Ukraine’s bid to retake occupied territory in the nation’s east and southeast is “ready to begin” and could start “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week,” said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, told the BBC. Ukraine President Voldymyr Zelenskiy had a regular meeting with his top commanders on Friday.
The toll continued to rise from Russia’s strike on Friday against a hospital and vet clinic in Ukraine’s central city of Dnipro, far from the conflict’s front lines. At least two people were killed, 30 injured, including young children, and three more unaccounted for. Zelenskiy called the attack “a pure atrocity.”
Ukraine’s military intelligence claimed Russia is planning “large scale provocations” around the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of disrupting a planned staff rotation of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s mission at the facility on Friday.
Latest Coverage
- Ukraine Says One Dead, 23 Hurt in Russian Strike on Hospital
- Lula Declines Invite to Russia After Failing to Meet Zelenskiy
- China Envoy Meets Russian Foreign Minister Over War in Ukraine
- Ukraine Black Sea Crop Exports Slowest Since Corridor Opened: UN
Coming Up
- NATO foreign ministers meet in Oslo from Tuesday
- UN nuclear watchdog expected to brief Security Council on the Zaporizhzhia atomic plant
Markets
Oil rose Friday and posted a modest weekly gain. Supply dynamics remain in focus, with Saudi Arabia and Russia having offered conflicting statements this week on the potential for more production cuts from OPEC and its allies.