Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
"We agreed to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia's ability to wage war by limiting Kremlin revenues, disrupting the shadow fleet, tightening the Oil Price Cap, and reducing our remaining imports of Russian energy."
Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
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.
A residential building in Lutsk damaged in a massive Russian aerial attack on Aug. 26 (State Emergency Service/Telegram)
Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack against Ukraine on the morning of Aug. 26, killing seven people, injuring nearly 50 others, and targeting the country's energy infrastructure once again.
In a post on Telegram, President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 100 missiles and 100 drones had been used in the "dastardly" attack.
Rescue operations were completed by 8:30 p.m., the State Emergency Service said. Almost 740 rescue workers were involved in the response to the attacks.
Across Ukraine, seven people were killed and 47 were injured, according to the State Emergency Service. Among the wounded were four children, with the youngest less than a year old.
Air raid sirens sounded across the country just before 6 a.m., with the alert in Kyiv lasting nearly 8 hours.
Kyiv Independent reporters heard explosions in the city shortly before 8:30 a.m, with several more a few minutes later. More explosions were heard just after 9:00 a.m. shortly after Ukraine's Air Force said Russian MiG-31s, used to launch Kinzhal ballistic missiles, were in the air.
Explosions were also reported in Kharkiv, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kryvyi Rih, as well as in Lviv, Rivne and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said 15 of the country's 24 oblasts had been targeted during the attack "primarily targeting critical civilian infrastructure and our energy system."
"There have been civilian deaths and injuries, as well as damage to energy facilities," he said in a post on X, adding: "Russia continues to wage a cowardly war against civilians, which constitutes war crimes."
People take shelter in Kyiv during a massive Russian aerial attack on Aug. 26 (The Kyiv Independent)
Three people are reported injured in Kyiv Oblast, the police said in a statement. One of those injured was hurt when a downed drone fell on a road, "completely destroying" a car, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.
Rescue workers in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast during a massive Russian aerial attack on Aug. 26 (State Emergency Service/Telegram)
Shortly after 9:00 a.m., DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said emergency power shutdowns were in place across Ukraine.
"The desire to destroy our energy sector will cost the Russians dearly, (it will cost them) their infrastructure," Ukraine's Presidential Office head, Andriy Yermak, said in a post on Telegram.
Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said infrastructure facilities in Kyiv Oblast had been hit, adding authorities were setting up "points of invincibility," communal station points that provide phone charging facilities and internet access for residents affected by power cuts.
In a later post, he confirmed two infrastructure facilities were damaged, along with 22 houses.
Later on Aug. 26, Tymofiy Mylovanov, an adviser to Zelensky's office, said a dam in Kyiv, part of the Kyiv Hydroelectric Plant, had been hit during the attack.
The Russian morning attack struck the Kyiv hydro dam. While the dam holds, the hydro power plant appears to be damaged. If the dam were to collapse, a significant portion of Kyiv would be floodedpic.twitter.com/tGRVP62LhD
In Lviv Oblast, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said energy infrastructure had been attacked and power outages were in place as a result.
Damage to infrastructure facilities was also reported in Zaporizhzhia and Vinnytsia oblasts.
In a preliminary report on the attack, Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said Russian forces used dozens of kamikaze drones, an initial wave of 11 Tu-95MS strategic bombers, and four Kalibr missile carrier ships.
Later, the launch of another six Tu-22m3 strategic bombers was recorded, as well as MiG-31Ks, used to launch Kinzhal missiles.
The exact number of missiles and drones used in the attack is still being established.
"After complex maneuvers, cruise missiles entered Kyiv in very dense groups from different directions," Popko said.
"During the attack of these cruise missiles, the enemy launched several ballistic missiles in the direction of the capital in a row, including Kinzhals. About one and a half dozen missiles were hit by air defense."
Zelensky described Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as a "sick creature," which "everyone has understood for a long time."
He then called on Western allies to allow Ukraine to lift restrictions on using their weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia.
"He can only do what the world allows him to do. Weakness, inadequacy of decisions in response feeds terror," he said.
Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.
Chris York
