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.
Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev, June 2023. (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Two drones flying over the Russian city Rostov-on-Don were shot down the night of Sept. 7, damaging cars and injuring one person, Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev claimed in a Telegram post.
Golubev said that air defense systems were triggered around 3 a.m. local time. According to his announcement, Russian air defense then destroyed two drones.
He claimed that one was shot down outside Rostov-on-Don in the western part of the oblast, while the other fell in the city center, near 42 Pushkinskaya Street.
Golubev said that the falling drone caused damage to several vehicles and that one person was injured, but refused to go to the hospital.
Reports of drone strikes and drone interceptions within the Russian Federation have become increasingly common as Russia continues to push its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Elsa Court
