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Zelensky ordered the 40-day offensive after consulting the head of the Ukrainian security service
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A Russian military plant producing artillery systems and components for missile launch systems in the Volgograd region was struck by Ukrainian-made Flamingo missiles, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
Explosions were heard while a fire was seen in the city as authorities issued a missile threat alert for Volgograd, Russian independent outlet Astra reported, citing locals. Zelensky claimed that the airstrike caused a fire at the premises of the Titan-Barrikady plant.
The attack comes after Zelensky told Vladimir Putin to “get out of Ukraine” and “take that step toward peace” after approving a 40-day offensive to “influence” Russia to end the war.
In a post on X, Zelensky wrote: “Russia must get out of Ukraine with its war – we want no war.
“Ukraine has put forward proposals to our key partners, and Putin’s friends have also heard from us that a meeting is possible and that ending this war is possible. Russia must now take that step toward peace.”
Zelensky said he made the decision of ordering a 40-day offensive after consulting the head of the Ukrainian security service.
Russia fired ballistic missiles and drones to attack production facilities of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz in the northeastern Poltava and Kharkiv regions, causing damage, Naftogaz said this morning.
Ukrainian-made Flamingo missiles hit a plant overnight producing artillery systems and components for missile launch systems in Russia’s Volgograd region, president Volodymyr Zelensky said this morning.
He said on the Telegram app that the strikes caused a fire at the premises of the Titan-Barrikady plant.
Russian and Chinese military aircraft flew through South Korea’s Air Defence Identification Zone this morning but did not violate the country’s airspace, South Korea’s military said.
South Korea was monitoring about 10 military planes as they approached the air zone and scrambled jet fighters that conducted tactical manoeuvres in case of any incident, it said.
The military in a short statement did not report whether there was any incident from the incursion into the area, which many countries have established as part of their air defence.
The European Commission has on Friday proposed to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians who have sought refuge in the European Union until March 2028.
The move underlines the need for flexibility regarding Ukrainian refugees, as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on in its fifth year.
The proposal would limit access to temporary protection for newly arriving men who are not authorised by Ukrainian authorities to leave Ukraine because of their military obligations.
Ukraine has reportedly struck a Russian military facility in the city of Volgograd during today’s early hours.
Explosions were heard while a fire was seen in the city as authorities issued a missile threat alert for Volgograd, Russian independent outlet Astra reported, citing locals.
Astra said it geolocated footage filmed on Moskovskaya Street, approximately 6.5km from the facility, and assessed that the smoke appeared to be coming from the direction of the plant.
The outlet reported that the Ukrainian strike was carried out using Ukrainian-made long-range Flamingo cruise missiles.
Putin is rattled and Trump needs a win – this is the chance for Ukraine and her allies to force the collapse of Russia’s army and push back against its land grab, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley.
More here.
Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said president Karol Nawrocki’s decision to strip Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland’s Order of the White Eagle was an inappropriate response to the recent diplomatic dispute.
Sikorski told TVN24 that Poland’s reaction “was inappropriate, because it humiliated the president of Ukraine personally”.Had he been consulted, he would have recommended a different response, such as renaming Jasionka Airport after victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the foreign minister said.
Sikorski also argued that Zelensky should have taken Poland’s historical sensitivities into account when approving the name of a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces unit honoring the Heroes of the UPA.
“He should have thought: all right, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army fought against Soviet rule, but it also killed Poles,” Sikorski said, suggesting that Ukraine could instead have honored “a specific hero who fought against Soviet occupation.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia must get out of Ukraine as he outlined Ukraine’s core diplomatic priorities ahead of the upcoming Nato summit in Ankara.
Moscow must now take a step toward peace, the president emphasized.
He thanked everyone working with Ukraine to push Russia toward diplomacy, as well as those helping defend the country and protect human life.
“Ukrainian warriors prove the strength of Ukrainian precision every day. Ukraine’s long-range sanctions and medium-range sanctions are being fully implemented. These are our fair responses to Russia for this war — the war that Russia started and that Russia must end,” he said.
“Russia must take this war out of Ukraine. We do not need war,” the Ukrainian leader added.
Ukraine launched a major nighttime attack on a dozen Russian regions, Russian-held Crimea and the surrounding seas, Moscow’s defence ministry said yesterday.
Russian air defenses intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones, the ministry said.
Initial damage reports from Russia after the overnight attack provided scant information. The defence ministry usually doesn’t say what was targeted in Ukraine’s drone attacks, nor does it detail any damage.
Russian independent online outlet Astra reported that a chemical plant and a hydroelectric plant in Novomoskovsk were attacked and caught fire.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 47 Ukrainian drones were downed as they flew toward the Russian capital.
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