Ukraine war latest: Kyiv launches attack on Putin’s Black Sea naval base

The Netherlands’ new Prime Minister Dick Schoof assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a phone call on Wednesday that his country would maintain its support for Ukraine.

The Netherlands has been one of the driving forces behind an international coalition to supply Ukraine with F-16s to strengthen its air defences against Russia.

The outgoing Dutch government said on Monday that the first of 24 promised jets would be supplied soon.

“I assured (Zelenskiy) that the Netherlands’ support for his country is rock solid; we will continue to support Ukraine politically, militarily, and financially against Russian aggression, whatever it takes and for as long as it takes,” Schoof said on social media platform X.

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska is the latest victim of deepfake after an online video falsely claimed that she had purchased a rare Bugatti sports car worth €4.5m (£3.8m).

The video, suspected to be from Russian propaganda sources, claimed Ms Zelenska was given a closed presentation to buy a Bugatti Tourbillon for the use of the Ukrainian delegation during her visit to Paris for D-Day commemorations in June last week.

“This is a fake and another attempt by Russians to discredit the family of the President of Ukraine,” said Ukrainian fact-checking unit Centre for Countering Disinformation (CCD), under the national security and defence council.

A Ukrainian military intelligence official said on Wednesday that a fire on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea in April was caused by a joint operation conducted by his GUR agency and a pro-Kyiv Russian military group.

On 7 April, the Serpukhov missile ship stationed in Russia’s Kaliningrad region was set on fire, the GUR intelligence agency said at the time. It did not claim responsibility earlier.

GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters the operation was conducted in tandem with the Freedom of Russia Legion. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has made no public comment on the incident.

Ukraine regularly carries out multiple air and naval strikes on Russian warships in the Black Sea. If the reported damage to the Serpukhov is confirmed, the arson would be Ukraine’s first known operation against Russia in the Baltic Sea.

Russia’s use of air-dropped bombs with a larger range is a major reason civilian casualties in Ukraine increased between March and May, the UN warned.

The munitions also caused widespread damage to civilian property and infrastructure, particularly near the frontline, according to the United Nations.

“Increased use of powerful air-dropped bombs with a larger range by Russian armed forces was a significant reason for the rise in civilian casualties and massive destruction of civilian infrastructure in frontline communities,” it said.

The UN found that the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region alone killed 78 civilians killed and wounded 305 others from May 10-31. Between March and May, at least 436 civilians were killed and 1,760 injured in Ukraine.

Russian commanders are ordering their forces to kill surrendering Ukrainian soldiers in a plan to “terrify” droves of Russian troops into not giving themselves up.

Many newly conscripted and poorly trained Russian soldiers realise their lives are being squandered in human-wave attacks, according to Ukrainian officials.

Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson for Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, says orders to kill Ukrainians who could be taken prisoner come from the “highest level” – the Kremlin. The instructions are designed to “terrify” their own soldiers, he adds.

One person was killed and another four wounded in Russian attacks in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region on Wednesday, according to local authorities.

Kharkiv regional prosecutors said one person was killed and two wounded in an attack in the village of Borova that also damaged 10 homes, stores and an administrative building.

In the village of Ruska Lozova, two people were wounded and 10 homes damaged in a strike in the early hours that used two S-400 missiles, prosecutors said citing preliminary information.

Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians since launching a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said in June that attacks near the village of Borova had intensified as Russian forces sought to strike logistics and probe weaknesses in the Ukrainian defences.

There is no dialogue between Russia and Donald Trump about the conflict in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Kremlin’s spokesman.

Trump said last week during a debate against President Joe Biden that if he won the November U.S. election, he would have the war settled before he took office in January.

French researcher Laurent Vinatier, charged with failing to register as a foreign agent while collecting information on Russia’s military, pleaded guilty, Russia’s Investigative committee said on Wednesday.

Mr Vinatier, 47, could face up to five years in prison. He was placed in pre-trial custody until Aug. 5, despite a request to free him endorsed by the French embassy.