It's early Friday morning in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
The Russian defense ministry said its air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian drones over Crimea early Thursday morning. The Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea to the Russian mainland, was also closed to traffic Thursday but has since reopened.
Ukraine destroyed a Russian air defense system near the town of Yevpatoriya in annexed Crimea Wednesday night, according to a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the destruction as a "triumph" in his nightly address Thursday.
Ukraine also damaged two Russian warships in a strike on a Russian ship repair base in Sevastopol early Wednesday morning, in what was Kyiv’s most ambitious strike on the Sevastopol port since the war began.
The attacks are the latest to hit Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukraine is attempting to regain control of the area, using a strategy that focuses in part on attacking "occupation military objects," according to Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office.
Here are other headlines you should know:
- On the ground: The Ukrainian military has seen "some success" on the front lines near Bakhmut, but fighting continues south of the city, in the area of the village of Andriivka, according to a defense official. In Russia's Belgorod region, which neighbors Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has unleashed shelling nearly 100 times over the past 24 hours, the region's Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said Thursday.
- Biden and Zelensky: Biden plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky next week around the UN General Assembly meetings, according to multiple officials familiar with the plans. It remained unclear whether the meeting would occur in New York or later in the week at the White House. One source familiar with the matter told CNN that Zelensky is expected to travel to Washington, DC, after his stop in New York.
- Sanctions: US President Joe Biden's administration announced its latest tranche of sanctions against the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine in a move that targets Russian elites profiting off the war as well as sectors critical to Moscow’s military effort. Also, the national security advisers of the United States, South Korea, and Japan issued a stern warning regarding potential violations of international sanctions by North Korea and Russia following their recent summit.
- ICC office: The International Criminal Court has opened a field office in Kyiv to help it investigate war crimes in Ukraine. Announcing the move in the Ukrainian capital Thursday, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said the war was a moment of huge responsibility for the court which required perseverance and endurance.
- Grain restrictions: Ukraine expects the European Commission to “keep its word” and lift all restrictions on Ukrainian grain exports on Friday, when the restrictions are set to expire, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
- Kim Jong Un: Following his meeting with Putin Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in the eastern Russian city Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russian state media TASS said in the early hours of Friday local time, without giving any further details. He is on his way to an aircraft plant in the city, TASS added
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