Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv targets Kremlin ‘shadow’ tankers as Russian strikes continue in capital

Ukrainian drones have attacked a dozen tankers from Russia’s “shadow fleet” over the past two days that were delivering fuel to Crimea, Kyiv’s military said, as it intensifies efforts to isolate the Russian-occupied peninsula. Ukraine’s drone forces said they had struck eight vessels subject to sanctions in the Sea of Azov, each with a deadweight of about 7,000 metric tons. Two more tankers were hit later in the day, they added.

Ukraine’s capital ⁠Kyiv came ⁠under ​a Russian missile attack early on Wednesday, ⁠triggering fires and injuring at least two people, the city’s mayor, ⁠Vitali Klitschko, said. Klitschko ‌said strikes ‌in the capital caused ‌a fire in a storage area and a non-residential building. Two people were injured, with one ​requiring treatment in hospital. The air alert lasted for about an hour. The latest onslaught comes after Russian strikes – including multiple missile hits on Kyiv – killed 30 people in Ukraine on Monday.

A missile strike ⁠in the southern port of ​Odesa ​earlier in the ​evening injured 10 people, ​the regional ‌governor, Oleh ​Kiper, said. ​Eight were being treated in hospital.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made a fresh appeal for his country to be allowed to join Nato, saying his country’s armed forces are highly experienced and would boost the alliance’s defense capabilities. He highlighted Ukraine’s ability to strike deep inside Russia and hit oil refineries and other energy targets. He said Ukraine’s armed forces were “eliminating” on average 30,000 Russian troops every month. He is to meet with the US president, Donald Trump, on Wednesday in Ankara. “Frankly, we take no pride in this,” Zelenskyy said, noting that the war with Russia – now in its fifth year – is one “we did not seek but one we are forced to fight.”

When asked about his meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump said he had spoken to the Ukrainian president and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, before the ‌Nato summit about ending the war. “I think they both want to make a deal. It’s too bad it took so long … Something’s going to come out,” Trump said before the summit. “They both want to get it settled now.”

Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Ukraine had signed three more “drone ⁠deals” with Denmark, Estonia and the Netherlands, making available its expertise gained from more than ⁠four years of ⁠war ​with Russia. Ukraine has developed a highly sophisticated drone industry after having only ​limited expertise in the ‌sector when Russia invaded ‌its smaller neighbour in February 2022. The deals are unique to each country, but typically involve Kyiv providing blueprints for drone technology in exchange for royalties, investments and other military hardware.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry denounced ⁠as “troubling” the International Olympic ⁠Committee’s decision to ⁠lift ​the Russian Olympic Committee’s suspension and urged ⁠both countries and international sports bodies to ⁠maintain restrictions on Russian participation ​and ‌use of ‌state symbols. “The IOC’s decision ‌to cancel the recommendations on limiting Russian athletes’ participation is a troubling signal for the entire international ‌community,” the ministry said in a statement. It called ​on countries hosting competitions to uphold a ban on Russian state symbols ⁠as “under this flag an ​unprovoked ​war is continuing in ​Ukraine.”