As the war enters its 862nd day, here are the top developments.
Here is the situation on Saturday, July 6, 2024.
Struggle
- Several Russian strikes have killed at least seven people and wounded more than two dozen in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, officials said. Russia has focused its firepower on the industrial region, which has been partially controlled by Kremlin-backed forces since 2014.
- Two Russian strikes on the town of Selydove, close to the front lines where Moscow's forces are advancing, killed at least five people and wounded eight, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said.
- A 32-year-old woman was also killed and 20 others were wounded by Russian shelling in the town of Komar, damaging homes, shops and an administrative building, Filashkin said.
- One person was killed in a Russian Smerch rocket attack on the city of Ukrainsk, adding to the seven fatalities from Russian strikes. One person was reported injured in the same city.
- Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed official in the Donetsk region, said five people were killed in several Ukrainian attacks on Russian-controlled territory.
- Further north, in the Donetsk region, Russian forces are advancing towards the hilltop settlement of Chasiv Yar. Images distributed by Ukrainian forces show rows of destroyed and burning Soviet-era housing blocks in the town.
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Ukraine's air defense says it has shot down 24 of 27 Russian drones that were launched in an overnight attack on Saturday. It added that the drones were shot down in 12 regions of the country.
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Russian drone strikes in the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Saturday morning knocked out local power supplies. Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported a series of explosions in the city, northeast of the capital, kyiv.
Politics and diplomacy
- In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that Ukraine must leave four regions in the east and south, including Donetsk, if it wants peace.
- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot in May, said he would have accompanied Orban on his controversial visit to Moscow if his health had permitted.
- The United States has joined the European Union in criticising Orban’s trip to Russia. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the trip “will not advance the cause of peace and is counterproductive to promoting Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.”
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Keir Starmer for pledging that his government will continue to support Ukraine, in a phone call hours after the new UK prime minister took office. Britain has been one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
- Starmer told US President Joe Biden that Britain's support for Ukraine's war with Russia was “unwavering” in a first call hours after taking office.
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NATO allies at their summit in Washington, DC, next week will unveil a “bridge to membership” plan for Ukraine and announce measures to bolster kyiv’s air defenses, a senior US official said.
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Moldova's Foreign Minister Mihail Popsoi said his government reserved the right to order further expulsions of Russian diplomats if Moscow engaged in new activities harmful to the country's interests. Moldova's relations with Russia have deteriorated since President Maia Sandu denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and led a campaign to join the European Union.
