Key Developments in Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Day 821 Summary
As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine reaches its 821st day, here are the key developments.
Fighting
– The death toll from a Russian attack on a hardware superstore in Kharkiv has risen to 11, according to the regional governor. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as “vile.”
– Governor Oleg Synegubov reported on Telegram that up to 40 people were wounded and 16 are missing after two guided Russian bombs struck the store.
– Another strike hit the center of Kharkiv, injuring 14 people in an area with a post office, a hairdresser, and a café, reported by the city’s Mayor Igor Terekhov.
– Ukraine’s air force announced it destroyed 12 missiles and all 31 drones launched by Russia during the latest overnight air attack, intercepting them over southern, central, western, and northern Ukraine. However, two hypersonic Kinzhal missiles are still unaccounted for.
– In the eastern Donetsk region, shelling killed a 40-year-old woman and injured four others, reported regional governor Vadym Filashkin.
– Russia shelled the village of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, a railway hub in the Kharkiv region, wounding five people. The regional prosecutor’s office stated that a car with two passengers and an ambulance carrying a driver, a paramedic, and a 64-year-old patient were hit.
– Prosecutors reported that a factory and residential buildings were damaged in separate Russian air attacks on the Kupiansk district.
– Moscow accused Ukraine of shelling a small town in the Belgorod region, resulting in the deaths of two people and injuring 10 others.
Politics and Diplomacy
– Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Uzbekistan to meet with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and other high-ranking officials.
– The war in Ukraine will be a key topic as French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Germany for a three-day state visit, culminating in a bilateral cabinet meeting between the EU’s two largest powers.
– France, a nuclear-armed nation, has advocated for greater European self-reliance in defense. France is displeased with Germany’s decision to primarily purchase US equipment for its European Sky Shield Initiative air defense system.
– Germany maintains that there is no credible alternative to the US military umbrella, arguing that Europe cannot afford to wait for a home-grown defense industry to be ready for threats like Russian hostility.
– Lithuania is holding presidential elections on Sunday, with incumbent Gitanas Nauseda expected to win following a campaign focused on security concerns. The Baltic nation of 2.8 million people has been a steadfast ally of Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion. As a NATO and EU member, Lithuania, like other countries in the region, is concerned about potentially becoming Moscow’s next target.
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit Portugal on Tuesday, following his planned trip to Spain, as Kyiv seeks to strengthen European support amid intensified Russian military actions.
– The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers announced they will explore methods to utilize future income from frozen Russian assets to increase funding for Ukraine. While details were not provided, the G7 and its allies have frozen between $300 billion and $350 billion in Russian financial assets, including major currencies and government bonds, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
– President Joe Biden reiterated that he does not plan to send US troops to Ukraine, emphasizing American leadership in his address to the graduating class of the prestigious West Point Military Academy.