Ukraine latest: first Russian, US Defense Chiefs call since May

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the Ukraine war with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Friday. It was the first announced call between the two since May.

Israel

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had detailed discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid about Kyiv’s request for defense systems to help thwart Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones. Israel has offered to assist Ukraine in developing a missile warning system, but has made it clear it won’t provide weapons.

Flooding

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy raised the alarm Thursday about the potential for massive flooding in the Kherson region, saying Russian forces have mined a major dam there, and that such an attack would equate to “the use of weapons of mass destruction.”

Kharkiv

Russia struck Ukraine’s second-biggest city of Kharkiv on Friday morning, Oleh Synyehubov, the regional governor, said on Telegram, adding that five people were injured and industrial infrastructure damaged. Ukrainian troops repelled assaults near five settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions over the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said.

Ukrainian advances

Russia is likely preparing to remove military and occupation elements from the western bank of the Dnipro River in anticipation of imminent Ukrainian advances, the US-based Institute for the Study of War said. Ukraine’s “South” command spokesperson Nataliya Humeniuk said on TV that Russian troops are trying to relocate to the left bank of Dnipro.