Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday that Storm Shadow missiles struck a chemical plant in Russia’s Bryansk region that produces gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel. The French-British missiles, also known as Scalp, were part of a “massive combined missile and airstrike” that penetrated Russia’s air defence system, according to Ukraine’s armed forces general staff. The governor of Bryansk, Alexander Bogomaz, confirmed the attack, as did the Russian defence ministry.
Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least two people on Wednesday, according to the head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attacks sparked fires and shattered windows in several districts, with a large drone attack following the initial strikes. Other areas hit include Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and the Danube port of Izmail.
Plans for a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Budapest have been shelved after an apparently unproductive phone call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. A meeting scheduled for Thursday in Budapest between the two diplomats was also cancelled. A senior European diplomat said the Russians had not changed their maximalist position of demanding Ukraine give up the entire Donbas region. Another diplomat suggested that it had become evident to the Americans that there would be no deal for Trump in Budapest.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia “almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy” once the prospect of US Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine was no longer immediate. A senior Ukrainian official told Agence France-Presse that diplomatic efforts centred on Trump were “going in circles” and felt as if they were being dragged out. Meanwhile, European diplomats are working with Ukraine on a new ceasefire proposal along current battle lines, which includes a peace board chaired by Trump and is modelled on the US 20-point plan for Gaza. Some 35 allied nations will meet in London on Friday to discuss long-term support for Kyiv.
Russian attacks on Tuesday killed four people and left hundreds of thousands without power and water in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region. The energy ministry said the regional capital and northern part of the province lost all electricity after strikes on power facilities. A daytime attack by about 20 Russian kamikaze drones killed four civilians and wounded at least seven others, including a 10-year-old child, in the town of Novhorod-Siverskyi.
