Here are the key events from Thursday, August 25.
Fighting
- A Russian missile attack killed 22 civilians and set a passenger train on fire in eastern Ukraine on the country’s Independence Day, according to officials in Kyiv.
- Two employees of Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have been detained for passing information to Ukrainian authorities, Russia’s National Guard said.
- There have been 473 verified attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine since Russia invaded six months ago, which have killed nearly 100 people, according to the World Health Organization.
- Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the slowing pace of Moscow’s military campaign was deliberate and aimed at reducing civilian casualties. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russian forces of war crimes and targeting civilians, charges Moscow rejects.
Diplomacy
- UN chief Antonio Guterres called for an end to the war in Ukraine as the country marked the 31st anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union and six months since Russian forces invaded.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged in an Independence Day address that his country would fight Russia’s invasion “until the end” and would not make “any concession or compromise”.
- Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko congratulated Ukraine on its Independence Day, saying “today’s contradictions” should not destroy long-term neighbourly ties. Belarus is one of the strongest allies of Russia.
- Pope Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who backs the war in Ukraine, will not meet when they attend a gathering of religious leaders in Kazakhstan next month, the RIA news agency has cited a senior Orthodox official as saying.
Economy
- The United States has announced nearly $3bn in new military aid to Ukraine, with President Joe Biden saying the assistance aims to help the country defend against Russia’s invasion “over the long term”.
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised a 54 million pound ($63.5m) military package which will include 200 drones and loitering munitions to support Ukraine after meeting with Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
- Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has said the European Union countries should agree on a cap on the price of gas imported from Russia to help ease the burden of rising prices on businesses and households.
- The United Kingdom imported no fuel from Russia in June for the first time since records began 25 years ago, as sanctions on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine helped drive a 97 percent fall in imports of Russian goods, official data has shown.
