Ukraine faced another missile and drone attack on Friday even as Kyiv’s long-awaited ground offensive — one that’s likely to last for months — is picking up steam. Images posted by Russian military bloggers of NATO-standard battle tanks and fighting vehicles pushing toward Tokmak in Ukraine’s occupied south appeared to be genuine. The nation’s air defense said it shot down four cruise missiles of six and 10 drones out of 16 launched overnight. Among the cities targeted was the home town of Ukrai
(Bloomberg) — Ukraine faced another missile and drone attack on Friday even as Kyiv’s long-awaited ground offensive — one that’s likely to last for months — is picking up steam. Images posted by Russian military bloggers of NATO-standard battle tanks and fighting vehicles pushing toward Tokmak in Ukraine’s occupied south appeared to be genuine. The nation’s air defense said it shot down four cruise missiles of six and 10 drones out of 16 launched overnight. Among the cities targeted was the home town of Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.
President Joe Biden said he’s confident he can work with Speaker Kevin McCarthy to continue providing US assistance to Ukraine, despite the Republican’s indication that he may not back a new supplemental funding package. Meanwhile, as Ukraine keeps up the pressure on Western allies for more arms, the Pentagon is set to announce a package heavy on air defense munitions and valued at more than $2 billion. The money will bankroll Hawk missile launchers and missiles and two types of advanced Patriot air defense missiles.
The UN’s atomic safety watchdog issued an update on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after this week’s Kakhovka dam blast. The facility is still able to pump water from the Kakhovka reservoir to cool off-line reactors, despite the water line falling below a minimum level, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. That provides more time for engineers to consider switching to alternative sources. IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi is scheduled to visit the Russian-occupied plant next week. In a call with Zelenskiy, Japan’s prime minister on Friday vowed $5 million in support following the dam collapse and massive downstream flooding.
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