Ukraine war live: Trump promises ‘peace to the world’ after phone call with Zelensky

Ukraine is on its way to being able to “stand on its own feet” militarily, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said, noting that more than 20 other countries have pledged to maintain their own military and financial aid to the country even if the U.S. were to withdraw its support under a different president.

Mr Blinken for the first time directly addressed the possibility that former President Donald Trump could win the November election and back away from commitments to Ukraine during his remarks on Friday.

The US, under President Joe Biden, has been the most important supporter of Ukraine’s more than two-year battle against invading Russian forces.

At least two people were killed and three more injured after a Russian missile strike on infrastructure in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, said Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Saturday.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials confirmed that the death toll following a Russian strike Friday on the city of Mykolaiv, had risen to four. A child was among the victims, said the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Writing about the Mykolaiv strike on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a projectile had hit a playground next to an apartment block.

This weekend 25,000 music lovers are gathering for Ukraine’s biggest music festival, an annual event that hasn’t been held since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Journalist Paul Niland shared a video on X of a large crowd watching the Ukrainian rock band BoomBox on stage. The billing this year will understandably mostly be made up of domestic talent, though the event has previously had headline acts from global stars like Kasabian, The Chemical Brothers and Liam Gallagher.

Speaking to the BBC, event organiser Vlad Yaremchuk explained how the festival is being conducted in a car park outside one of Kyiv’s biggest shopping malls – so if a Russian air attack does take place, “there will be more than enough space to get everyone evacuated quickly — and we’re talking minutes”. The mall has a capacity of 100,000, he says.

So far the festival, running from Friday to Sunday, is going smoothly. It already had to be pushed back one week after the major aerial assault on Kyiv that hit a children’s hospital.

“We didn’t even expect to have a chance to do a festival while the war is still happening.” Yaremchuk says.

“The reality showed us that cultural events are still possible in wartime.”

The Ukrainian president on Friday became the first foreign leader to address the cabinet in person since Bill Clinton in 1997, calling for support for his country’s “long-range capability”.

In his address to the cabinet, Mr Zelensky said that “if the restriction on Western weapons is lifted” it would help Kyiv to strengthen its defences and secure its frontline positions.

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Three pro-Russian hackers have been arrested for alleged cyberattacks against Spain and other NATO countries for terrorist purposes, Spanish police said on Saturday.

The suspects were detained for their alleged participation in distributed denial of service (DDoS) cyber attacks against public institutions and strategic sectors, the Civil Guard said.

It did not say if the three suspects, who have not been named, have been charged or detained

The cyberattacks were allegedly carried out against web pages of public and private organizations in the government sectors, critical infrastructures and essential services in countries which support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, it said.

Police released a video on social media platform X of a raid at the home of one of the suspects in which a Soviet-era hammer and sickle flag was mounted on a wall.

Ukrainian officials also confirmed that the death toll following a Russian strike on Friday on the city of Mykolaiv, had risen to four.

A child was among the victims, said the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Writing about the Mykolaiv strike on social media, Mr Zelensky said that a projectile had hit a playground next to an apartment block.

“Russia proves every day with its terror that ‘pressure’ is not enough,” he said.

“This destruction of life must be stopped. We need new solutions to support our defences. Russia must feel the power of the world.”

Ukraine‘s air force said Russia had launched four missiles and 17 drones overnight, of which 13 drones had been shot down.

The attacks have left thousands of people without power or running water in the Poltava region of central Ukraine, governor Filip Pronin said.

Residents angry over recent power cuts in southern Russia staged a rare public protest on Saturday in the city of Krasnodar, posts on social media said, as the local governor blamed a heatwave for causing the blackouts.

The south of Russia has been affected by unusually hot weather that has caused mass power outages in several regions and led to the shutdown earlier this week of one of four power units at the Rostov nuclear power plant, the region’s largest.

The unit has been put back into operation since then.

“There has been abnormal heat in the Krasnodar region for a week now. The load on the energy system is colossal. I know and understand all the indignation of residents due to power outages,” Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Krasnodar region, said on the Telegram messaging app.

He said power capacities were not currently sufficient to meet peak demand during the hot summer months.

One video posted on the Baza Telegram channel appeared to show police making at least two arrests during Saturday’s protest.

Russian authorities have clamped down on any protest activity, especially politically laced dissent, since the start of the conflict with Ukraine in February 2022, and public protests are very rare given the risk of arrest.

Ukraine is on its way to being able to “stand on its own feet” militarily, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said, noting that more than 20 other countries have pledged to maintain their own military and financial aid to the country even if the U.S. were to withdraw its support under a different president.

Mr Blinken for the first time directly addressed the possibility that former President Donald Trump could win the November election and back away from commitments to Ukraine during his remarks on Friday. The US, under President Joe Biden, has been the most important supporter of Ukraine’s more than two-year battle against invading Russian forces.

Residents angry over recent power cuts in southern Russia staged a rare public protest on Saturday in the city of Krasnodar, posts on social media said, as the local governor blamed a heatwave for causing the blackouts.

The south of Russia has been affected by unusually hot weather that has caused mass power outages in several regions and led to the shutdown earlier this week of one of four power units at the Rostov nuclear power plant, the region’s largest.

The unit has been put back into operation since then.

“There has been abnormal heat in the Krasnodar region for a week now. The load on the energy system is colossal. I know and understand all the indignation of residents due to power outages,” Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Krasnodar region, said on the Telegram messaging app.

He said power capacities were not currently sufficient to meet peak demand during the hot summer months.

One video posted on the Baza Telegram channel appeared to show police making at least two arrests during Saturday’s protest.

Russian authorities have clamped down on any protest activity, especially politically laced dissent, since the start of the conflict with Ukraine in February 2022, and public protests are very rare given the risk of arrest.

Three pro-Russian hackers have been arrested for alleged cyberattacks against Spain and other NATO countries for terrorist purposes, Spanish police said on Saturday.

The suspects were detained for their alleged participation in distributed denial of service (DDoS) cyber attacks against public institutions and strategic sectors, the Civil Guard said.

It did not say if the three suspects, who have not been named, have been charged or detained

The cyberattacks were allegedly carried out against web pages of public and private organizations in the government sectors, critical infrastructures and essential services in countries which support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, it said.

Police released a video on social media platform X of a raid at the home of one of the suspects in which a Soviet-era hammer and sickle flag was mounted on a wall.