Moscow’s forces extend encirclement of Ukraine’s northeastern city and pummel Kyiv with a deadly attack.
United States President Donald Trump’s diplomatic efforts to bring peace to Ukraine remained stalled during the past week, as Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to meet with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s allies, on the other hand, began to commit to provide troops, hardware and air cover in the event of a ceasefire. European allies agreed on the need for a NATO Article 5-type defence clause that would trigger their entry into the war should Russia renew hostilities.
Against this diplomatic background, Russia’s assaults on Ukraine raged on with offensives that threatened the northeast city of Kupiansk.
On Thursday, Moscow’s troops attacked Kyiv, killing at least 14 – a deadly assault almost a month after another bloody offensive in the Ukrainian capital that killed 32, including five children and a pregnant woman.
Ukraine responded this week with a defence that rolled back some Russian gains in the eastern Donetsk region and dealt further damage to Russia’s already wounded oil refining industry, critical to its war effort.
