Russia

  Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Russia was preparing a “massive new strike” on the country and called on the population to take action to “protect your lives”. Kyiv was hit particularly hard last weekend by a huge Russian bombardment attack — one of the largest since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Moscow has warned foreign diplomats to leave Kyiv, threatening to escalate attacks as it seeks revenge for a Ukrainian strike on a dormitory and a vocational high school in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, which Moscow says left 21 people dead. “We have intelligence information about Russia preparing a new massive strike,” Zelensky said in a social media message. “Please pay attention to air alerts, protect your lives. Our services are working efficiently and are prepared; the Air Force and other defenders of our skies will be on duty 24/7, as always.” The Ukrainian president has reiterated his call to allies to allow and finance the supply of Patriot missiles, which can intercept Russian ballistic missiles. He wrote to US President Donald Trump and the US Congress earlier this week asking for Patriot systems to respond to the intensifying Russian air attacks. Ukraine has also stepped up its strikes on occupied territories and on Russia in retaliation for the daily Russian bombardments. US-mediated efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict have stalled since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, which is absorbing Washington’s attention and resources. AFP