Russia’s war on Ukraine latest news: Fears ease of conflict widening

Article content

A missile that crashed inside Poland was probably a stray fired by Ukraine’s air defenses and not a Russian strike, Poland and military alliance NATO said, easing international fears that the war could spill across the border.

EXPLOSION IN POLAND

Article content

* Villagers in Przewodow, south-eastern Poland, where the missile killed two people, struggled with the realization that the war on their doorstep could reach them at any time.

* NATO’s secretary-general said Tuesday’s blast in Poland was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile but that Russia was ultimately responsible because it started the war.

Article content

* Ukraine wants access to the site of the explosion, a senior Ukrainian defense official said. Oleg Danilov said Ukraine has evidence of a “Russian trace” in the incident, without giving any details.

FIGHTING

* The top U.S. general said Ukraine’s chances of any near-term, outright military victory were not high, cautioning that Russia still had significant combat power inside Ukraine despite suffering battlefield setbacks since its invasion in February.

* Around 50 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in a long-range Ukrainian artillery attack, the military said in a rare instance of Ukraine claiming to have inflicted major casualties in a single incident.

* Power was fully restored in seven Ukrainian regions, including in the capital Kyiv, less that 24 hours after a Russian missile barrage on energy infrastructure across the country.

Article content

* Following the withdrawal of Russian security forces from the strategic southern city of Kherson, residents have given Reuters accounts of abuses. Reuters could not independently verify all of the events described by the Kherson residents.

GRAIN

* A United Nations source said they have reasons to be “cautiously optimistic” on the renewal of a Black Sea grains export agreement, which is set to roll over on Saturday unless there are objections.

DIPLOMACY

* Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said he met U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, who is in the region to discuss the war in Ukraine. Burns also met Russian President Putin’s spy chief in Turkey this week.

* French President Macron said G20 leaders agreed to push Russia towards defusing the conflict and expressed hope China could play a bigger mediation role in coming months.

* Russia hailed the G20 leaders’ declaration, which mentions the “immense human suffering” caused by the war, as a “balanced text” that Russian diplomats worked hard to influence. (Compiled by Philippa Fletcher and Grant McCool)