The Kremlin said that European powers were hindering US president Donald Trump’s efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine and that Russia would continue its operation in the country until Moscow saw real signs that Kyiv was ready for peace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media reporters that the “European party of war” was continuing to hinder US and Russian efforts on Ukraine.
“We are ready to resolve the problem by political and diplomatic means,” Peskov said. “But so far we do not see reciprocity from Kyiv in this. So we shall continue the special military operation.”
Ukraine’s armed forces said on Sunday that despite Moscow’s claims of a successful summer offensive, Russian forces failed to gain full control of any major Ukrainian city and “grossly exaggerated” figures regarding captured territories.
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The chief of Russia’s general staff, Valery Gerasimov, said on Saturday that since March, Russia has captured more than 3,500km² of territory in Ukraine and taken control of 149 villages.
“Despite Gerasimov’s claims, Russian forces have not gained full control over any major city,” the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in a statement on social media. “The figures presented by the occupiers regarding captured territories and settlements are grossly exaggerated.”
A Russian drone attack overnight damaged four power facilities near the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, leaving more than 29,000 customers without electricity on Sunday morning, the region’s governor and power firm DTEK said.
Hardest hit was the port city of Chornomorsk, just outside Odesa, where residential houses and administrative buildings were also damaged, said Oleh Kiper, the governor of the broader Odesa region, on the Telegram messaging app.
“Critical infrastructure is operating on generators,” Kiper said, adding that one person had been injured as a result of the attack.
Reuters could not independently verify the report. In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian energy and gas infrastructure. Kyiv, in turn, has struck Russian oil refineries and pipelines.
There was no comment from Russia, which has hit Ukraine’s critical infrastructure continuously throughout the 42 months of the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s largest power producer DTEK said in a statement that four of its power facilities came under attack overnight.
“As soon as the energy workers receive permission from the military and rescue services, they will immediately begin inspecting the equipment and carrying out emergency repair work,” DTEK said. A sweeping attack by Russia on Thursday that targeted many regions of Ukraine killed 25 people in Kyiv.
Russia has downed 112 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours and hit port infrastructure in Ukraine used for military purposes, Interfax news agency quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying on Sunday. – Reuters
