Deadly attacks hit Kyiv and military targets as Ukraine foils espionage plot and struggles with crop devastation amid war.
Fighting & Attacks
On day 1,253 of the Russia-Ukraine war, renewed Russian attacks caused multiple casualties across Ukraine. A drone strike in the capital Kyiv killed at least four people, with falling debris igniting a gas pipe in a residential building. The attack came amid another Russian missile strike that hit a Ukrainian military training facility on Tuesday, killing three servicemen and injuring 18 others, according to Ukraine’s Ground Forces.
In the Zaporizhia region, Russian artillery shelled emergency service workers just after they had extinguished a fire in the city of Orikhiv. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in that incident.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s domestic security agency announced the arrest of a Ukrainian air force major accused of spying for Russia. The officer allegedly disclosed locations and targeting strategies for Western-supplied F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets.
Diplomatic Tensions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he has approved the core framework of a significant weapons agreement with the United States. Though details remain undisclosed, Zelenskyy said he had discussed the deal with former U.S. President Donald Trump and expressed optimism about its implementation.
Diplomatic tensions also rose between Italy and Russia after Moscow added Italian President Sergio Mattarella to a controversial list of Western leaders accused of harboring anti-Russian views. In response, Italy summoned the Russian ambassador in protest.
Moscow, meanwhile, dismissed Trump’s recent warning of sanctions if the war does not end soon, claiming it has built resilience against Western economic pressure.
Economic Strain from War
As fighting persists, Ukraine’s agriculture faces a new enemy: locusts. A large-scale infestation now threatens sunflower fields and other crops in the country’s southern regions. War conditions near the front line have made conventional pest control methods impossible to implement, worsening the economic and food security situation in the region.