At least 7 killed in Kyiv by Russian drone, missile strikes on Ukraine, mayor says
Ihor Kuznietsov/Novyny LIVE/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — At least seven people were killed and 28 injured in Kyiv overnight as Russian drone and missile attacks again rocked Ukraine’s capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Monday, describing Moscow’s latest attack as “terrible.”
Most casualties came from a single strike on a residential building in Kyiv’s northwestern Shevchenkivskyi district, Klitschko said in a post to Telegram, alongside which he published a video from the impact site showing extensive damage to nearby apartment blocks.
Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram that Russia launched 352 drones and 16 missiles into the country overnight, with Kyiv the primary target. Of those, the air force said 339 drones and 15 missiles were shot down or otherwise neutralized.
Direct hits were reported in six locations, the air force said, with falling debris reported in 25 locations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a statement on Telegram condemning the “cynical strike,” which he said included the use of North Korean ballistic missiles.
Noting Russia’s condemnation of recent Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, Zelenskyy said Moscow remains “silent” on its own ongoing bombardment of Ukrainian cities using Iranian-supplied attack drones.
“A significant part of the drones and missiles were shot down by our sky defenders,” Zelenskyy wrote. “But not all. And everyone in countries close to Russia, Iran and North Korea should think about whether they will be able to protect lives there if this coalition of killers persists and continues to spread terror.”
The Ukrainian president will visit the U.K. on Monday, as British leaders prepare for the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy said that air defense capabilities will be among the topics to be discussed, capabilities he said “should become the basis for a much stronger joint defense.”
“And we will also agree on new and strong steps to put pressure on Russia for this war and to stop the strikes,” Zelenskyy wrote in his statement.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down 23 Ukrainian drones overnight.
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for “new offensive operations” despite Friday’s looming peace summit in Alaska.
Fierce frontline combat and long-range drone and missile strikes are ongoing as the U.S. and Russia prepare for Friday’s meeting. Ukrainian representatives are not expected to attend, though a source in Zelenskyy’s office told ABC News on Monday that “everything is very fluid.”
Zelenskyy and his officials have gone on a diplomatic offensive ahead of the meeting, seeking to shore up foreign support behind Ukraine’s key demands in any peace deal.
On Monday, Zelenskyy suggested that Putin is not ready to end the fighting, despite Friday’s meeting in Alaska.
Citing a report from his intelligence and military commands, Zelenskyy said in a statement that Putin “is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war. Putin is determined only to present a meeting with America as his personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before, applying the same pressure on Ukraine as before.”
“So far, there is no indication whatsoever that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a post-war situation,” he added. “On the contrary, they are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations.”
“If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy has said Kyiv will not cede any territory to Russia, will not abandon its NATO ambitions and will not allow any limitations on its armed forces.
Among Moscow’s demands are that Ukraine cede several regions — not all of which are controlled by Russian troops — in the south and east of the country, accept curbs on the size and sophistication of its military and be permanently excluded from NATO. Putin also wants all international sanctions on Russia to be lifted in the event of a peace deal.
Russia’s demands, Zelenskyy has said, constitute an attempt to “partition Ukraine.”
President Donald Trump on Monday described the coming summit as a “feel out meeting,” telling reporters, “I’m going in to speak to Vladimir, and I’m going to be telling him, ‘You got to end this war. You got to end it’.”
“And at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” Trump said.
When asked how he would know if a deal is possible, the president replied, “Because that’s what I do. I make deals.”
Francisco Richart Barbeira/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Russia and Ukraine exchanged large waves of attack drones overnight into Sunday as the two combatants maneuvered ahead of Friday’s planned summit in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 100 drones into the country overnight, of which 70 were shot down or otherwise suppressed. Thirty drones impacted across 12 locations, it said in a statement posted to Telegram.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its troops shot down at least 126 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Temporary restrictions on flights were introduced at airports in the southwest of the country in Vladikavkaz, Grozny, Saratov and Kaluga, Russia’s federal air agency Rosaviatsiya said, during the attacks.
In Saratov, regional Gov. Roman Busargin said one person was killed and several injured by a drone that fell near a residential building. An industrial facility was also damaged, Busargin said.
The Ukrainian General Staff later confirmed the attack on Saratov, saying in a statement that it targeted an oil refinery there. “Saratov oil refinery is one of the key facilities of the Russian Federation’s fuel infrastructure involved in providing oil products to the occupation troops,” the General Staff said. “Its annual processing capacity is up to 7 million tons of oil.”
“The Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to systematically take measures aimed at reducing the military and economic potential of the enemy in order to force it to stop the armed aggression against our state,” it added. “Every affected object on the territory of the Russian Federation involved in securing its criminal war against Ukraine brings us closer to just peace.”
Ukraine appears to have been ramping up its drone strikes in recent days. So far in August, Russia’s Defense Ministry has reported downing 1,117 Ukrainian drones — an average of around 117 per day, marking a notable increase on July’s daily average of 97 drones downed.
For Ukrainian defenders, August has thus far been quieter than July. Kyiv has reported facing 749 drones and 11 missiles so far this month, an average of approximately 75 drones and one missile each day.
July saw Russia set a new record number of aerial attacks, launching a total of 6,443 drones and missiles into Ukraine across the month, with a daily average of around 201 drones and six missiles per day.
While long-range strikes and grinding frontline combat continues, both Kyiv and Moscow are also maneuvering on the diplomatic front.
