Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s ‘buffer zone’ strategy in tatters after Kyiv reclaims swathes of territory – UK Times

Russian and Ukrainian officials are making contradictory claims of battlefield successes in their 4-year-old war, with Ukraine saying it has pushed Moscow’s forces back in some places on the front line but the Kremlin insisting that Russia’s invasion of its neighbour is making progress.

At the same time, Russia’s almost daily aerial attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine continue, with overnight drone strikes on two cities injuring at least 14 people, including two children, emergency services said Tuesday.

Ukraine’s air force said that it shot down 122 out of 137 drones that Russia launched during the night.

Ukraine has claimed that it has taken back control of almost all of the Dnipropetrovsk region and hundreds of kilometres of territory in counterattacks.

Oleksandr Komarenko, head of the main operational directorate of the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, told local media on Tuesday that their troops had already liberated more than 400 square kilometres of territory, Politico reported.

Hungary has seized a shipment of Ukrainian cash and gold worth around $82m while it was being transported through the country.

Victor Orban, the prime minister, has ordered that the shipment be held for up to 60 days for investigation over suspected money laundering.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, accused Hungary of “banditry” and called on European leaders to speak out against the seizure.

This came after a dispute over gas supplies, in which Kyiv was accused by Hungary and Slovakia of stalling on oil pipeline repairs after it was hit in an apparent Russian drone attack.

Russia’s deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes, according to the UN.

According to a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, Russian authorities, including Vladimir Putin, were involved at the highest level in deporting thousands of children from occupied areas of Ukraine, mostly from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Ukraine reports that nearly 20,000 children have been illegally sent to Russia and Belarus, while the UN Commission has identified 1,205 cases of children taken from Ukrainian territories in 2022.

Eighty per cent of these children have not yet been returned, and many parents and guardians remain unaware of their whereabouts.

• Trump stated the US would consider easing oil-related sanctions on “some countries” following a call with Vladimir Putin, during which they discussed the Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict.
• Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Ukrainian interceptor drones and operators are now at US bases in Jordan, with several nations expressing interest in Ukraine’s drone defence technologies.
• Russian drone attacks injured over 20 people in Kharkiv and Dnipro, causing significant damage to residential buildings and infrastructure in Ukraine’s second-largest city.
• Dutch intelligence agencies reported a global cyber campaign by Russian state hackers targeting Signal and WhatsApp accounts of high-profile figures, including military and government officials.
• Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s readiness for US-backed peace talks with Russia at any moment, accusing Moscow of attempting to exploit Middle East tensions to bolster its aggression.

Ukraine has sent air defence teams to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to help them in their fight against Iran’s aerial attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.

Gulf states have expended large quantities of precious air-defence missiles to counter Irans attack drones and have sought Ukraine’s expertise in downing them. Kyiv downs Russian drones every night using an array of weaponry including cheaper, smaller drones or jamming equipment.

“Regarding the situation in the Middle East, we have sent our teams: three professional, equipped teams,” Zelensky told Reuters.

His communications adviser also said Ukrainian specialists had already been deployed to a US military base in Jordan, without providing details.

Zelensky said the presence of Ukrainian pilots was key to the effectiveness of interceptor drone operations.

“Even those countries that were quietly buying interceptors have, I think, realised that without our military, our operators, our software… without all of that, the interceptors simply don’t work.”