Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump cabinet member ‘described Zelensky as “special needs child for the Europeans”’ – UK Times

Power was cut off in Sevastopol in Russia-annexed Crimea ⁠after ​Ukraine attacked ⁠energy facilities there, Mikhail Razvozhayev, ⁠the city’s governor, ⁠said on ‌Telegram this morning.

The defence systems downed nine drones over the city, Crimea’s biggest, he said earlier on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Russian shelling of the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia killed one person on Wednesday, local authorities said on Telegram.

Nato is preparing for future wars fought by thousands of drones controlled by AI, according to a top Nato general.

Major-General Constantin-Adrian Ciolponea, who represents the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) in Europe, told The Times that the military alliance must adapt to the new technology.

“The next stage of evolution for drones will be swarm-type attacks when you don’t have one or two, ten or twenty — you have thousands of drones commanded from a single point, whether that is a human or just a ’mother’ drone,” the special forces officer told the outlet.

“Nations without this type of [swarm] technology will be forced to join a security organisation or to accept the conditions of an aggressor,” he warned.

Ukraine said Tuesday its forces struck a railway bridge, a power plant and other key infrastructure targets in Crimea as Kyiv’s military authorities seek to isolate the vital Russian-held peninsula in the latest stage of the 4-year-old war.

The drone attacks added to the woes on the Black Sea peninsula, where Russian authorities have had to suspend gasoline sales to civilians as Ukraine has intensified its recent campaign to disrupt supply lines and the electrical grid at the height of the summer tourist season.

Russia has accused the United States of failing to deliver on “understandings” reached between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at a summit in Alaska last August, a shift that suggests growing frustration in Moscow.

In the space of three days, three senior Russian officials have said, without providing specifics, ⁠that Washington has not followed through.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that the summit may have been a US “ploy to buy time to rearm the Kyiv regime”.

Lavrov’s deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, also accused the US of departing from the “fundamental understandings” ⁠reached in Alaska, according to Interfax. It quoted him as saying, however, that dialogue with the US would continue.

“We also see Washington’s line moving closer to the most rabid anti-Russian policies pursued by the US’s closest European allies – namely, the UK and France,” another agency, RIA, quoted Ryabkov as saying, referring to last week’s G7 summit in France.

A Russian missile attack killed three people in Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday, accusing Russia of hitting a civilian area with cluster munitions.

Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city’s defence council, said that 25 people had also been injured in the attack by a ballistic missile with a cluster munition warhead.

“People died within 200 meters of each other because of this barbaric weapon,” Vilkul said, adding the city would mark a day of mourning on Wednesday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is a native of Kryvyi Rih, reacted to the strike by calling for more international pressure on Russia to end the war and quicker supplies of air defence munitions to Ukraine.

Russia is considering a diesel export ban, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday, amid reports on possible fuel imports to tackle shortages, as Ukraine steps up strikes.

Speaking at a televised government meeting headed by Putin on Tuesday, Novak said Russia was considering the introduction of a ban on diesel exports and changes to tax legislation to help the domestic fuel market.

Novak also said that oil companies had delayed maintenance work at refineries and were using fuel reserves to meet demand.

“We are using reserves that were not previously tapped, and are also encouraging increased supplies of additional volumes to the domestic market. Relevant amendments to tax legislation have been prepared in coordination with the government,” he said.

The Vedomosti newspaper said imports were raised as an option at a meeting chaired by Novak on Monday.

Ukraine’s UN envoy, Andrii Melnyk, warned that Kyiv could reconsider its current ceasefire proposal if there was no meaningful international push to end the war, saying “our patience is not endless”.

Melnyk said Ukraine remained open to direct negotiations with Russia but cautioned that its offer of a ceasefire along the current front lines was already a significant concession. “If the security council would further choose a wait-and-see approach, I cannot exclude that Ukraine may recalibrate and modify its offer. Ceasefire along the de facto ‌front line is already a great compromise,” he said.

The warning comes as Ukraine projects growing confidence after a series of strikes on Russian oil facilities, supply routes and military infrastructure. Ukrainian attacks have disrupted fuel supplies in Russian-occupied Crimea, where authorities have restricted civilian gasoline sales.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian chef was killed when the Turkish dry cargo vessel Victress caught fire during Russian attacks in the Black Sea, according to Ukrainian officials. Eight crew members, including Turkish and Indian citizens, were evacuated.

Russian strikes overnight wounded six people in Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, while Kyiv briefly issued an air raid alert. In Sumy, a drone strike killed three members of a family.

Britain has tested new long-range strike weapons, with the government hoping for delivery to Ukraine within months.

The initiative aims to produce munitions more quickly and affordably than existing systems like Storm Shadow missiles.

New systems, capable of hitting targets at least 500km away and carrying a 225kg warhead, have been fired at a range in the Hebrides, with further UK trials planned.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) challenged firms to develop weapons exceeding 600km per hour, costing around £400,000 per unit, and producing at least 20 a month within months of an order.