100,000 homes without power after Russian drone attack
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Russian strikes overnight left over 100,000 households without power in northern Ukraine, the authorities have said.
The northern Sumy region, which borders Russia, was plunged into darkness after Russian strikes late Friday damaged energy infrastructure, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said.
Hours later, the Ukrainian public broadcaster reported that Russian drones hit the provincial capital, also called Sumy, cutting off water by hitting power lines that feed its system of pumps.
RIA, a state-run Russian news agency, cited a local pro-Kremlin “underground” leader as saying that Moscow’s forces overnight hit a plant producing rocket ammunition in the city, which had a pre-war population of over 256,000. The report did not specify what weapon was used, and the claim could not be independently verified.
Since March, Russian forces have intensified their bombardments of the Ukrainian power sector, knocking out the bulk of the thermal and hydropower generation and forcing long blackouts across the country.
05:00 PM BST
That’s all for today.
Thanks for following the Telegraph’s live blog. We’ll be back tomorrow with the latest updates on the war.
04:51 PM BST
Advancing Russian forces seize Donetsk village
Russia claims its forces have captured another village as they continue to advance slowly in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Moscow’s defence ministry said Russian troops had “liberated the village of Sokil,” around 18 miles northwest of Donetsk city, the capital of the region by the same name that Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022.
Sokil is the latest Ukrainian village to fall to Russia’s forces, who have been slowly but steadily advancing in eastern Ukraine.
It comes as Russian drone attacks in northern Ukraine Saturday cut power to a northern city and knocked out its water supply, according to local officials.
04:28 PM BST
Putin congratulates Iran’s new president
Russian leader Vladimir Putin congratulated Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian on his victory in a presidential runoff, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
“I hope that your tenure as president will contribute to a reinforcement of constructive bilateral cooperation between our friendly peoples,” Putin said in a message to Pezeshkian.
04:09 PM BST
Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky
Sir Keir Starmer spoke by telephone with US President Joe Biden and “discussed their shared commitment to the special relationship between the UK and US and their aligned ambitions for greater economic growth”, according to London.
He also spoke to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, former - and potentially future - US president Donald Trump ignored Starmer, instead hailing the five-seat electoral breakthrough of his ally Nigel Farage’s far-right Reform UK party.
03:17 PM BST
Putin plans wartime-style barrage balloons to fend off Ukraine’s daring drones attacks
Russia plans to build a network of barrage balloons inspired by the First and Second World Wars to thwart Ukraine’s daring drone attacks, writes James Kilner.
A Russian aerospace firm says it has already begun testing balloons capable of holding up a net that, it is hoped, will offer protection against the long-range strikes that have badly damaged energy infrastructure and other key targets deep inside Russia.
The balloons are designed to launch from hangars, rise quickly in a row and then drop a 250m-tall net to form a defensive cordon.
Read the full piece here.
02:39 PM BST
Watch: Destroyed Buildings on Ukrainian Frontline
Ukraine’s military said earlier this week its troops had pulled back from part of Chasiv Yar in the eastern Donetsk region, a day after Russia said its forces had taken control of a district in the strategic town.
Chasiv Yar stands on high ground. If Russian forces establish full control over the town, they could potentially use it as a staging post to advance westwards towards the Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
02:07 PM BST
War in Pictures
01:22 PM BST
Shoddy Russian workmanship is letting Ukraine win the drone war
ussia’s wider war in Ukraine is a drone war. The side that can deploy more and better unmanned aerial vehicles – for surveillance, strike, minelaying and even resupply – has a clear advantage, even if it’s outnumbered or outgunned in other ways, writes David Axe.
Which is why both Russia and Ukraine are ramping up production of drones and anti-drone radio jammers. And why the inferior quality of Russia’s drones and jammers is such a big deal.
In theory, Russia with its bigger economy and defence industry should be able to out-produce Ukraine. In practice, the quality of Russia’s drones and jammers is so low that it’s having a measurable effect along the 700-mile front line.
Read the full piece here.
12:45 PM BST
Russian strikes leave thousands in northern Ukraine without power and water
Russian strikes overnight left over 100,000 households without power in northern Ukraine and cut off the water supply to a regional capital, Ukrainian authorities reported Saturday, while civilian casualties rose sharply in the country’s embattled east.
The northern Sumy region, which borders Russia, was plunged into dark after Russian strikes late Friday damaged energy infrastructure, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said.
