Senator Lindsey Graham, after a trip to Ukraine and meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that he had “never been more optimistic about the ability of the Ukrainians to go on the offense and take back their territory from the Russians.”
Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said a statement on Friday that “it is clear to me that the Russians have been bloodied and weakened. We must provide cluster munitions and additional long range artillery to make the counteroffensive a success.”
At least two people were killed and 30 injured after a Russian missile struck a hospital and veterinary clinic in Ukraine’s central city of Dnipro. Most of the 17 missiles and 31 Shahed drones launched by Kremlin forces overnight were shot down by Ukraine’s air defense. It was the latest in a bombing campaign that’s also targeted Kyiv 13 times so far this month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Earlier, Earlier, Chinese envoy Li Hui, charged with promoting Beijing’s efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, met Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow after traveling to Kyiv last week.
Buildings in central Krasnodar, a large southern Russian city, were damaged in an explosion while air defenses shot down a missile over the neighboring Rostov region, according to local officials. Videos shared across Russian Telegram channels showed what may have been a drone flying over Krasnodar, seconds before an explosion.
Latest Coverage
- Ukraine Says One Dead, 23 Hurt in Russian Strike on Hospital
- Lula Declined Invitation to Visit Russia in Call With Putin
- China Envoy Meets Russian Foreign Minister Over War in Ukraine
- China and Russia Take Steps to Boost Food Trade
- For the Global Oil Market, Russia’s Output Cut Isn’t Happening
Coming Up
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds talks with Baltic leaders in Tallinn
- NATO foreign ministers meet in Oslo from Tuesday
Markets
Oil rose and was headed for a modest weekly gain. Supply dynamics remain in focus, with Saudi Arabia and Russia having offered conflicting statements this week on the potential for more production cuts from OPEC and its allies.
