Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy sacks air force chief; girl among six killed in Russian bomb attack that hit Kharkiv playground (2024)

Two ballistic missiles have killed 41 people and injured 180 in Poltava, central Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

The attack is one of the deadliest carried out by Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

It happened in the city of Poltava, which also gives its name to the surrounding region - around 70 miles from the Russian border and 200 miles southeast of Kyiv.

"One of the buildings of the Institute of Communications was partially destroyed.

"People found themselves under the rubble. Many were saved," Mr Zelenskyy said in a video posted on his Telegram channel.

"All necessary services are involved in the rescue operation," he added.

He said he had ordered "a full and prompt investigation" into what happened.

For the latest on this breaking story, go here:

We're restarting our live coverage of the Ukraine war after news of a deadly ballistic missile strike in the centre of the country.

Volodymr Zelenskyy has said that 41 people have been killed and about 180 people injured in the Russian strike in the Poltava region.

Two Russian ballistic missiles struck an educational facility and a nearby hospital.

The attack is one of the deadliest of the war, and the number of dead could grow.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest developments and reaction.

Good afternoon - we don't have live updates today, but here's everything you need to know as the war enters a new week.

This morning Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian military said - with witnesses in the city hearing several loud explosions that sounded like the work of air defence units.

It came after another weekend of Ukraine and Russia trading drone attacks. Ukrainian air defences shotdown 24 of 52 drones during overnightattacks, the air force said onSaturday.

And Kyiv hit back yesterday, launching a wave of attacks targeting power and refinery plants in the Moscowregion and neighbouring Tver, sparking fires, while scores ofdrones were destroyed across other parts of the country, Russianofficials said.

Today Vladimir Putin is due to begin a visit to Mongolia, a country that is a member of the International Criminal Court, which last year issued a warrant for his arrest. In theory, it means he should be put in handcuffs as soon as he lands - but he won't be. Our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett explains why here...

These maps show the latest situation on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine and the Russian region of Kursk, invaded by Kyiv's forces in a surprise incursion last month. On Saturday, Moscow's defence ministry claimed another settlement, Kirove, in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, had fallen under its control.

Here are some other key developments from the past seven days:

Russian attacks 'cost £1bn':Moscow launched one of its biggest air attacks of the war so far last Monday, with drones and missiles fired into more than half of Ukrainian regions. At least seven people were killed and power facilities were damaged, Kyiv said. The "cowardly" air attacks cost Moscow almost £1.14bn, the UK representative to the UN James Kariuki said, citing figures come from a report by Forbes Ukraine and Ekonmichna Pravda.

Pokrovsk: Russian forces have been closing in on the strategically important city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, prompting some residents to evacuate for fear it will fall in the coming weeks.

The region lies on a key road used by the Ukrainian military to supply other embattled Ukrainian-held outposts, such as the towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka in Donetsk.

Moscow says it has annexed Donetsk,a claim Kyiv rejects as illegal, and sees taking control ofPokrovsk as an important stepping stone to incorporating theentire region into Russia.

Our military analyst Sean Bell answered a reader's question on the strategic consequences for Ukraine if the city falls in our Your Questions Answered series - read what he had to say here.

Belgorod:Ukraine's invasion of Russia's Kursk region is ongoing, but there were Russian reports last week that Ukraine has attempted to break into the neighbouring Belgorod region, with Moscow's defence ministry saying the situation "remains difficult but under control" on Tuesday.

Andrei Belousov, the defence minister, said later that Russia had formed three new military groupings to bolster security in regions bordering Ukraine.

In a strike on the city late on Friday, five people were killed and 46 injured, the local governor said, with seven children among the 37 taken to hospital.

Zelenskyy's home town struck: A Russian missile struck Volodymyr Zelenskyy's home town of Kryvyi Rih on Tuesday as Ukraine was observing an official day of mourning for an attack that killed four people the day before.

The attack on the city struck civilian infrastructure and wounded eight people, local administration head Oleksandr Vilkul said on social media.

The attack was part of a barrage of dozens of missiles and drones across Ukraine that Russia launched.

Sacking after F-16 crash:Mr Zelenskyy dismissed Ukraine's air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk on Friday. He gave no immediate explanation but it comes days after a Ukrainian pilot was killed when his US-donated F-16 jet crashed on Monday, with a possible reported cause being friendly fire.

Kharkiv strike:Six people, including a 14-year-old girl, died and at least 55 others were hurt after a Russian missile hit a residential building and playground in Kharkiv on Friday. Kharkiv has been the focus of heavy Russian bombing throughout the war, though there had been a drop in intensity in recent weeks, possibly related to the shock incursion into Kursk.

