Ukraine carnage LIVE: NATO scrambles fighter jets on Putin's 'most intense attack yet'

6 mins ago11:06 Eleanor Burleigh

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has described Russian attacks overnight as "another warning to the world that the enemy is not going to stop".

"We have to increase pressure on the aggressor, impose sanctions on the sectors that finance the war to force Russia to peace," he said.

"Ukraine needs more weapons and resources from its partners to effectively counter the invader. Supporting Ukraine is a matter of security for the whole of Europe."

22 mins ago10:50 Eleanor Burleigh

New photos show the aftermath of a drone attack in Ukraine's western Lviv region that wounded six people.

Russia fired a total of 597 drones and decoys into Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Russia fired 597 drones into Ukraine overnight (Image: Getty)

Six people were wounded in the Lviv attacks (Image: Getty)

49 mins ago10:23 Eleanor Burleigh

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in North Korea on Friday, the country's state media KCNA says.

The visit, which is scheduled to last until Sunday, will see the two countries continue to cement their close ties, including through a mutual defence pact signed earlier this year.

North Korea could send more troops to fight with Russia in the war against Ukraine in July or August, after already dispatching 10,000 soldiers to the conflict, according to the South Korean Intelligence Service.

Deputy Russian foreign minister Andrei Rudenko told the state news agency TASS that the strategic partnership between the two countries "clearly meets the changing needs over recent decades and strengthens traditionally friendly, good-neighbourly Russian-Korean relations to a qualitatively new level as allies".

1 hour ago10:01 Eleanor Burleigh

Ukrainian strikes targeted a Russian military base west of Kalchik in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine overnight, Petro Andryushchenko, head of the Ukrainain Centre for the Study of Occupation says.

"Three ambulance crews took 12 people to the Mariupol Hospital," he wrote on Telegram. "They were admitted with varying degrees of severity of injuries."

The strikes also hit a railway station and an electrical substation, the latter of which as partially repaired. The railway station sustained enough damage to prevent usage for "a couple of days at least", however.

1 hour ago09:52 Eleanor Burleigh

Overnight Russian attacks targeted Ukrainian cities just 30 miles from its border with the European Union, deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has warned.

"Cities 1,000 km from the front - and just 50km from the EU border - were attacked," she said. "This is [a] rapidly growing threat to all of Europe, and failure to recognise it as such only assures the eventual cost increases with every passing day.

"The cycle of escalation must be stopped. It requires stronger sanctions, more air defence systems, and greater investment in interceptors. Signals are no longer enough. Lives depend on decisive action."

2 hours ago09:30 Eleanor Burleigh

Ukrainain foreign minister Andriy Sybiha has warned of a larger threat signalled by Russian drone and missile strikes in Ukraine on Saturday, which killed at least two people in the city of Chirnivtsi.

"Russia continues to escalate its terror, launching another barrage of hundreds of drones and missiles, damaging residential areas, killing and injuring civilians," Sybiha said in a post on X.

"Russia's war machine produces hundreds of means of terror per day. Its scale poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the entire transatlantic community."

Alongside Chernivtsi, the cities of Lviv and Lutsk bore the brunt of the overnight attacks, with 46 residential houses, a university building, courts and small and medium-sized business damaged in Lviv, according to mayor Andriy Sadovyi.

2 hours ago09:06 Eleanor Burleigh

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for "tough sanctions" in response to overnight Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure.

"The pace of Russian air strikes requires quick decisions," he said in a statement on Telegram. "It can be brought down by sanctions now.

"Tough secondary sanctions are needed against everyone who helps the 'Russians' produce drones and make money for oil. We need more air defence and investment in interceptor drones, which are already showing good results.

"The war can only be stopped by force. We expected from our partners not just signals, but life-saving actions."

Zelensky has called for 'tough sanctions' on Russia and its enablers (Image: Getty)

2 hours ago09:02 Eleanor Burleigh

344 of 623 aerial targets launched by Russia in an overnight attack were shot down, Ukraine's Air Force says.

"On the night of July 12, the enemy attacked with 623 air attack vehicles - 597 Shahed-style strike UAVs and simulator drones of various types," a spokesperson wrote on Telegram.

"The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic waterfare and unmanned system units, and mobile fire groups of the Defence Forces of Ukraine.

"According to preliminary data, air defences shot down 344 enemy air attak vehicles [and] 258 simulator drones were lost/suppressed by electronic warfare."

Russian forces bombarded cities in western Ukraine in an overnight attack (Image: East2West)

2 hours ago08:47 Eleanor Burleigh

Residential buildings, shops, administrative buildings and cars were damaged in the latest Russian bombardment of western Ukraine, officials say.

Moscow has continued its trend of intensified strikes on the war-torn country - even as Vladimir Putin faces the prospect of increased US sanctions on his regime.

In the city of Lviv, Russian drone attacks targeted residential buildings and a kindergarten, alongside the Yavoriv military training ground, according to the Kremlin.

Two people were killed in the southwestern city of Chernivtsi and at least 18 wounded, with two further hospital deaths not yet confirmed.

“Several residential buildings, shops, administrative buildings and cars were damaged,” said head of the regional military administration, Ruslan Zaparanyuk.

The latest Russian attacks targeted western Ukrainian cities including Lviv (Image: East2West)

The Russian strikes came as the US is resuming significant military assistance for Ukraine, and ahead of an expected major Donald Trump statement on Monday which may involve sanctions against the Putin regime.

In Lviv, the Russians hit residential buildings and a kindergarten.

“Explosions occurred in several districts of the city,” said mayor Andriy Sadovyi.

The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces, said: “Due to the activity of long-range Russian aviation striking targets located in western Ukraine, among other places, Polish and allied air forces have commenced operations in Polish airspace.”

It did not make clear which other NATO states were involved in the latest operation triggered by the Russian onslaught.

“Scrambled pairs of fighter jets were deployed, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of combat readiness,” the statement added.

The Polish armed forces “activated available forces and resources” in measures “aimed at ensuring security in areas bordering the threatened areas”.

The last time such action was taken was Wednesday, as Putin intensified his strikes on Ukraine, believing he now has the upper hand in the war.