Russia's invasion of Ukraine four years ago launched Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. It has caused immense suffering for civilians and harrowing ordeals for soldiers while rewriting the post-Cold War security order. The fighting enters its fifth year on Tuesday. A U.S.-based think tank says that as many as 1.8 million soldiers may have been killed, injured or missing on both sides. Another think tank says Russia controls nearly 20% of Ukrainian land. The U.N. says at least 14,999 civilians have been killed in Ukraine.
A Russian drone has struck a home in Ukraine's Kharkiv region in an attack that killed a father and his three small children. Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that the family's pregnant mother was wounded but survived. The attack destroyed the house and trapped the family under rubble. The drone was identified as a Russian-made Geran-2. Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched 129 long-range drones at Ukraine last night. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an industrial plant in the Russian city of Volgograd. Officials said that eight Russian airports briefly suspended flights because of drone attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the air force's performance in parts of the country is "unsatisfactory." He said Friday that steps are being taken to improve defenses against Russian drone attacks. The assaults have targeted Ukraine's power grid, causing blackouts during a harsh winter. As the war nears its fifth year, U.S.-led peace efforts show no progress. Zelenskyy has discussed new air defense measures with military leaders. Recent Russian attacks killed one person and injured others in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine's strikes have damaged power facilities in Russia. The front line remains active despite freezing temperatures.
A new report warns that the number of soldiers killed, injured or missing in Russia's war in Ukraine could reach 2 million by spring. The report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that Russia has suffered the largest troop deaths for any major power since World War II. It estimates Russia suffered 1.2 million casualties, including up to 325,000 deaths, since February 2022. It said Ukraine has suffered between 500,000 to 600,000 casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths. Officials said Wednesday that two people were killed near Kyiv after Russian strikes and at least nine were injured in attacks across Ukraine.
Russian drone strikes have knocked out power in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region and left over 600,000 households in Dnipropetrovsk without electricity. Officials reported the overnight attacks on Thursday. This comes amid U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, nearly four years after Russia's invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Russia for targeting public services, calling it "weaponizing winter." Emergency crews restored power in Zaporizhzhia, but many in Dnipropetrovsk remain without electricity. Zelenskyy urged global partners to pressure Moscow and mentioned ongoing discussions for postwar security guarantees with the U.S.
Officials say Ukrainian drone strikes killed two people and wounded two others, including a child, in Russia's Belgorod and Kursk regions on Sunday. More peace talks are expected in Paris early this week. In Ukraine, three people were wounded in overnight drone strikes in the Kharkiv region, and the death toll from Friday's missile attack on Kharkiv rose to five. European and other national security advisers met in Kyiv on Saturday to discuss security guarantees and economic support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said meetings of military officials and European leaders in Paris on Monday and Tuesday could finalize security guarantee documents.
A Ukrainian military official says Russia's invading forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine, seeking to capture more ground in their three-year war of attrition as U.S.-led peace efforts struggle to gain traction. Victor Trehubov, spokesman for local ground forces, told The Associated Press that some Russian troops have entered two villages in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, a major Ukrainian industrial center next to the Donetsk region where fierce fighting has been taking place. Ukrainian troops are under severe strain as they try to hold back Russia's bigger army.
Days before the leaders of Russia and the U.S. hold a summit meeting in Alaska, Moscow's forces breached Ukrainian lines in a series of infiltrations this week in the country's industrial heartland of Donetsk. The advances amount to only a limited success for Russia, since Moscow still needs to consolidate its gains before achieving a true breakthrough. Still, some observers say it's a potentially dangerous moment. Analyst Mykola Bieleskov says Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely try to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure Kyiv by arguing the 3 1/2-year-old war is going badly for Kyiv.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces are holding back a concerted summer push by Russia's bigger army to break through defenses along parts of the front line. He says Ukraine has thwarted Russian efforts to get into Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. He says the situation has also improved in the northeastern Sumy border region. Analysts say Russia has recently made only incremental gains in its slow and costly advance against Ukrainian defenses. With the war now in its fourth year after Russia's February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, the effort is draining resources on both sides, although Russia can sustain the fight for longer while Ukraine seeks further support from Western partners.
Officials say Russian attacks on Ukraine have killed at least 11 civilians and injured more than 80 others, including seven children. Authorities said Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight and into Monday. Meanwhile, Russian's transport minister was found dead in what authorities said was an apparent suicide — news that broke hours after the Kremlin announced he had been dismissed by President Vladimir Putin. The firing of Roman Starovoit followed a weekend of travel chaos when airports grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of drone attacks from Ukraine, although Russian officials did not give a reason for his dismissal.
