Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
Illustrative purposes only: Remains of a Shahed 136/131 drone at an exhibition showing remains of missiles and drones that Russia used to attack Kyiv on May 12, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Oleksii Samsonov /Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukrainian air defense units destroyed 35 of the 39 Shahed-type drones that Russia launched overnight, the Air Force reported on March 10.
The drones were launched from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region.
Russian forces also launched four S-300 surface-to-air guided missiles. No information was provided by the Air Force as to the outcome of the missile launches.
The drones were intercepted over Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Odesa, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Zhytomyr oblasts.
Mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force were involved in repelling the air attacks.
Drone attacks are a daily occurrence in Ukraine, affecting various regions across the country. Overnight on March 9, Ukraine’s air defense downed 12 of 15 Russian drone launched at Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities have continuously expected Russian attacks over the course of the winter, with Moscow focusing on Ukraine'senergy infrastructure and other civilian sites.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Anastasiia Lapatina
