UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Washington D.C., July 10, 2024


Wednesday’s Coverage: “Massive” Russian Missile Strikes


Map: Institute for the Study of War


UPDATE 1258 GMT:

The Ukrainian military says paratroopers and other units captured 27 Russian troops in the KUrsk region in western Russia.

The Ukraine Airborne Assault Troops’ press service asserted, “Among them are officers, sergeants, and privates from motorized rifle units, Marines, airborne troops, and other units, coming from various Russian regions and the occupied city of Sevastopol.”


UPDATE 0935 GMT:

Ukrainian drones have hit another oil depot inside Russia.

Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed the attack on the Liskinskaya oil depot in Russia’s Voronezh region, 98 miles east of the Ukrainian border.


UPDATE 0924 GMT:

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, as well as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will be in Kyiv today on an official visit.

The Italian Embassy said Crosetto “will hold a number of institutional meetings”.


UPDATE 0908 GMT:

Four civilians have been killed and at least 27 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

A 54-year-old woman was killed and a 45-year-old man injured by Russian assaults on the town of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine. Around 30 houses, five high-rise buildings, industrial enterprises, and cars were damaged.

In the Kherson region in the south, three people were killed and 10 injured amid attacks on 36 settlements, including Kherson city.

In the Donetsk region in the east, 15 people were wounded.

Air defenses downed 34 of 55 drones launched by Russia overnight. Another 18 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

Debris from downed drones damaged energy infrastructure in the Poltava region in central Ukraine, leaving more than 300 people without power.


UPDATE 0818 GMT:

The US has sanctioned more than 150 individuals and entities as “enablers of Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine”.

The measures hope to prevent evasion of previous sanctions, especially by actors based in China, and to degrade Russia’s military industrial base.

Other sanctions target subsidiaries of Russia’s State atomic energy corporation Rosatom.

The Treasury also re-designated almost 100 previously-sanctioned individuals and entities across Russia’s financial services, energy, and defense sectors.


ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kyiv on Thursday, with the two men expected to sign a partnership agreement.

The deal will expand the Ukraine-UK defense relationship, with further military assistance to Kyiv. The possibility of UK troops as part of a peacekeeping force in Ukraine may also be discussed.

Starmer said in advance of the trip:

Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine way from its closest parters has been a monumental strategic failure. Instead, we are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level.

The power of our long-term friendships cannot be underestimated. Supporting Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s barbaric invasion and rebuild a prosperous, sovereign future is vital to this government’s foundation of security and our plan for change.

Zelensky urged Ukraine’s western allies “not to drop the ball” as a reduction of military aid “will only invite more aggression, chaos, and war”.

On Wednesday, Zelensky issued a similar message as he saw Polish Prime Minister Donald Musk in Warsaw:

Ukraine and the UK are also pursuing a “100-year partnership” for links in the economy, science, and technology. Starmer will announce £40 million for economic recovery on Thursday. The funds will be directed at businesses supporting the green economy and groups such as women and veterans.

The UK has given Kyiv £12.8 billion ($15.6 billion) during Russia’s 34 1/2-month full invasion, including £7.8 billion ($9.5 billion) of military assistance and support for energy infrastructure.