Airport.
Russian attacks kill 7 in Ukraine as Kyiv targets gas plants deep in Arctic
Is the war entering a new phase? Russian forces have launched attacks across Ukraine, killing at least seven people, according to Ukrainian officials, as Kyiv claimed responsibility for a drone attack that set off a fire at a natural gas plant deep in Russia's Arctic region. Four people were killed in a Russian attack in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine overnight on Thursday, while three were killed in a drone attack on a shopping centre in the northeastern city of Sumy, according to Ukrainian authorities. At least 19 others were wounded, he said on Telegram. The attack in Sumy left at least 14 people wounded, according to Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration.
Russia and Ukraine exchange strikes as two killed at Moldova border
Two people have been killed after Russian drones struck a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The Starokozache crossing, around 500km (310 miles) south of Kyiv, was closed after the overnight attack. Images from the scene showed several cars left completely scorched, with wreckage and debris strewn across the border post. Meanwhile, four people, including a child, were killed in the southern Russian city of Novorossiysk in a Ukrainian drone attack, the regional governor said. Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up long-range strikes in recent months, despite renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war.