Russia Ukraine war latest: Zelensky thanks Biden for support through ‘terrible war’ as Kyiv gets third Patriot system

A gun was fired near the lawyer The family home of a former prosecutor Hidden cameras were later found in his house in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, and a car with license plates from the Russian exclave of Transnistria followed him every day, harassing his wife and children, as well as his brother Vasil, a journalist and former member of parliament.

After he suddenly fell ill and had five times the normal amount of mercury in his blood, doctors suspected he had been poisoned. After he recovered, he decided to repatriate his wife and children for their safety.

A fire sparked by a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Tuapse Black Sea oil refinery has been extinguished, authorities said this morning.

Officials in the Krasnodar region had earlier said the refinery, owned by oil giant Rosneft, had been hit in a drone attack overnight.

The Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea, owned by Russian oil giant Rosneft, was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack last night, officials in the Krasnodar region said today.

Officials said the damage was caused by debris from a drone shot down by Russia that sparked a fire at the refinery that was later extinguished. There were no casualties, the regional official added.

It was not immediately clear whether the refinery was operating or the extent of the damage it suffered. Moscow rarely discloses the full extent of the damage from Russian attacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry had earlier said that its air defenses had shot down 75 drones launched by Ukraine, eight of them near Tuapse.

The Tuapse refinery has been the target of several airstrikes by Ukraine since the start of Russia’s war against neighboring Ukraine in 2022.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced this morning that Russian air defense systems had destroyed 75 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, eight of which were shot down near the Black Sea town of Tuapse, which is home to a Rosneft refinery.

Of these, 47 were shot down in the Rostov Region in southwestern Russia, 17 in the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov, eight in the Krasnodar Region, where Tuapse is located, and one each in the Belgorod, Voronezh and Smolensk Regions, the Defense Ministry said.

The ministry did not say whether the defense systems destroyed the drone or whether the attack caused any damage.

Sergey Boyko, head of the Tuapse district in Krasnodar Krai, said in a Telegram message that no infrastructure or housing had been damaged.

Russian authorities have given little clarity on the full extent of the damage caused by the Ukrainian attack. The Tuapse refinery has been the target of several Ukrainian air raids since the start of Russia’s war against neighboring Ukraine in 2022.

Russia’s SHOT and Mash Telegram news channels reported that a series of explosions were heard near the refinery early this morning.

There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian side. Kiev has frequently said the attacks on Russian military, energy and transport infrastructure were in retaliation for ongoing Russian aggression on Ukrainian territory.

Istanbul-based Francisco Secco enjoys photographing everyday life in cities around the world, but this assignment took the Associated Press photographer to Ukraine to document the damage that the Russian invasion has done to the lives of athletes training for the Paris Olympics, which begin next week. Speaking about taking these incredible images, Secco said:

This photo is part of an article about Ukrainian athletes taking part in the Olympics in Paris this summer. While many athletes are training outside Ukraine due to the full-scale Russian invasion, high jumper Oleg Doroshchuk is training in the central Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytsk, which has been bombed several times since the start of the war.

AP correspondents accompanied Ole to two training sessions on the second day, when he worked out in an outdoor stadium surrounded by other young athletes. He had to stop training several times because of anti-aircraft sirens.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukrainian military had received another Patriot system from Germany, thanking the ally for “more strength for Ukraine.”

“The German Patriot systems have arrived in Ukraine. I thank Germany and the United States for this step. We will now be able to do much more in the skies. There is still a lot of work to be done and this is by no means a guaranteed defence, but it nevertheless represents a strengthening of forces for Ukraine,” the president said in a speech yesterday evening, adding that they were likely ready to be deployed.

In his latest update on the front, he alluded to countering the Russian missiles. “Today the Air Force commander reported on the activity of our firepower forces, the downing of a Shahed drone and countering Russian missiles. I can say that our air defenses have been strengthened,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone, missile and artillery fire yesterday, with Russian state media reporting that a Ukrainian attack on the part-Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast left at least two people dead.

Ukrainian officials said at least five people were wounded in the Russian offensive, which Russia said had seized two villages along the eastern front line in the Kharkiv and Luhansk regions.

Ukrainian artillery fire on Russian-controlled areas of Donetsk Oblast killed two people in the village of Horlivka, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said.

Parts of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine were hit by a Russian drone attack, wounding three people, local authorities said yesterday morning. Authorities in the Kharkiv region in the northeast of the country said a village was hit by Russian artillery shells, wounding two people.

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 35 of the 39 drones launched by Russia overnight and into Sunday, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oreshchuk said, adding that Russia also fired three ballistic and two guided missiles, but they missed their targets.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed yesterday that troops had seized two villages – Pishchane Nizhne in Kharkiv Oblast and Andriyivka (also known as Lozhivka) in Luhansk Oblast. Kiev did not immediately comment.