Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces launch daytime assault on Ukrainian city with hundreds of drones

A Russian daytime drone attack on the city of Ternopil, in Ukraine’s far west, injured 10 and hit industrial and infrastructure facilities, the city’s mayor said on Friday.

The attack also caused blackouts in some areas, Serhiy Nadal said on Telegram, adding that over 50 drones had been involved.

Donald Trump’s acting ambassador to Ukraine will step down from her post and retire after less than a year in the role.

The State Department confirmed on Tuesday that Davis would leave in June before retiring from the department, following reports she was quitting over differences of opinion with Trump.

People familiar with her decision told the Financial Times that Davis, who has served as temporary chargé d’affaires at the embassy since May, had grown frustrated by Washington’s dwindling support for Ukraine as peace talks with Russia have stalled.

Burying the bad news of a non-decision over a useless but expensive defence disaster on a day when all eyes were on the PM shows the government putting politics above good sense, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley:

An explosion has killed a Russian army officer in a closed military town in the country’s far east, in what appeared to be a failed attempt to target a more senior commander known as the “Butcher of Bucha.”

The blast took place in a residential building in Knyaze-Volkonskoye-1, home to Maj Gen Azatbek Omurbekov, who commanded Russian troops during the occupation of Bucha.

Sources said a bomb placed in a mailbox detonated, killing a subordinate officer after the attacker targeted the wrong entrance, The Guardian reported.

Omurbekov was not injured; the EU has sanctioned him over alleged war crimes linked to the killing of civilians in Bucha.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine has commented on the incident.

President Donald Trump couldn’t say whether the war he launched against Iran in February would end before the four-year-old Russian war against Ukraine — and even confused the two countries — as he turned an Oval Office meeting to honor the Artemis II lunar mission crew into a wide-ranging media session with reporters.

Here’s how it unfolded:

The vessel carrying grain that Ukraine says was stolen from areas occupied by Russia will not unload in Israel, Ukraine said on Thursday, after Kyiv requested Israel to seize the cargo.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on the Telegram app that the vessel, Panormitis, left Israel’s territorial waters and departed into neutral waters following “a range of procedural measures taken by Ukraine”.

“On the basis of the materials provided by the Ukrainian side within the framework of international legal cooperation, the competent Israeli authorities have begun to process the request,” he said.

Israel’s foreign ministry said, however, that Ukraine’s request for legal assistance, submitted late on Tuesday, “contained significant factual gaps and did not include any supporting evidence”.

In the meantime, the ministry said, it was informed that the vessel that was supposed to enter the port next week had decided to depart from Israel’s territorial waters.

Writing on social media, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine is launching a string of reforms in the armed forces.

Details were agreed in April and will be finalised this month. The changes will come into effect in June. He lists three key points:

1. Increased pay ‘on the principle of fairness’

Combat experience and efficacy “must guarantee increased pay”, from at least 30,000 hryvnias (£500) for non-combat positions. Combat positions can expect figures “several times higher”.

2. Special contracts for infantry

Infantrymen on the frontline will benefit from special contracts, with payments in the range of 250,000-400,000 hryvnias (£4,200-£6,700).

3. New approach to staffing units

Contracts will be rethought, ensuring clearly defined service duration terms and phased discharges for those who have already been mobilised.