Since Trump announced that he would meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday, Ukrainian officials have gone on a diplomatic offensive to bolster the Western coalition in support of its peace demands.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have insisted that any negotiations must include Ukraine. Kyiv will also not officially cede any territory, accept limitations on its armed forces, or jettison its ambitions to join NATO and the European Union, Zelenskyy has said.
Putin, though, is demanding that Ukraine cede several regions — not all of which are controlled by Russian troops — in the south and east of the country, accept curbs on the size and sophistication of its military and be permanently excluded from NATO.
Russia’s demands, Zelenskyy has said, constitute an attempt to “partition Ukraine.”
Speaking from the White House on Friday, Trump suggested a settlement could include “some swapping of territories.” Zelenskyy swiftly rejected the proposal, saying Ukraine “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done” and that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”
“Our positions were clear: a reliable, lasting peace is only possible with Ukraine at the negotiating table, with full respect for our sovereignty and without recognizing the occupation,” Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s influential chief of staff, said in a Saturday statement after taking part in talks with Vice President JD Vance in the U.K.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk were among the European leaders to sign a joint statement expressing their support for Kyiv in any peace negotiations.
“We welcome President Trump’s work to stop the killing in Ukraine, end the Russian Federation’s war of aggression and achieve just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine,” the statement read.
“We are convinced that only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed,” it added.
“Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” the joint statement said. “The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force. The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”
Heavy machinery is tearing through what locals are calling “Wet Wipe Island,” an 820-foot shoreline of flushed bathroom debris that has transformed a stretch of London’s Thames River into an environmental nightmare. ABC News / Dakota Bennett
(LONDON) — Heavy machinery is tearing through what locals are calling “wet wipe island,” an 820-foot shoreline of flushed bathroom debris that has transformed a stretch of London’s Thames River into an environmental nightmare.
The clean-up near Hammersmith Bridge in West London represents the United Kingdom’s first attempt to mechanically remove wet wipes from a river and, over the next month, excavators will extract an estimated 180 tons of congealed waste — equivalent to the weight of 15 double-decker buses spread across an area the size of two tennis courts.
“We’re doing the first mass removal of wet wipes that’s ever taken place in the country,” Emily McLean, senior technical advisor for the Port of London Authority, which is coordinating the operation, told ABC News.
The mechanical intervention comes after nearly a decade of volunteers painstakingly collecting wet wipes by hand. Thames21, an environmental charity, has documented the problem since 2017, with volunteers removing 140,000 individual wipes while mapping the contamination’s spread.
“It’s a validation of eight years of work,” said Ann Willard Sullivan, a Thames21 volunteer who leads cleanup efforts in the area. “It’s a sign that there can be big change, don’t give up.”
The volunteer data proved crucial in convincing authorities to act and, what started as citizen science, became the foundation for both this cleanup and potential broader policy changes down the line.
The Thames’ 23-foot tidal range creates a narrow window for the cleanup work meaning excavators can only operate during a four-hour window around low tide when the debris becomes accessible.
McLean said that engineers are using a “rake and shake” method to separate wet wipes from river sediment, ensuring that essential materials for the Thames ecosystem remain on the riverbed while removing only the contamination.
“We’re removing that contaminated layer while retaining as much of the foreshore as we can,” explained Grace Rawnsley, sustainability director for the Port of London Authority.
The cleanup represents the latest chapter in the clean-up of the Thames after it was declared “biologically dead” by the Natural History Museum in 1957.
“This is a huge moment — after years of campaigning, wet wipe island hopefully is no more!” said Fleur Anderson, the MP for Putney, Southfields, Roehampton and Wandsworth Town. “The ban I’ve introduced will mean 3.8 billion wipes removed from the network every year. A win for our waters, sewers and environment!”
Now, nearly 70 years later, it supports 125 different fish species and serves as a nursery for five types of sharks, according to the Zoological Society of London.
Wet wipes, however, have recently threatened this recovery, with the plastic-laden debris breaking down into microplastics that clog digestive systems of fish and disrupt feeding patterns, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Recent scientific research indicates that an estimated 70% of Thames flounder contain plastic fibers in their stomachs.
“They get stuck in fish stomachs,” McLean said. “So, we really think that by removing them, we’re taking out those contaminants, and that will help the water quality.”
The Hammersmith cleanup coincides with Britain’s groundbreaking approach to wet wipe pollution when, in April 2024, the U.K. government announced plans to ban plastic-containing wet wipes, with implementation expected by 2026.
Currently, Britons use approximately 11 billion wet wipes annually, with an estimated 2.5 billion flushed down toilets, according to Thames21.
Thames Water says that it spends £18 million ($24 million) yearly removing 3.8 billion wipes from London’s sewage system alone, costs that are ultimately passed to consumers through higher water bills.
The wet wipe issue extends far beyond the Thames, however, with water companies across the U.K. collectively spend £100 million ($135 million) annually clearing 300,000 sewer blockages, with 93% caused by flushed wipes, according to an October 2021 research report from United Utilities.
“These wet wipes should never be entering into the river,” Felicity Rhodes, Thames program manager at Thames21, told ABC News.
The charity advocates for a “multi-stakeholder approach” involving manufacturers, water companies, government regulation and consumer behavior change.
The Port of London Authority estimates the monthlong operation will cost “hundreds of thousands” of pounds, a fraction of the ongoing costs of wet wipe pollution.
For the rowers gliding past the cleanup site, the mechanical intervention represents both an end and a beginning: the removal of London’s most embarrassing landmark and a step toward the Thames that millions of Londoners want their river to become.
ABC News’ Maggie Rulli and Charlotte Gardiner contributed to this report.
