Trump offers to ‘settle’ Ukraine invasion as Biden calls Putin ‘war criminal’- debate

The Ukrainian defence ministry said on Friday the Ukrainian military destroyed the Russian space communication centre in Moscow-occupied Crimea in an attack this week.

In a statement on Telegram, the ministry described the target as a valuable military component in satellite communication and navigation system for Russian troops.

Reuters could not independently verify the statement. On Monday, local social media chats reported explosions near the village of Vitino on the Crimean Peninsula where the centre is located.

Here’s a look at what we know about the first day of the trial for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been charged in Russia with espionage — charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government deny.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Friday that military pledges outlined in 20 security agreements Kyiv has signed with its partners total $60 billion annually for the next four years.

Kyiv relies heavily on military support from partners while it repels a 28-month-old Russian full-scale invasion.

The 10-year agreements, including with the EU and the U.S., set out commitments on long-term military and other assistance and pledge to hold immediate consultations to decide on the next steps in the event of a future Russian attack after the current conflict has ended.

“According to these agreements, in the next four years, our partners plan to provide Ukraine with total military support worth $60 billion annually,” Shmyhal said during a governmental meeting. He did not provide breakdown of funding sources.

The agreements are struck bilaterally and are all different.

For instance, the text of the first deal signed with Britain says the country will provide Ukraine with a further 2.5 billion pounds ($3.16 billion) of support.

Estonia, according to its agreement, “has set the target” to allocate at least 0.25% of GDP annually for military support in 2024-27.

Ukraine’s president called on European Union leaders on Thursday to make good on their pledges to provide military equipment to his war-ravaged country, just days after the bloc launched membership talks with his government.

“We have to work on next steps,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Brussels as he arrived to attend a summit of EU leaders. He said he and the leaders would discuss “the urgent things -– air defense, that is one.”

Zelenskyy thanked countries that have promised equipment, weapons and ammunition, but underlined that “we need them urgently on the battlefield.”

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has turned down a government proposal to lead the country’s delegation to NATO’s July summit in Washington, D.C., saying he was not consulted while it worked out the official position of the country and its commitments regarding the war in Ukraine, his press office said Thursday.

The decision comes on the heels of heated debates between pro-Russian and pro-Western parties in Bulgaria about whether Radev, as the commander-in-chief of the military, should represent the country at the NATO summit.

Radev has often been criticized by political opponents for his Kremlin-friendly position in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and for his public remarks that sending military aid to Kyiv would extend the conflict. He has referred to those favoring military aid to Ukraine as “warmongers.”

Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Rozdolivka in eastern Ukraine, Russia‘s Ministry of Defence said on Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that Russia‘s “Southern” military grouping had taken up what it called more favourable positions after pushing Ukrainian forces out of the settlement, which is located in the Donetsk region.

Reuters could not verify the battlefield report and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine today.

Ukrainian Prime Minister said on Friday that military pledges outlined in 20 security agreements Kyiv has signed with its partners total $60 billion annually for the next four years.

“According to these agreements, in the next four years, our partners plan to provide Ukraine with total military support worth $60 billion annually,” Denys Shmyhal said during a governmental meeting.

Russia‘s Defense Minister ordered officials to prepare a “response” to U.S. drone flights over the Black Sea, the ministry said Friday, in an apparent warning that Moscow may take forceful action to ward off the American reconnaissance aircraft.

The Russian Defense Ministry noted a recent “increased intensity” of U.S. drones over the Black Sea, saying they “conduct intelligence and targeting for precision weapons supplied to the Ukrainian military by Western countries for strikes on Russian facilities.”

“It shows an increased involvement of the U.S. and other NATO countries in the conflict in Ukraine on the side of the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said in a statement.