Ukraine war briefing: Don’t be weak, Zelenskyy tells allies, after Putin threats

Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allies on Wednesday not to show “weakness” to Vladimir Putin, after the Russian leader threatened retaliation against recent Ukrainian strikes in a call with Donald Trump. “If the world reacts weakly to Putin’s threats, he sees that as a willingness to turn a blind eye to his actions,” Ukraine’s president said. “When he feels neither strength nor pressure, but weakness, he commits yet more crimes.”

Ukrainian drone attacks hit the power grid in Russian-held parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, cutting electricity to tens of thousands of residents, Russia-installed officials said early on Thursday. Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian-held parts of the two regions cut power to about 700,000 people earlier in the week.

Russian drones struck apartment buildings in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, triggering fires and injuring at least nine people, the city’s mayor said early on Thursday.

Unnamed US officials have claimed to the Reuters news agency that Ukraine’s drone attack over the weekend hit an estimated 20 Russian warplanes and destroyed about 10 of them. They described the attack as highly significant. Ukraine says its “Operation Spiderweb” – which used drones hidden on board trucks – targeted four airbases across Russia with 117 UAVS carrying bombs, hitting 41 Russian aircraft, around half of them beyond repair. Ukraine’s SBU spy agency said it caused $7bn worth of damage and 34% of the strategic cruise missile carriers at Russia’s main airfields were hit.

More satellite photos analysed by the Associated Press on Wednesday showed seven destroyed bombers on the tarmac at Belaya airbase in eastern Siberia – one of the targets for the Ukrainian drones. The photos provided by Planet Labs PBC showed aircraft wreckage and scorched areas at the major long-range bomber base. In the images, at least three Tu-95 bombers and four Tu-22Ms appeared to be destroyed, the Associated Press assessed.

Russian forces on Wednesday advanced further into Ukraine’s northern region of Sumy, according to Russian officials and Ukrainian open source mapping. The authoritative Deep State map showed Russia with control over 154.4 sq km (60 sq miles) of Sumy and attacking it from different directions. Russia’s defence ministry said its troops had taken the settlement of Kindrativka and were now 25-30 km (15-20 miles) from the city of Sumy, within artillery and drone range.

Boris Pistorius said Germany would kick off a new initiative to find more air defences for Ukraine. The German defence minister added that they were lobbying the US and other countries for more donations of Patriot and similar air defence systems. The Netherlands said that despite the government’s collapse one day earlier it would continue business as usual in foreign and security policy, including pledging a maritime support package for Ukraine worth €400m.

Ukraine’s allies said they were willing to pay for defence manufacturing by Ukrainian companies in allied countries, Kyiv’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said on Wednesday after meeting his western counterparts at the Ukraine defence contact group in Brussels.

Six men are on trial over an arson attack which prosecutors say was carried out on behalf of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group against a business in London that shipped goods to Ukraine. Four of the group are accused of aggravated arson. Two others face charges of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts. They deny the charges.

The European Commission has said more than four million Ukrainians living in the EU should have their right to stay extended until March 2027, while calling for efforts to promote voluntary returns to their home country. Jennifer Rankin writes from Brussels that while calling for the extension, the commission urged EU governments to think beyond the temporary fix by making it easier for Ukrainians to obtain other types of residence permits, such as work and student visas. It said governments should set up programmes to promote voluntary returns to Ukraine, including by supporting exploratory visits.

Ukraine has discussed with the United States how to make a minerals fund operational by the end of the year and the fund’s first meeting is expected in July, Yulia Svyrydenko said in Washington on Wednesday. Svyrydenko is Ukrainian first deputy prime minister and economy minister.

Pope Leo urged Russia to take steps towards ending the conflict in Ukraine when he spoke to Vladimir Putin for the first time, the Vatican said on Wednesday. “The pope made an appeal for Russia to make a gesture that favours peace, emphasising the importance of dialogue for achieving positive contacts between the parties and seeking solutions to the conflict,” the Vatican said.