Ukraine Russia war latest: Kyiv tells Putin and Moscow to expect ‘daily’ attacks after latest drone shot down

Russia’s latest missile strikes killing one child in western Ukraine constitute “war crimes and must not go unpunished,” France’s foreign ministry said in a statement late on Friday.

“These attacks have once again targeted civilian infrastructure, including a residential zone, which is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian rights,” the statement read.

Moscow denied intentionally targeting civilians.

Russia launched four hypersonic missiles into the western Ukrainian region of Ivano-Frankivsk on Friday, with three landing near a military airfield including in residential areas.

The fourth Kinzhal missile was shot down by air defenses, Ukraine’s air force has said.

The French ministry added France would reinforce its military support to Ukraine, notably in strengthening air defense capacities, in close cooperation with its partners.

“France’s support to Ukrainian and international jurisdictions to fight against the impunity of crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine remains total,” the statement read.

Russia destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched onto the Crimean Peninsula earlier today, Russian news agencies cited the defense ministry as saying.

Russia’s air defense systems shot down 14 drones, while electronic warfare neutralized six, the agencies cited the ministry as saying.

The reports could not be independently verified.

The US on Friday imposed new sanctions on four Russians linked to financial and investment conglomerate Alfa Group and a Russian business association, the latest measures targeting Moscow’s financial elite over the war in Ukraine.

The Treasury Department said it was targeting four men who have served on Alfa’s supervisory board – Petr Olegivich Aven, Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, German Borisovich Khan, and Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev – under sanctions against the country’s financial services sector.

It also imposed sanctions on the Russian Association of Employers the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, it said.

“Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people,” deputy secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in the statement.

Commenting on the new sanctions, Russia’s ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said they were part of “a failing restrictive policy” and the White House “could not destroy our economy and undermine technological sovereignty.”

From inside the heavily-guarded Ukraine presidential compound in Kyiv, First Lady Olena Zelenska has spoken in a rare and wide-ranging interview with The Independent’s chief international correspondent Bel Trew.

During their discussion Mrs Zelenska blasted countries for circumventing Russian sanctions, saying the conflict in her nation will drag on “endlessly until Russia‘s ability to wage war is stopped.”

She also warned Ukraine’s children are “losing the will to live” in an emotional plea for help, as she spoke of the struggle to retrieve the children who disappeared into Russia.

Watch the full interview on Independent TV, across mobile and connected TV.

China, Iran, and Russia are engaged in foreign interference in New Zealand, the nation’s domestic intelligence agency said Friday after making its threat assessment report public for the first time.

The agency linked Russia’s war in Ukraine to several problems, including increased geopolitical competition, supply chain disruptions, and efforts to spy on other countries and seed disinformation.

“Russia’s international disinformation campaigns have not targeted New Zealand specifically, but have had an impact on the views of some New Zealanders,” the report found.

Nick Perry has the full story:

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons.

The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

My colleague Joe Sommerlad has this guide to the varying publicly available estimates of the toll Russia’s war has taken on its troops:

Ukraine has begun holding consultations with the UK to agree upon security guarantees aimed to be in place by the end of the year, a senior Ukrainian official has said.

Kyiv is pushing to secure security guarantees from multiple nations, including the United States, pending what it hopes will be its eventual accession to Nato.

“Our goal is to have the first such agreements in place by the end of the year,” Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said in televised comments.

“Our consultations with Britain have begun,” he said.

Washington has said it is open to training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in the United States if capacity for such training is reached in Europe.

White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Washington is eager to move forward with the training.

Since Vladimir Putin rose to power as Russia’s president 23 years ago, few things have rocked his leadership as much as Saturday 24 June when Wagner mercenaries barrelled towards Moscow.

The “army within an army” who had been ruthlessly grinding away for months at the vanguard of some of the bloodiest fighting in the eastern flanks of Ukraine was now on the verge of triggering a war within a war – this time, against the Kremlin.

Prigozhin himself was due to head to Belarus – although he has been pictured in Russia since – with an invitation for Wagner fighters to gather in Belarus. Thousands are set to enter the country since.