War in Ukraine: plan for a “just peace”, 7 dead in Russian strikes, fire at an oil depot extinguished… an update on the situation

War in Ukraine would never have happened if US had a ‘leader,’ Trump says

The war in Ukraine would never have happened if the United States had a “leader”, Donald Trump told President Joe Biden during their debate in Atlanta. The Republican candidate was very critical of the billions of dollars spent by the United States to support kyiv in its war against Moscow.

Russia claims capture of village in Donetsk region

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Friday the capture of the village of Rozdolivka, in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk (east), where its soldiers are advancing against Kiev troops.

The ministry said in a statement that its troops had “liberated the village of Rozdolivka”, a town located about 20 kilometers northeast of Bakhmut, a town that Russia seized last year.

Oil depot fire extinguished after Ukrainian drone attack in Russia

Russian authorities said they had extinguished a fire caused by a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian oil depot belonging to the Druzhba pipeline network that connects Russia to Europe on Friday.

The government of Russia’s Tambov region said the reservoir was located at the site of the Nikolskoye station, some 500 km from the Ukrainian border. “The fire, which was caused by a drone attack, has been extinguished. Work is underway to cool the tank”he indicated on his Telegram account.

Russia threatens ‘confrontation’ in Ukraine, previously banned missiles

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia should start producing previously banned short- and medium-range missiles, after warning Washington of the risk of “direct confrontation” over U.S. drone missions in the Black Sea.

This week, Russia also blamed the United States for a strike on Sunday in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, committed according to it by kyiv using American ATACMS tactical missiles with a range of 300 km, which left four dead and more than 150 injured.

Seven civilians killed in Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine

Four civilians were killed Friday in a Russian airstrike on the small city of New York in eastern Ukraine, and three others died in strikes in the northeast and south, authorities said. The city of New York and its neighboring Toretsk, located on the front line, have been under intense bombardment since mid-June by the Russians, who are trying to advance in the Donetsk region (east).

“Toretsk is again under fire, at least four people have been killed and two injured,” “The attack was caused by a “guided” bomb,” the region’s governor, Vadym Filachkin, said in a statement on Telegram, blaming it on a “guided” bomb. In the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, where the Russian military launched a major ground assault in May, Russian artillery fire killed a 56-year-old woman in a border village early this morning, the Interior Ministry said.

Zelensky says he is preparing a plan for a “just peace” while continuing to strengthen his military presence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday he is working on a new plan to end the war in Ukraine, while continuing to build up his military capacity to force Russia to accept a “just peace.”

“It is very important for us to show a plan to end the war that is supported by the majority (of countries) in the world, that is what we are doing on the diplomatic level.”he said at a press conference in kyiv, alongside his Slovenian counterpart Natasha Pirc Musar. “We do not want to prolong this war and we must achieve a just peace as quickly as possible”he added.

But Volodymyr Zelensky also insisted that his country must at the same time strengthen its military industry, because “Russia only understands strength, and respects only the strong”.

“These are two things in parallel: being strong on the battlefield, and developing a plan, a clear and detailed plan, which will be ready this year”he insisted.