The death toll from the Russian attack in Kremenchuk, in the Poltava region of Ukraine, rises to seven. The raid was carried out with drones. The attack damaged an apartment building, which caught fire. A Russian drone also hit a hotel. The Russians struck the center of the city of Balakliya in the Kharkiv region during the night, wounding three people and damaging residential buildings and a cultural institution.
“I get along" with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelesnky, "I believe that the war will end, and it will end soon. And the only reason why it will end is me." Donald Trump said this, reiterating that there is deep hatred between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. The tycoon then added that at the end of the war "Ukraine will have a slightly different territorial configuration".
Russian troops, under the guise of a humanitarian operation, deployed additional forces in Oleshki, a temporarily occupied city, and in the surrounding community. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote this on social media after meeting the heads of regional administrations. "Unfortunately, under the guise of a humanitarian operation in Oleshki, the Russian army carried out a major change of personnel and assets on the left bank. Additional occupation forces were deployed in Oleshki and the surrounding community. The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine must submit proposals for increased protection of life in Kherson from Russian terror," the head of state noted.
The Russian Rassvet satellite system, considered analogous to the US Starlink network, is completely "protected from physical, political and economic influences thanks to the vertical integration and local production of all its components", said the secretary of the Russian Security Council, former defense minister Serghei Shoigu. He declared this on the occasion of the 14th annual meeting of the secretaries of the Security Councils of the CIS member states. "Office 1440 is actively operating in Russia (Rassvet developer). Using its own constellation of Rassvet satellites in low orbit, it is developing high-speed broadband internet services with global coverage, even in remote and hard-to-reach areas," Tass quoted Shoigu as saying.
The EU will cover another "45 billion" in funding to Ukraine, in addition to what has already been provided, to fill the funding gaps, quantified at around 70 billion, that Kiev has to deal with while fighting against the Russian invaders. European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis says this in Brussels on the sidelines of the Eurogroup. "We are working - he states - to fill Ukraine's financing gap, which has turned out to be larger than expected. This is an additional 70 billion euros, of which the EU aims to cover around two thirds, another 45 billion euros. We are still defining the various options, which will subsequently be presented to the member states. I am confident that we will find another 45 billion, in addition to what has already been foreseen", he concludes.
The militarization of Europe continues, with provocations occurring regularly in border areas with Russia, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said. "The militarization of Europe continues, military spending is increasing and the exercises simulate an offensive towards the East in an exemplary way. NATO's military infrastructure is systematically modernized and expanded in Poland and the Baltic countries. In the meantime, technical reconnaissance activities are being conducted on Russian and Belarusian territory. Provocations occur regularly in the border areas," said Shoigu, quoted by Tass. The comment comes on the day in which exercises of the military arm of the Volenterosi begin in Poland.
“We need to provide Ukraine with as many guarantees as possible, because we don't want a repeat of the scenario of what happened in Georgia 18 years ago, when the necessary guarantees were not provided.” This was stated by the Lithuanian Finance Minister, Taurimas Valys, arriving at the Eurogroup in Brussels. Vilnius aims to reach an agreement by the end of the year, during the Irish presidency of the EU. “We will make every effort to achieve this within this year, it is really important for us,” underlined Valys. “But I hope that, if we cannot do it under the Irish presidency, we will be able to do it during our presidency,” he added, referring to Lithuania's semester at the helm of the EU Council, which will begin on January 1, 2027. On defense financing, Valys recalled that Lithuania is among the NATO and EU countries that allocate the highest share of GDP to military spending. The minister therefore insisted on the need to guarantee the maximum possible resources for defense in the next European multiannual budget, also taking into account the needs of Ukraine. “Resilience, defense and security will be among the main priorities also during the Lithuanian presidency,” he concluded.
A woman died in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Leningrad region, the governor, Alexander Drozdenko, said. "In the city of Vsevolozhsk, a woman living in a top-floor apartment was killed when debris from a drone fell on the roof of the building. Furthermore, in the Kirishi district, a drone hit the Kinef petrochemical plant, causing a fire, reports the Vesti broadcaster. In the same city, heating systems were damaged.
"The EU will be present together with our partners at the talks in Abu Dhabi this week." This was announced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a message on social media, referring to a phone call she had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the eve of his visit to the Black Sea region. "We discussed the ongoing peace efforts and the talks in Abu Dhabi this week, at which the EU will be present together with our partners", wrote von der Leyen. “Today I begin a visit to the Black Sea region,” he recalled. In the Black Sea, von der Leyen underlined, "security threats are intensifying, attacks are increasing and innocent lives have been lost". "In Romania and Bulgaria I will meet with leaders to discuss the situation on the ground and how Europe can strengthen its response," von der Leyen explained. "Freedom of navigation in the Black Sea must be restored and preserved," von der Leyen stressed, confirming support for Zelensky's call "for a ceasefire that includes food and energy infrastructure." “I look forward to meeting President Zelensky in Dublin later this week and discussing the next steps towards peace with other leaders,” he concluded.
During the night, Ukrainian drones hit Russia's second largest oil refinery, located in Kiriši, in the Leningrad oblast; This was reported by several Ukrainian monitoring channels cited by Ukrainska Pravda. The attack caused massive explosions at the oil facility, which is located about 800 kilometers north of Ukraine, monitoring channels Exilenova+ and Supernova+ reported. NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMs), which uses satellite data to detect thermal anomalies and fires, identified several hot spots at the facility. Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad Oblast, said that a total of 113 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the region during the attack.
Volodymyr Zelensky showed a "lack of respect" towards Russia. Donald Trump said this during an interview with 60 Minutes. The American president explained that there is great hatred between Vladimir Putin and Zelensky. The host pointed out to him that the Ukrainian president could be more justified, given that his country had been invaded. “When they had their first meeting there was a great deal of disrespect shown to Russia,” Trump highlighted.