We'll be back with more updates and analysis soon, but before we go, here's a recap of the key developments that took place today:

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sacked Ukraine's air force commander, days after a pilot died when an F-16 jet crashed
• Six people have died and at least 55 others hurt following a Russian guided bomb attack on the city of Kharkiv;
• Two women died and 11 people were injured by an attack which struck a factory in Sumy that manufactures packaging for baby food, juices and household products;
• The Kremlin announced that Vladimir Putin plans to visit Mongolia - a member of the International Criminal Court which has an issued an arrest warrant for him;
• The Ukrainian pilot killed when his F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday was shot down by Ukraine's own anti-aircraft missile system, an MP has claimed;
• Mr Zelenskyy said today's attack on Kharkiv could have been avoided if Ukraine had permission to strike Russian military targets with Western weapons;
  
• The EU rebuffed a request from Kyiv for the bloc to train Ukrainian soldiers inside the war-torn country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the country's air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk.

The sacking was announced on Friday in a presidential decree.

There was no immediate explanation from Mr Zelenskyy for his decision but it comes days after a Ukrainian pilot was killed when his F-16 jet crashed on Monday.

Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Mes was killed while defending Ukraine's skies in a Western-donated warplane.

Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuhla has claimed the jet was shot down by the country's own anti-aircraft missile system.

In response to Ms Bezuhla before his sacking, Lieutenant General Oleshchuk said her comments were a "tool to discredit the top military leadership".

"Mariana, the time will come when you will apologise to the entire army for what you have done, I hope in court!", he added.

Six people are now known to have died following the Russian guided bomb attack on Kharkiv, local authorities have said.

Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said one childwas killed in a playground and three people were killed in a12-storey apartment block that caught fire as a result of thestrike.

The Ukrainian authorities did not give the circ*mstances in which the two other people died in the strikes, which hit four areas of the city.

As well as those people who died, at least 55 others were injured, officials said.

About 20 of the injured were in severe condition, according to regionalgovernor Oleh Syniehubov.

Top Ukrainian officials have begun a visit to Washington, the Ukrainian presidential office has said.

The delegation includes economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko and defence minister Rustem Umerov.

"We are working in Washington... We are grateful to our
partners for their support," the president's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.

The visit comes amid Volodymyr Zelenskyy's renewed a call on Western allies to allow Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to attack Russian military air bases.

Kyiv says that the most effective way to counter Russian strikes is to target Russian planes, not the bombs themselves.

The US ambassador to Ukraine has called on Russia to be "held accountable for these war crimes" in Kharkiv.

In a statement on X, Bridget A Brink said "Russia struck an apartment building in Kharkiv with a guided aerial bomb, killing several and injuring many, including children".

Kharkiv has been the focus of heavy Russian bombing throughout the war, although there had been a drop in intensity in recent weeks, possibly related to a surprise invasion launched by Ukrainian forces into Russia's Kursk region.

Ukrainian authorities said today's attack involved five aerial guided bombs launched from planes in Russia's Belgorod region, also known as "glide bombs" which are fitted with a navigation system taking them to their targets.

The footage below shows the aftermath of the attack in Kharkiv.

The EU has rebuffed a request from Kyiv for the bloc to train Ukrainian soldiers inside the war-torn country, but will train them as close as possible to Ukrainian territory, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said.

The EU has trained some 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers inside the economic union's borders since Russia's invasion of the country and will aim to train 15,000 more by the end of the year, Mr Borrell said.

Kyiv has asked the EU to consider some training inside Ukraine, arguing this would be faster, more cost-effective, and logistically easier than inside the EU.

But multiple EU countries are reluctant to deploy troops inside Ukraine, expressing concerns about their safety and questioning whether such a move would divert Ukrainian forces from their core mission, in order to protect trainers.

Mr Borrell told reporters: "Some member states were ready, others reluctant.

"Finally, we decided that the training will be as close as possible to Ukraine, but not in Ukrainian territory."

Ukraine has urged Mongolia to arrest Vladimir Putin on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant when he visits next week.

The court issued an arrest warrant in March of last year against Mr Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

The Kremlin has dismissed the accusation, saying it is politically motivated.

The warrant obliges the court's 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest Mr Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.

Now, the Ukrainian foreign ministry has called on the ICC to arrest the Russian leader when he visits Mongolia on 3 September.

"We call on the Mongolian authorities to comply with the mandatory international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in the Hague," the ministry said on Telegram.

Asked earlier today whether Moscow was concerned that Mongolia was a member of the ICC, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "No, no worries about this. We have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia."

Asked whether there had been discussions with Mongolian authorities about the ICC warrant, Mr Peskov added: "Obviously the visit, all of the aspects of the visit have been thoroughly discussed."