Just as Zelenskyy departed for the US, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency announced a new probe in which it said some MPs were implicated. It tried to raid parliamentary offices but was blocked by security personnel.
During the Russian onslaught, which lasted 10 hours, AFP reporters in Kyiv heard loud explosions, some accompanied by bright flashes that turned the sky orange.
The Russian army said it used hypersonic missiles and drones to target infrastructure and energy facilities “used in the interests of the armed forces of Ukraine”, as well as military sites.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the attack left about 600,000 consumers without power while authorities said apartment blocks, a university dormitory and a petrol station had been among buildings hit.
Neighbouring Poland, a NATO member, scrambled jets and put air defences on alert during the Russian attack in Ukraine, the Polish military said on social media. Air traffic at two airports near the Ukrainian border were also temporarily suspended during the strikes, but resumed later, the country’s air navigation agency said.
FLORIDA TALKS
Sunday’s meeting in Florida to discuss new proposals comes as Trump intensifies efforts to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two.
The new 20-point plan would freeze the war on its current front line but possibly require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarised buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelenskyy this week.
The new plan, formulated with Ukraine’s input, is Kyiv’s most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions. It is very different from an initial 28-point proposal tabled by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia’s core demands.
