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.
The aftermath of a Russian missile attack on an industrial facility in the village of Hoholeve, Poltava Oblast, on Aug. 28, 2023. (Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak/Telegram)
Russia launched four Kalibr cruise missiles and two Kh-59 guided aerial missiles at Ukraine overnight on Aug. 28, the Air Force wrote.
Ukraine's air defenses shot down two Kalibr missiles and all the Kh-59 ones, according to the Air Force.
The attack hit an industrial facility in Poltava Oblast, killing two people and destroying the production workshop, Governor Dmytro Lunin said on Telegram.
First responders are working on the site and searching for people under the rubble, he added.
Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak later clarified that the attack happened in the village of Hoholeve, Myrhorod district.
Five people are known to have been injured as of 8:50 a.m. local time, Yermak said, adding that the victims were the facility employees working the night shift.
According to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak, Russian missiles also struck Kryvyi Rih in the morning.
Seven country houses and a farm building were destroyed or damaged, Lysak reported, but there were no casualties.
Dinara Khalilova is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a news editor. In the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she worked as a fixer and local producer for Sky News’ team in Ukraine. Dinara holds a BA in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master’s degree in media and communication from the U.K.’s Bournemouth University.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
