Ukraine planning new strikes deep inside Russia, says Zelenskyy

The announcement came hours aft overnight Russian strikes connected vigor sites near 60,000 Ukrainians without electricity.

Ukraine intends to onslaught heavy into Russia pursuing a ample Russian drone onslaught that near 60,000 Ukrainians without electricity, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

Speaking connected Sunday aft a gathering with his apical general, Oleksandr Syrskii, the Ukrainian president confirmed the caller planned strikes connected X.

Both sides person intensified their aerial strikes successful caller weeks, with Moscow attacking Ukraine’s vigor and transport systems arsenic good arsenic launching deadly strikes successful caller days connected civilian areas successful Kyiv and Zaporizhia, and Ukraine targeting Russian lipid refineries and pipelines.

Overnight, Russian drones deed 4 vigor facilities successful Ukraine’s Odesa region, according to the backstage vigor institution DTEK. The strikes near 29,000 radical without electricity, section authorities reported.

The larboard metropolis of Chornomorsk adjacent Odesa, wherever 1 idiosyncratic was injured, was the worst-affected place, determination Governor Oleh Kiper wrote connected Telegram. “Critical infrastructure is operating connected generators,” helium said.

DTEK said exigency repair enactment would commencement pursuing the all-clear from the Ukrainian military, which reported that successful total, Russia had attacked Ukraine with 142 drones, each but 10 of which it claimed to person downed.

The Russian subject suggested connected Sunday that it had changeable down 112 Ukrainian drones successful the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov blamed Europe for the continuation of the warfare and for hampering United States President Donald Trump’s bid efforts.

“The European warring enactment is maintaining its cardinal course; it is not giving in,” helium said from the sidelines of a acme successful China, successful a notation to the European Union’s arms deliveries to Ukraine.

His words came conscionable days aft a Russian aerial onslaught killed astatine slightest 23 radical and damaged EU diplomatic offices successful cardinal Kyiv.

President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks astir Russia’s menace to wider Europe during a sojourn to the Poland-Belarus borderline connected August 25, 2025, successful Krynki, eastbound Poland [Janek Skarzynski/AFP]

Speaking conscionable hours earlier Trump’s deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold to a gathering with his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said helium thought the war, which began much than 3 and a fractional years ago, would not decorativeness soon.

“I americium preparing myself inwardly for this warfare to past a agelong time,” helium told the nationalist broadcaster ZDF connected Sunday, noting that diplomatic efforts to bring the struggle to an extremity could not travel “at the terms of Ukraine’s capitulation”.

Elsewhere, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, travelled to Poland connected Sunday arsenic portion of her circuit of EU states that borderline Russia and its state Belarus.

Speaking alongside the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, von der Leyen called Putin a “predator” who could lone beryllium kept successful cheque done “strong deterrence”.

The EU Commission president besides said that subordinate states bordering Russia and Belarus would person further backing from the bloc, calling the defence of its borders a “shared responsibility”.

While the EU continues to item Russia’s information hazard for the wider continent, the Kremlin has sought to embellish its subject achievements successful a bid to marque its triumph successful Ukraine look inevitable, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US deliberation tank.

In its latest appraisal of the conflict, ISW said that Russian service main General Valery Gerasimov’s claims connected Saturday astir Russian gains were exaggerated.

The Russian wide had suggested that the Kremlin’s forces had captured 3,500sq km [1,351sq miles] of territory and 149 settlements since the commencement of March.

“Gerasimov’s claims notably inflate Russian gains by astir 1,200 quadrate kilometres [463sq miles] and 19 settlements,” the ISW said.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies