Ukrainian drone attacks kill three, target Moscow

MOSCOW: Three people were killed in overnight Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's Tula and Nizhny Novgorod regions, a senior Russian regional official and the defence ministry said on Monday. Two people died and two were hospitalised following an attack before midnight on Sunday on the Tula region that borders the Moscow region to its north, Tula Governor Dmitry Milyaev said on the Telegram messaging app. One person was killed and two others were hospitalised following a Ukrainian attack targeting an industrial zone in the Nizhny Novgorod region in western Russia, Gleb Nikitin, the governor of the region, said on the Telegram.
A Ukrainian security official said that Ukraine had targeted a Russian plant producing missile components in the Nizhny Novgorod region in the drone attack. At least four drones struck the Arzamas Instrument-Making Plant, which produces control systems and other components for Russia’s Kh-32 and Kh-101 missiles, the official said.
Russian air defence units destroyed a total of 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 12 over the Tula region, the Russian Defence Ministry said. The ministry only reports how many drones its units shoot down, not how many Ukraine launches. Seven drones were downed en route to Russia's capital overnight and on Monday morning, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their strikes on each other's territory. Nevertheless, thousands of civilians have died in the full-scale war that Russia launched in Ukraine in February 2022.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer supports US President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war with Ukraine, but Kyiv must be involved in any settlement about ending the fighting, his spokesperson said on Monday. US President Donald Trump will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15 and Ukraine fears that the two leaders may try to dictate terms for ending the three-and-a-half-year-old war. 'We will never trust President Putin as far as you can throw him, but we will support Ukraine and President Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations', Starmer's spokesperson told reporters. 'Any peace must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it and we will not reward aggression or compromise sovereignty. Ukraine will decide its own future and we will support it every step of the way'.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the US had pledged to consult with Europe ahead of a summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin, as European ministers prepare for discussions amidst fears Washington may dictate unfavourable peace terms to Ukraine. European Union foreign ministers were due to hold a video conference on Monday afternoon to discuss their support for Kyiv and the upcoming meeting.
'The American side has promised that it will consult with European partners on its position before the meeting in Alaska', Poland's Tusk told a press conference. 'I will wait... for the effects of the meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin — I have many fears and a lot of hope', he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that concessions to Moscow would not persuade it to stop fighting in Ukraine and that there was a need to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin.
European officials have sought to influence the White House’s positioning ahead of the Alaska talks, emphasising the need to safeguard Ukraine’s sovereignty, provide security guarantees and allow Kyiv to choose its own path. US Vice President JD Vance met European and Ukrainian officials over the weekend and European leaders are expected to conduct more outreach to Washington in the coming days. 'Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security', EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
European leaders have also underscored their commitment to the idea that international borders cannot be changed by force, as EU capitals fear a deal forced on Kyiv could create a dangerous precedent. 'Regarding territorial issues, the Russian position is framed as a territorial swap, but it appears as a rather one-sided swap', a European Commission official said. 'In the context of these talks, the US administration has been very involved and has shown interest in aligning positioning with Europe', the official said. 'The most robust security guarantee would be that there are no limitations on Ukraine armed forces and third countries' support to Ukraine'. — Reuters