According to a brigadier general, the Ukrainian military has pushed back Russian troops in the east of the country. As part of an operation that began in the summer, 277 square kilometers were recaptured, Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine's third army corps, said on Wednesday. Bilezkiy's information could not be independently verified. Russian representatives initially had no comment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to London for talks with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. His country is calling on the United States and everyone else who has not closed their eyes to reality to respond to the ongoing Russian airstrikes, he wrote on social media on Wednesday. Russia lost the opportunity to de-escalate and apparently decided to continue its “insane war of annihilation”.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected the accusation from the far right and left that the aid to Ukraine comes at the expense of social spending. “Not a single euro is missing from social spending,” emphasizes Merz in the Bundestag. To this end, the government has decided on the so-called area exception to the debt brake, from which defense and aid to Ukraine are financed.
Ukraine has apparently recaptured 16 villages from Russian troops during its counteroffensive in the eastern Donetsk region. As a result of the latest Ukrainian attacks, three more villages in the area have been liberated, Brigadier General Andriy Bilezkyj said on Wednesday. The area is around 30 kilometers north of the strategically important city of Slovyansk.
The EU transferred 2.86 billion euros to Ukraine for the purchase of drones, air defense systems and missiles. “These funds will help Ukraine meet its urgent battlefield needs and strengthen its defense capability against the Russian war of aggression,” said a spokesman for the EU Commission in Brussels.
In his own words, Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) assumes that “the United States will continue to support Ukraine, as it has done so far.” He also doesn't recognize "that there is a substantial reduction in American support for Ukraine," Wadephul said at a press conference in Berlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin discusses cybersecurity with high-ranking officials. According to the President's Office, the issue is becoming increasingly urgent. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov says artificial intelligence brings many advantages. However, various states tried to use these new technologies as weapons.
A Russian attack on the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk left three people dead, according to the local governor. At least twelve people were injured. Debris from a drone hit a warehouse, explains Roman Romaniuk on Telegram.
After an attack on a Starlink ground station in Poland, there was also a fire in a satellite internet service facility in Bulgaria. Prime Minister Rumen Radev confirmed the incident near the capital during parliament's question time in Sofia.
Ukrainian drones hit the largest Russian data center. However, the operation of the facility in the Saratov region is not affected, emphasizes the operator Sberbank. The financial institution is the leading Russian AI developer alongside the Internet company Yandex.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has criticized SpaceX founder Elon Musk for restricting the Starlink satellite network for the Ukrainian military. “Hey, Elon Musk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?” wrote Sikorski on the X platform.
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russian armed forces attacked seven Ukrainian energy facilities and a data center overnight. The ministry said the targets served the Ukrainian military.
According to Ukrainian information, the US space company SpaceX has restricted the use of its Starlink satellite network for the Ukrainian military. The military version of the communications service no longer works at speeds of over 160 kilometers per hour, the Ukrainian president's adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said on Telegram.
According to the governor of Russia's Saratov Oblast, all infrastructure facilities in Balakovo are functioning as usual after a Ukrainian drone attack. Roman Busargin shares this on Telegram.
A heavy Russian airstrike on Ukraine's energy infrastructure shows, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, that Moscow is ignoring the energy ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump. Zelensky explained on the short message platform
According to Russian reports, one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Russian Saratov Oblast. In the city of Balakovo on the Volga, houses were also damaged, Governor Roman Busargin said on Telegram.
After another ballistic missile attack by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky complained about the allies' lack of warning. “Again without warning from the partners,” Zelenskyj wrote on Telegram. The aim was a thermal power plant in the eastern part of the capital Kyiv.
US President Donald Trump says the US will continue to provide intelligence information to Ukraine. “We help them and we share intelligence information,” Trump told reporters in Washington.
