Amid a series of deadly exchanges, Russian attacks on parts of Ukraine on Monday killed several people in one region and caused a blackout in another.
Five people were killed, and fourteen were injured in attacks on Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region early Monday. The Russian air strikes, drone attacks, and shelling targeted infrastructure, residential buildings, and cars.
This was soon followed by reports of an attack on the Odesa region that triggered power outages for over 1,000 customers. Both attacks were reported by Reuters, citing regional governors’ communications on Telegram channels.
Both sides have traded blows since Saturday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal for a meeting. On Saturday, Ukraine fired hundreds of drones at Russia, leaving one person dead and an oil depot on fire on the final day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The conflict witnessed a major escalation after Russia hit a nuclear fuel storage facility near the disused Chornobyl nuclear power plant
Zelenskyy meets European leaders
The latest development comes a day after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Zelenskyy in London alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Fredreich Merz. The four leaders discussed how to use the upcoming G7 summit at Evian, the next meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, and the NATO summit at Ankara to best coordinate further support for Ukraine
Zelenskyy and Starmer spoke on additional missiles for air defence systems and equipment to protect energy infrastructure and to help Kyiv prepare for winter.
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz pose on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street after their meeting in London. (AP)
Earlier in May, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed giving Ukraine an interim “associate member” status in the European Union. He argued that it would be instrumental in helping Zelenskiy sell any peace settlement to Ukrainians that does not involve NATO membership or Kyiv regaining territory lost to Russia.
He pushed for the bloc to include Ukraine in its mutual assistance clause “in order to create a substantial security guarantee”.
