Russia Ukraine war latest news: US to send cluster munitions to Kyiv for first time

The death toll from a Russian missile attack on a residential building in Lviv in western Ukraine has risen to seven after two bodies were recovered from the rubble.

The roof and upper floors of the building were destroyed in what Lviv’s mayor called the war’s biggest attack on civilian infrastructure in Lviv, a city 70km (43 miles) from the border with Nato and EU member state Poland .

“The enemy has an answer. It will be noticeable,” said president Volodymyr Zelensky in an online post accompanying a video of the damage in Lviv.

Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said 70 percent of the rubble left by the attack had been cleared by midnight. Emergency services said at least 36 were injured and that they pulled seven people alive from the rubble.

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The intensity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides tend to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a significant new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit the high death rate of its troops because doing so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s phony war to “de-Nazify” neighboring Russian states is not according to the plan and, in fact, represents a big miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home because of the attempted uprising of the Wagner Group mercenaries.

Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers and accuse its adversaries of dishonestly reporting against it when external estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses.

The United States has announced that it is sending cluster munitions to Ukraine to help its military push entrenched Russian forces to the front lines.

Joe Biden’s administration said it would send thousands of them as part of a new military aid package worth $800m (£630m).

The move is likely to provoke anger from some allies and humanitarian groups that have long opposed the use of cluster bombs.

Joe Biden is expected to discuss the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia with Rishi Sunak when they meet next week.

The US president will meet with the prime minister in London and with the King at Windsor Castle on Monday before heading to the NATO summit in Lithuania.

Mr Biden will land in the UK amid criticism of his plan to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, banned by many allies including Britain.

In their fifth meeting in as many months, the White House said Mr Biden “compared notes” with Mr Sunak on their support for Ukraine and the situation on the battlefield.

The two men will join their Nato allies in Vilnius on Tuesday, when there will be discussions about Ukraine’s membership bid.

The National Security Council’s senior director for Europe Amanda Sloat said: “Since they met the other day – the two leaders will fly to Vilnius – I imagine this will be an opportunity for them to touch base on developments in discussions leading up to the summit in Vilnius.

“This is an opportunity for them to compare notes on our support for Ukraine and their ongoing efforts on the battlefield.”

The UK is one of 123 signatories to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans their use or stockpiling because of their devastating effects on civilian populations.

The weapons spread many bombs over a wide area.

Unexploded bombs can continue to pose a threat to civilians long after conflicts end.

The chairman of the Commons Defense Committee Tobias Ellwood urged the US to “reconsider”.

The Tory MP tweeted: “This is the wrong call – and will alienate international goodwill.

“Their use leaves deadly unexploded ordnance on the battlefield – killing and injuring civilians long after the war ends.”

The hammam has a “fancy shower” including an “aroma foam” mode with a price tag of £3.75 million, with the train also equipped with anti-aging machines, a lung ventilator, a defibrillator and a patient monitor designed to check pulse, temperature. and other parameters.

More than half of adults who fled war in Ukraine want to stay in the UK even if it is safe to return to their home country, a new survey has suggested.

Some 52% said they would want to live in the UK most of the time if they felt safe returning to Ukraine, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The majority of these people say this decision is because there are more opportunities for work in the UK, the ONS said.

US president Joe Biden said on Friday that his decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions was a difficult one, but he believed that Kyiv needed the weapons so that Russia could not stop the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“They’re trying to get through the trenches, and stop the tanks from rolling,” Biden said in an interview with CNN. “It was not an easy decision.”

NATO leaders will agree next week to help modernize Ukraine’s armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will one day join their alliance. , the organization’s top civilian official said Friday. But the war-torn country won’t be starting membership talks anytime soon.

At a two-day summit starting Tuesday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, US president Joe Biden and his counterparts will also agree to boost defense spending as allies pour in weapons, ammunition and other supplies. support such as uniforms and medical equipment in Ukraine, 17 months of war.

They also hope to welcome Sweden as the next member of the world’s largest security organization, if they can overcome the objections of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, although its accession will be made official in the coming years. month.