Ukraine war latest: Children 'poisoned' in Odesa attack; Macron and Putin hold first call in three years

Russia could pose military threat to NATO territory by 2030, Italy says

Russia could have the ability to pose a military threat to NATO territory within five years, Italy's defence minister has said.

Guido Crosetto was addressing politicians on the outcome of a NATO summit last week when the military alliance agreed to increase spending on defence and security. 

"Allies shared concerns about the growing threat from Russia.

"There are no signs of conversion of Russian production to civilian purposes, not even in the event of a ceasefire," he said.

Crosetto also said Russian domestic support for the war in Ukraine was intact. 

Without saying where the figures came from, he said Russia has lost more than a million soldiers, including 200,000 in the first six months of this year. 

"Yet Russia managed to mobilise another 300,000 in six months without any erosion of domestic consensus," he said.

Ukrainian drone attack kills one in Lipetsk, Russian governor says

A woman in her 70s was killed by falling debris from a destroyed Ukrainian drone in Russia's southwestern region of Lipetsk, officials said.

The debris fell on a residential building in the district surrounding the regional capital, killing the woman and injuring two more, governor Igor Artamonov said.

Russian media said the Energia factory in the city of Yelets had come under attack. The site makes missile parts as well as batteries for drones and glide bombs.

It was targeted multiple times by Ukrainian drones this past May.

Eight killed in eastern Ukraine, officials say

Ukraine's armed forces said six people have been killed and 12 wounded in the eastern Donetsk region in the past 24 hours.

The governor of the nearby Poltava region has also reported that two people were killed and 11 injured there, with attacks beginning at 9am local time (7am UK time).

Meanwhile, emergency crews are still assessing the damage done to buildings in Odesa, where two children were among those injured in the overnight attack (see 07.11 post).

Macron and Putin hold first call in three years

Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron have held a "substantial" phone call to discuss the war in Ukraine and the Iran-Israel conflict.

Macron's office said the call lasted two hours in what was the first such exchange between the two leaders since September 2022.

A French diplomatic source said Macron spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskiy before and after the call last night to brief him on the talks, and spoke with Donald Trump about the exchange.

The Kremlin said Putin reiterated his position that any possible peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv should have a "comprehensive and long-term character" and be based on "new territorial realities".

Macron's office said he told Putin that Ukraine alone should decide on whether to accept territorial concessions and that "emphasised France's unwavering support" for Kyiv's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Kremlin welcomes US weapons shipment halt

Moscow has predictably welcomed the halt on US weapons shipments to Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said yesterday that the war would end sooner if fewer arms reached Kyiv.

But the Institute for the Study of War thinktank says the aid suspension will only reinforce Vladimir Putin's theory that Russia can win the war by making slow advances and outlasting Western support for Ukraine. 

It says the latest US suspension of aid will only strengthen Moscow's belief that time is on Russia's side and a war of attrition will only benefit the Kremlin.

It notes that during previous delays in US weapons reaching Ukraine, Russia has accelerated its gains on the battlefield and significantly intensified offensive operations in key positions.

Kyiv summons US envoy over partial weapons suspension

Ukraine has summoned the acting US envoy to Kyiv to warn the Trump administration that "any delay or procrastination" in supplying it with weapons will only benefit Russia.

The US has blocked several shipments to Kyiv, warning that its own domestic stockpiles were running low. The shipments included Patriot air defence missiles, which Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles fird by Moscow.

It also included portable air defence systems, thousands of artillery shells and air-to-ground missiles, all promised by the Biden administration.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was "clarifying" details with the US, while his foreign minister wrote on X that Ukraine was "ready to purchase or rent" air defence systems.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry said yesterday that the continued deliveries of US defence packages were "critically important", particularly to strengthen the country's air defence.

Russia launched its biggest aerial attack of the war so far on Saturday night, firing a total of 537 drones and missiles at Ukraine as part of an escalating bombing campaign.

Two children 'poisoned' in Russian attack on Odesa

Five people were injured, including a seven-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl, in an overnight Russian attack on the port city of Odesa, the Ukrainian authorities said.

A multistorey residential building and other civilian infrastructure were damaged, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. Six flats were completely destroyed, while another 36 were partially damaged, he said.

"The children, who were poisoned by combustion products, were hospitalised," Kiper said. The other three injured people, all adults, received medical aid on the site.

Ukraine's state emergency services shared photos showing rescuers carrying children in the dark out of a multistorey building on fire and firefighters tackling the blaze, which it said has since been extinguished.

The country's air force said Russia launched 52 drones at the country overnight, of which 40 were either shot down or misdirected using electronic warfare.

-SKY NEWS