Ukraine war latest: Zelensky aide reveals the one key sanction Putin hates the most

At least 45 people were injured in Kharkiv, including a pregnant woman and two children, as swarms of Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian city late last night.

Drones also hit Dnipro city, killing at least one person, officials said.

Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said several areas of the city, which has been devastated by successive attacks, had been targeted last night.

Around 1.2 million people live in Kharkiv, compared to nearly 2 million before Moscow’s February 2022 invasion.

“There have been 16 strikes on Kharkiv,” Mr Terekhov said.

“A high-rise apartment block was hit as were private homes, a medical facility and civilian infrastructure.”

Public broadcaster Suspilne posted photos of firefighters tackling flames. One drone hit the eighth floor of an apartment and two medical facilities have also been hit, Suspilne reported.

Kharkiv, which lies in the northeast near the Russian border and is Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been the target of almost daily Russian drone and missile attacks since Moscow began its full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

Russia is “preparing something” in Belarus this summer, using military drills as an excuse, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned.

“This summer Russia is preparing something there, under cover of military exercises,” Mr Zelensky told a summit in Warsaw, without giving details or citing evidence. Russia and Belarus have announced joint military drills for September.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky’s close aide has called for continuing western sanctions on Russia’s aviation sector, asking “why should Russians enjoy the freedom of air travel while Ukrainians cannot be safe in their own country?”

Writing in The Guardian today, Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukraine’s presidential office, has said that “normalising air links would lift a key restriction on Russians’ daily lives, relieving Moscow of any public pressure for peace”.

The top Ukrainian official flagged Russian aviation sector’s role in “smuggling on behalf of its military”, “circumventing international sanctions by delivering critical components to sanctioned Russian industries” and a charter service that deploys Russia’s troops to the war frontline.

“These sanctions represent more than mere inconvenience: they are a direct obstacle to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and a visible reminder of the consequences of its aggression. Rather than unwinding them, we need to build on the success of the current sanctions regime,” Mr Yermak said.

He added: “The fact that Russian officials have made lifting aviation sanctions a priority in diplomatic channels underscores their effectiveness.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said progress in resolving the more than three-year-old war in Ukraine depended on Russia taking the first step of agreeing to an unconditional ceasefire.

In his nightly video address, Mr Zelensky said: “They must take clear steps toward ending the war and we insist that an unconditional and complete ceasefire must be the first step. Russia must do this.”

He said Ukraine was preparing for more talks with the United States aimed at pressuring Moscow to engage in talks.

“We are selecting those pressure points in Russia that will most strongly encourage Moscow towards diplomacy,” he said.

US diplomat John Kelley blamed Russia for the continuing bloodshed in Ukraine, saying it had “regrettably” carried out high-profile strikes “causing needless loss of life, including of innocent civilians.”

Speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting yesterday, Mr Kelley said: “Right now, Russia has a great opportunity to achieve a durable peace.”

He added that the burden for ending the war rests with Russia and Ukraine.

“It is up to the leaders of both these countries to decide whether peace is possible. If both sides are ready to end the war, the United States will fully support their path to a lasting peace,” he said.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said now is the time for concrete proposals from Moscow and Kyiv to end the war in Ukraine and if there is no progress, the US will step back.

State department spokesperson Tammy Bruce cited Mr Rubio as saying that the time had been reached at which “concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict”.

“How we proceed from here is a decision that belongs now to the president. If there is not progress, we will step back as mediators in this process,” Ms Bruce told a regular news briefing, referring to president Donald Trump.

About 600 North Korean troops have been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine out of a total deployment of 15,000 and they have shown signs of improved combat capabilities, South Korean lawmakers said this morning, citing the intelligence agency.

On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un confirmed he signed a military order on sending his troops to fight alongside Russian soldiers in Ukraine war.

The body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna returned by Russia shows signs of brutal torture and has some missing internal organs, a new investigation by the Forbidden Stories journalism network said yesterday.

Numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the journalist’s body, said Yurii Belousov, head of the war crimes department at the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The experts who were a part of the investigation also saw evidence of torture including electric shocks.

The independent examination of Roshchyna’s body in Ukraine showed her brain, eyes, and part of the trachea had been removed, the investigation said.

Investigators have said the body showed evidence of an autopsy conducted in Russia before it was returned to Ukraine.

More than 40 journalists from 13 international media outlets participated in the investigation, conducting more than 50 interviews with former prisoners, ex-prison guards, and human rights activists.

Her remains, tagged with number 757, were handed over by Russia in late February with Russian documents falsely labelling her as an “unidentified male”.

However, a forensic examination showed the body was female. DNA testing on the remains finally identified them as Roshchyna’s with 99 per cent certainty.

The organs may have been deliberately removed from Roshchyna’s body to hide signs of suffocation or strangulation, according to an international forensic pathologist.

President Donald Trump has said he thinks Russian president Vladimir Putin wants to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite recent attacks against the beleaguered nation.

Mr Trump responded “I think he does” when asked whether he thinks Mr Putin wants to make peace during an interview with ABC News’ Terry Moran.

“If it weren’t for me, I think he’d want to take over the whole country,” Mr Trump said. “I will tell you, I was not happy when I saw Putin shooting missiles into a few towns and cities.”

Russia launched 100 drones in overnight attacks targeting Ukraine, Ukraine’s air force said this morning.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 37 drones, while 47 others disappeared from radars without reaching their targets – usually a result of being jammed by electronic warfare systems

The attacks caused damage in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions, it said in a Telegram post.