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The leader of weeks of protests against Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s sacking of Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister appeared to call them off after Fedorov demanded elections. The pro-Fedorov movement’s chief organiser, veteran combat medic Dmytro Koziatynskyi, said he “cannot imagine” how to hold polls with troops at the front and the protests had been about seeking dialogue with the government. Elections are considered impossible and illegal under Ukrainian law because of the war.
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“I’m also deeply concerned about the societal divisions during the election process and how that could affect the course of the war,” Koziatynskyi said. “In any case, street protests are definitely not the place for electoral discourse.” The Reuters news agency said that on Wednesday only a few dozen people remained in a central Kyiv square where thousands once protested. “When we came out to protest, we did not come with the idea that elections should be held,” said 22-year-old Iryna Vasyliaka. “That is not what we were here for.”
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Fedorov’s call for elections appeared to be a clumsy misstep, one opposition lawmaker told Reuters. “This demonstrates that [Fedorov] doesn’t have a presidential-level feel for the country.” Olena Prokopenko from the German Marshall Fund said Fedorov’s move was a “false start” that could burn his political capital before elections would realistically be held. “With this statement, he pretty much played on Ukrainians’ most sensitive pain points.” Ukraine’s parliament this week strongly endorsed Zelenskyy’s new defence minister and Fedorov’s successor, Yevhenii Khmara; but the protests did force Ukraine’s president to replace Oleksandr Syrskyi, the disliked “Soviet-style” head of Ukraine’s military, with a younger military reformer, Mykhailo Drapatyi.
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Ukraine reeled on Thursday from a heavy Russian missile and drone bombardment that killed at least 16 people in and around Kyiv in one of the most intense aerial attacks on Ukraine’s capital since the start of the war. Vitali Klitschko, the city’s mayor, said homes, a school and a children’s medical centre were among the buildings damaged in an attack that began at about midnight and continued throughout the day. Volodymr Zelenskyy urged a global response to the attacks. “While Moscow is investing in ballistic missiles and escalation, such strikes do not always receive the response they should. And as long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistic defence, Russia will not consider peace seriously.”
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A Romanian F-16 fighter jet on Thursday destroyed an explosives-laden Russian marine drone near an offshore gas project. “I strongly condemn the escalation of such irresponsible incidents on the part of the Russian Federation,” said the Romanian president, Nicușor Dan. The drone had been “loaded with explosives” and did not originate from Ukraine, said Romania’s defence minister, Radu Miruță. Hundreds of people are working at the gas project, Neptun Deep, according to Romania’s government. Neptun Deep is due to start production in 2027. Nato has shot down four aerial drones in Romania recently.
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Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission chief, slammed the “hybrid warfare” campaign by Russia against the EU after the marine drone incident. “An escalating campaign of threats is under way, unsettling our citizens and seeking to divide our union,” von der Leyen said, warning the EU must step up its defence push to be able to “deter provocation and aggression”.
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Poland on Thursday announced the arrest of a Ukrainian man suspected of an attempt in Kyiv to assassinate a representative of Ukraine’s arms industry on behalf of Russian intelligence services. “The investigation revealed that Serhii P planted an improvised explosive device under a car used by a potential victim,” said Poland’s internal security agency, the ABW. “The device was intended to be detonated remotely using a cellphone. The mechanism did not detonate due to a malfunction.” The suspect fled to Poland where he was arrested in Warsaw. He was charged with attempted murder using explosives and illegal possession of explosives.
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Ukraine’s military hit Russia’s Taneco oil refinery in the Tatarstan region, as well as the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in the Krasnodar region, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Thursday. The strikes caused fires at both sites. Disgruntled motorists in Moscow are sitting for hours in gasoline station queues of up to a kilometres to fill their cars with rationed amounts of fuel, Reuters reported. Videos showed fistfights erupting at the pumps, as Vladimir Putin’s regime reportedly ordered that people who complain about the shortages face fines and arrest. “We have been to five petrol stations already and there was no fuel. Last week, fuel was available. And now, there is no fuel again,” one Moscow resident told Reuters.
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Russia attacked gas infrastructure in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region as well as a border crossing with Moldova in the southern Odesa region, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.