Ukrainian forces shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers on the southern front On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and military officials said they hailed it as a success in the 22-month war. The Russian military made no mention of the incident. But Russian bloggers acknowledged the loss and analysts suspected that US-supplied Patriot missiles were likely used. The reports could not be independently confirmed.
Ukraine shot down 24 of 28 Shahed drones launched by Russia in a night strike Residential buildings in Kiev as well as an infrastructure facility and a grain warehouse in southern regions were damaged, officials said on Friday. Drones hit three floors of an apartment block in the Ukrainian capital, injuring two people and causing minor damage to several other residential buildings.
Russia said its air defenses intercepted five Ukrainian drones south of Moscow in less than an hour. The Defense Ministry said four were intercepted over the Kaluga region and a fifth was destroyed in the Moscow region.
Russia could break off diplomatic relations with the USA Should Washington seize Russian assets frozen because of the Ukraine conflict, the Russian news agency Interfax quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Friday. The Kremlin said Russia would never leave alone a country that had seized its assets, adding that it would examine what Western assets it could seize in retaliation if that were to happen. The comments came amid suggestions from some Western politicians to hand over $300 billion worth of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
Russia is ready to respond quickly to Washington's deployment of short- and medium-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Ryabkov said. Separately, the deputy secretary of state said Moscow and Washington were still in delicate negotiations over a prisoner exchange, but accused the U.S. side of leaking details to the media.
The Dutch government will send 18 F-16 jets to UkraineVolodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday after talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Police have arrested a senior Ukrainian Defense Ministry official suspected of embezzling €36 million (£31m/$40m) to buy much-needed artillery shells in the war against Russia, officials said. Prosecutors said Friday that the officer, whose identity they did not reveal, devised a scheme to buy artillery shells at inflated prices. There have been a number of corruption scandals in Ukraine in recent months, including several in the Defense Ministry.
The US said it would impose sanctions on foreign banks that supported Russia's war in Ukraine, in a new attempt to put economic pressure on Moscow as it diversifies from the West into China.
The Kremlin accused the Wall Street Journal of publishing “Pulp Fiction.” after it was reported that the death of mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash was orchestrated by a Russian security official, Nikolai Patrushev.
Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski visited Kiev on Friday to present an aid package for Ukraine A ministry spokesman said on his first official visit abroad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with the Palestinian President. Mahmoud Abbas, The Kremlin said that options for de-escalating the conflict in Gaza as well as humanitarian aid measures would be discussed on Friday.
Prominent Russian writer Boris Akunin, who was declared a terrorist by Moscow and became the target of a criminal investigation this week, says he fears the move signals a new milestone in the history of the country under the Russian president. The exiled writer told Agence France-Presse: “Putin's regime has clearly decided to take a very important new step in its journey from an autocratic police state to a totalitarian state.”