Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine cannot "leave Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia alone" and called on the world to oppose the Russian President in order to avoid the third world war, reports Radio Free Europe.
The governor of the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, confirmed the explosion at the local government headquarters, but said no one was killed or injured, reports Reuters.
Russia's state news agency RIA reported earlier on Monday that a series of explosions had been heard at the headquarters of a local government set up by Russia in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
The Russian-appointed mayor of the city said in a statement to Telegram that the center of Donetsk was under fire.
Russia carried out new airstrikes and shelling of Ukraine overnight and early Monday, killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said, Reuters reports.
A 72-year-old man and an elderly woman were killed and three others wounded in a nighttime attack on the southern Kherson region, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
The General Prosecutor's Office announced that a man riding a bicycle was killed in Russian shelling near the eastern town of Torecka, and that a woman was killed in an airstrike around noon on the town of Avdiyevka in the east of the country.
Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said the Izmail district, home to ports on the Danube used to export grain, was the target of the drone attack, but did not report any damage to the port or grain infrastructure.
Russia continued its campaign of airstrikes and shelling across Ukraine as Kiev launched a counter-offensive to try to push back Moscow's forces after their invasion that began nearly 19 months ago.
In the latest Russian strikes overnight, Ukraine's air force said 18 of 24 Russian drones were shot down and 17 cruise missiles were destroyed over the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Khmelnytskyi regions.
Moscow says Ukraine is increasingly attacking targets inside Russia.
In the latest such strike, Russian forces shot down two Ukrainian drones over southwestern Crimea and a third over the Belgorod region on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.
Russia has not commented on the latest attacks and has consistently said it does not target civilians on purpose.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hana Maliar has been dismissed from her post, along with five other officials, the Ukrainian government announced.
Since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Malijar has often been in charge of publishing information about the situation on the front.
The government did not explain the decision on the dismissals, which followed the appointment of Rustem Umerov as the new Minister of Defense, reports Reuters.
Two people were killed in Kherson during nighttime attacks by Russian forces on Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.
Local official Oleksandar Prokudin said that a man (72) and an elderly woman were killed in the Russian attack in that region, as well as that three other people were wounded, but he did not provide details, reports Reuters.
He also stated that four people were injured in this morning's drone attack on the city of Berislav.
"The occupiers deliberately attacked a place full of people with explosives, near the local bus station," he said.
The Izmail district, where the ports on the Danube are located that are used for the export of grain, was the target of the attack. 11 drones were destroyed in that region and a recreational facility in the town of Vulkovo was hit.
The European Commission called on Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to be constructive after they announced they would unilaterally extend an embargo on grain imports from Ukraine despite the Union's decision to lift the ban.
"We are aware of the announcements of some member states regarding unilateral measures. What is important right now is that all countries work in a spirit of compromise and engage constructively," said the spokeswoman of the Commission, as reported by Reuters.
Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced on Friday that they will maintain their restrictions on the import of Ukrainian grain despite the decision of the European Commission.
Ukraine announced that it had liberated seven square kilometers of territory occupied by the Russian army in the east and south of the country.
According to the French press agency, these are small advances which, as Kiev hopes, sooner or later will turn into a breakthrough, after more than three months of counter-offensive.
Deputy Minister of Defense Gana Maliar said that last week Ukrainian forces recovered two square kilometers in the zone around Bakhmut, namely the villages of Andrijevka and Kishcivka.
In the south, the Ukrainian army recovered 5,2 square kilometers.
In total, since the start of the offensive, Kiev says it has liberated 51 square kilometers near Bakhmut and 261,7 square kilometers in the southern part of the front.
(BETA)
The Ukrainian army announced today that it shot down 18 drones and 17 rockets that were launched by Russia in the latest nightly attacks on Ukrainian territory.
"Eighteen drones were shot down", out of a total of 24 sent in the direction of Mykolaiv and Odesa regions in the south, the Ukrainian army announced via Telegram.
The same source added that 17 cruise missiles were also destroyed.
Separately, Russian authorities said this morning that they shot down several Ukrainian drones overnight in the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, in the Moscow region, as well as in Belgorod and Voronezh, near the border with Ukraine.
(BETA)
The war in Ukraine and the arrival of its president in New York are taking center stage at the United Nations, but developing countries will vie for the spotlight as well as faster action against poverty and inequality at the first meeting of world leaders since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted travel before three years.
Russia and Ukraine will face off today at the International Court of Justice in a case based on Moscow's claims that the invasion of Ukraine was launched to prevent genocide.
Ukraine took the case to the United Nations' highest court just days after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24 last year.
Kiev claims that Russia is violating international law by justifying the invasion by claiming that it prevented the genocide in the east of Ukraine, Reuters reminds.
Russian officials continue to accuse Ukraine of committing genocide.
Russia wants the case dismissed and opposes the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
The hearings, which will last until September 27, will not deal with the case itself, but will focus on legal arguments about jurisdiction.
Moscow says Ukraine is using the case as a roundabout way to get a verdict on the overall legality of the military action.
(BETA)
War in Ukraine – 572th day.
The Russian authorities announced this morning that during the night they shot down several Ukrainian drones on the occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, in the Moscow region, as well as in Belgorod and Voronezh, near the border with Ukraine.
"The drones were intercepted over the western, southwestern, northwestern and eastern regions of the Crimean peninsula, the regions of Istria (west) and Domodedovo (south), the Moscow region, Belgorod and Voronezh regions (southwest)," the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Three drones were destroyed on Sunday evening over southwestern Crimea and another in the Belgorod region, the ministry said.
In recent months, drone attacks on Russian territory and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, have increased.
(BETA)
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