Ukraine Russia war latest: Kyiv tells Putin and Moscow to expect ‘daily’ attacks after latest drone shot down

President Volodymyr Zelensky expanded his fight against graft on Friday, firing all the heads of Ukraine’s regional army recruitment centers as the war with Russia entered a critical phase.

Mr Zelensky said a state investigation into centers across Ukraine had uncovered abuses by officials ranging from illegal enrichment to transporting draft-eligible men across the border even during the war banning them from leaving the country.

He said that 112 criminal cases were opened in an extensive investigation launched after a graft scandal in a recruitment office in the Odesa region last month. He uses harsh rhetoric that is likely to be welcomed by Ukrainians who fear wartime corruption charges.

“This system must be managed by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery in wartime is treason,” he said, adding that those fired will be replaced by new ones. veterans and soldiers wounded at the front.

Ukraine has made cracking down on graft a priority as it fends off a full-scale invasion by Russia and seeks to become a member of the European Union and has fired or prosecuted a string of high-ranking officials involved. to swear.

Friday’s move comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Kyiv with its long-targeted counter-offensive blocked by Russia’s massive defenses in parts of the southeast.

Zelensky said that any sacked army recruitment officers who were not investigated should come forward to fight for Ukraine “if they want to keep their epaulets and prove their dignity”.

“But let me emphasize: the army is not and will never be a substitute for criminal punishment. Officers who confuse epaulettes with benefits will certainly face trial,” he said in his statement.

Russia’s latest missile strike that killed a child in western Ukraine constitutes “war crimes and must not be punished,” France’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

“These attacks once again target civilian infrastructure, including a residential zone, which is a flagrant violation of international human rights,” the statement read.

Moscow denies that civilians are being deliberately targeted.

Russia launched four hypersonic missiles into the western Ukrainian region of Ivano-Frankivsk on Friday, with three landing near a military airfield including residential areas.

The fourth Kinzhal missile was shot down by air defenses, said the Ukrainian air force.

The French ministry added that France will strengthen its military support to Ukraine, especially in strengthening air defense capacities, in close cooperation with its partners.

“France’s support to Ukrainian and international jurisdictions to fight impunity for crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine remains total,” the statement read.

Russia destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched over the Crimean Peninsula earlier today, Russian news agencies quoted the defense ministry as saying.

Russian air defense systems shot down 14 drones, while electronic warfare neutralized six, agencies said the ministry said.

The reports cannot be independently verified.

The US on Friday imposed new sanctions on four Russians linked to financial and investment conglomerate Alfa Group and a Russian business association, the latest measures aimed at the financial elite of Moscow in the war in Ukraine.

The Treasury Department said it targeted four men who served on Alfa’s supervisory board – Petr Olegivich Aven, Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, German Borisovich Khan and Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev – under sanctions against the country’s financial services sector. .

It also imposed sanctions on the Russian Association of Employers the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, it said.

“Russia’s wealthy elites must divest themselves of the idea that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war on the Ukrainian people,” Treasury deputy secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the statement. .

Commenting on the new sanctions, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said they were part of “a failed deterrence policy” and the White House “will not destroy our economy and destroy technological sovereignty.” “

From inside the heavily guarded Ukraine presidential compound in Kyiv, First Lady Olena Zelenska spoke in a rare and wide-ranging interview with The Independentthe chief international correspondent Bel Trew.

During their discussion, Mrs Zelenska blasted countries for evading sanctions on Russia, saying the conflict in her country would continue “infinitely until Russia’s ability to fight is stopped.”

He also warned the children of Ukraine “have lost the will to live” in an emotional plea for help, as he spoke about the struggle to retrieve children missing from Russia.

Watch the full interview on Independent TV, across mobile and connected TV.

China, Iran and Russia are engaged in foreign interference in New Zealand, the country’s domestic intelligence agency said on Friday after making its threat assessment report public for the first time.

The agency linked Russia’s war in Ukraine to a number of problems, including increased geopolitical competition, supply chain disruptions, and efforts to spy on other countries and seed disinformation.

“Russia’s international disinformation campaigns are not targeting New Zealand, but are having an impact on the views of some New Zealanders,” the report found.

Nick Perry has the full story:

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.

My partner Joe Sommerlad here’s a guide to the various publicly available estimates of Russia’s war toll gained by its troops:

Ukraine has begun holding consultations with the UK to agree on security guarantees aimed at being put in place by the end of the year, a senior Ukrainian official said.

Kyiv is pushing to secure security guarantees from several countries, including the United States, pending what it hopes may be the arrival of Nato.

“Our goal is to have the first such agreements in place by the end of the year,” Volodymr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said in televised remarks.

“Our consultations with Britain have started,” he said.

Washington has said it is open to training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in the United States if the capacity for such training is available in Europe.

White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Washington was eager to continue training.