Fighting and Civilian Impact
A Ukrainian drone crashed into Russia’s Kupol Electromechanical Plant in Izhevsk, in central Russia, killing three people and injuring 35, said the regional governor, Alexander Brechalov. The factory is said to build anti-aircraft systems and aircraft for the Russian military.
One person was killed and one police officer injured in Ukraine’s Donetsk region when a Russian strike hit a civilian evacuation vehicle near Pokrovsk.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said 60 Ukrainian drones had been shot down overnight in several areas, including 17 in Russian-occupied Crimea, 16 in the Rostov region, and four in Saratov.
Russia sent 52 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, which attacked Ukrainian positions, the country’s Air Force said.
A drone strike last week heavily damaged several vehicles near a cooling pond at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
Weapons and Defence Cooperation
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov unveiled the new weapons production programme with partners in its Ukraine Defense Contact Group which encompassed 50 countries. The plan will be a special legal and tax regime for the establishment of new weapons plants – both within Ukraine and beyond its borders.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is now holding back air defence missiles and other precision-guided weapons from reaching Ukraine over concerns the US may have depleted its stocks, unnamed officials claimed. The Pentagon has not commented.
In London, a Russian-British dual citizen has made an appearance in court, charged with transferring cryptocurrency to buy weapons for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Diplomatic Efforts and Political Reactions
French President Emmanuel Macron began the week with a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, his first such exchange since 2022, to demand a ceasefire.
The Kremlin accused the West of provoking the conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed charges that Moscow was dragging its feet on peace talks, saying that Russia "favors a political and diplomatic resolution of the conflict."
Russia does not want to drag on the situation and is ready to reach the goal through political means, Peskov added.