Hours later, the Ukrainian public broadcaster reported that Russian drones hit the provincial capital, also called Sumy, cutting off water by hitting power lines that feed its system of pumps.
The report didn’t specify what weapon was used, and the claim could not be independently verified. Explosions rocked the city during an air raid warning early Saturday, according to Ukrainian media reports.
12:22 PM BST
Listen: Russia’s Black Sea Base ‘Useless’
Today, the Telegraph’s Ukraine: The Latest podcast brings you news from the front lines as Ukrainian troops withdraw from a key district of Chasiv Yar and we have the latest diplomatic and political news as President Zelensky challenges Donald Trump to explain his peace plan.
11:59 AM BST
Brazil says G20 diplomats agree to avoid geopolitical issues
G20 diplomats have agreed to avoid prickly geopolitical issues during the summit of the world’s largest economies in November, host Brazil’s sherpa said on Friday.
In February, finance leaders from G20 failed to agree on a joint statement in a meeting in Brazil, with divisions over the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Diplomat Mauricio Lyrio, Brazil’s G20 sherpa, told journalists on Friday that an agreement was reached with his counterparts in the group, following “really tough talks” during a preparatory meeting in Rio de Janeiro this week.
“What we got in this meeting was a deal to how to proceed from now on, so the ministers can focus on their specific themes,” he told journalists. “Look for agreements in your areas. You do not need to deal with geopolitics anymore”.
11:29 AM BST
Ukraine goes to war... with Western moneymen
For months, the West’s most respected military experts have been insisting that Vladimir Putin’s war machine is close to running out of steam in Ukraine. However, it is a prediction that seems completely at odds with the reality of life for millions of Ukrainians living close to the frontline, writes Ben Marlow, Associate Editor.
Deploying terrifying winged explosives, Russia has in fact stepped up attempts to wipe Ukraine’s cities off the map.
During the course of last week alone, Moscow fired 800 glide bombs at Ukrainian targets, injuring dozens of soldiers and innocent civilians, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Read the full piece here.
11:07 AM BST
War in Pictures
10:40 AM BST
This is the most dangerous moment for Britain in 40 years
Well, Putin will be laughing. The Conservative Party – perhaps the most significant force for saving Ukraine in the early months of the war and beyond – is out of office, writes Hamish De Bretton-Gordon.
To make matters even more concerning, the new Prime Minister – Sir Keir Starmer – did not mention defence at all in first speech outside of No 10. He only mentioned that we are living in a “volatile world.”
Even so, I congratulate him for his historic victory today, because we have no choice. There are some really big battles on the horizon, where our gravest enemies of the present moment have a real chance of victory.
Read the full piece here.
10:15 AM BST
Armenia and US to hold joint military drills
Armenia and the United States will hold joint military exercises in Armenia on July 15-24, the Armenian Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
The Eagle Partner 2024 exercise will focus on tasks related to peacekeeping missions and such drills with “partner countries” are regular, the ministry said.
Armenia, until recently Russia’s closest South Caucasus ally, has seen its ties with Moscow sour in recent years over what Yerevan sees as Russia’s failure to defend it from neighbouring Azerbaijan.
Though Armenia remains a treaty ally of Russia, it has said repeatedly that it does not support Moscow’s war in Ukraine and has sent humanitarian aid to Kyiv, drawing Russia’s ire.
09:54 AM BST
Hungary cancels foreign ministers’ meeting with Germany
Hungary has cancelled a foreign ministers’ meeting with Germany scheduled for Monday in Budapest due to technical, not political, reasons, its Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
“Due to an unforeseen change in the minister’s calendar, the foreign ministry has requested that the visit take place at a later date, hopefully in the near future,” the ministry said.
“The reason is purely technical and not political.”
The German foreign ministry said on Friday that it was “astonished” by the cancellation and that a “serious and honest” discussion was needed after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
The Moscow meeting was the first meeting of an EU leader with Putin in Moscow since April 2022, two months after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The meeting angered some European Union leaders who warned against appeasing Moscow and said Orban did not speak for the EU.
09:38 AM BST
Kyiv: Ukraine air defence shot down 24 of 27 Russian drones
Ukraine’s air defence shot down 24 of 27 Russian drones fired in an overnight attack on Saturday, Ukrainian air force said.
It said the drones were downed over 12 regions across the country.
