Here are the key events on day 1,253 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is how things stand on Thursday, July 31:
Fighting
- A Russian drone attack in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv has killed at least four people, the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Telegram. The debris from downed Russian drones fell near a garage cooperative, which led to the ignition of a gas pipe in a three-storey residential building.
- A Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian military training unit on Tuesday killed three servicemen and injured 18 more, Ukraine’s Ground Forces also announced on Telegram.
- Russian forces shelled Ukrainian emergency service workers who had just put out a fire in the city of Orikhiv in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a post on Facebook. There were no injuries.
- Ukraine’s domestic security agency has detained an air force officer holding the rank of major on charges of having spied for Russia by leaking the location and suggesting strike tactics on prized, Western-donated F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets.
International relations
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he approved key principles for a large-scale weapons deal with the United States. “These are large-scale agreements, which I discussed with President [Donald] Trump, and I hope very much that we will be able to implement them all,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video address to the nation, without providing further details.
- The Italian government said it had summoned the Russian ambassador to protest against Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella being included in a list compiled by Moscow of Western leaders accused of anti-Russian sentiment.
- Moscow said it continues to monitor President Trump’s latest threat to impose sanctions against the country if it does not end its war on Ukraine within days, but that Russia had acquired immunity to such economic measures thanks to long experience.
Economy
- A massive locust invasion is threatening sunflower and other crops in Ukraine’s southern regions, largely caused by the war against Russia’s invasion, which makes it impossible to use traditional pest control methods near the front line, officials and producers say.
