A Russian strike hit a football stadium in Odesa today, injuring at least one person.
The strike hit the 34,000-seater Chornomorets Stadium. The shelling destroyed the roof, windows, and stands, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
A 29-year-old woman was injured with shrapnel wounds, Odesa's regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
The attack came a day before a Ukrainian Premier League game between Chornomorets and Kolos. No official announcement has been made yet over whether the match will be postponed or cancelled.
It come as Kyiv has launched yet another strike on Russian online retailer Wildberries, as it continues a three-week campaign aiming to “bring the war home” to ordinary Russians.
The site in Yekaterinburg, 1,400 km (870 miles) east of Moscow, was the 20th Wildberries site to be attacked since 18 July. Satellite imagery shows that one-fifth of the company’s storage space has now been destroyed.
A blaze at Yekaterinburg was contained with most goods undamaged, the company said on Telegram, after a local governor said three drones had hit the roof of the logistics centre.
Why Ukraine is targeting Russia’s ‘Amazon’ Wildberries with major strikes
Ukraine has hit a major logistics hub of Russian online retailer Wildberries in Yekaterinburg, east of Moscow, continuing its three-week campaign of near-nightly strikes.
At least 20 Wildberries warehouses have been attacked since July 18, sparking major fires, destroying entire warehouses of stock, and disrupting its vast logistics network across the world's largest country. A Reuters review of satellite imagery shows at least 1.18 million square metres of storage space - more than a fifth of the company's capacity - has been damaged or destroyed.
The strikes are part of a campaign by Ukraine to "bring the war home" to ordinary Russians and raise the cost to Russia of continuing the conflict that Moscow launched in February 2022.
Suha Kidwai reports:
Zelensky wants ‘concrete results’ in developing anti-ballistic missile defence system
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine aims to achieve “concrete results” by the end of this year in developing a European anti-ballistic missile defence system under the Freyja programme.
“Ukraine is capable of producing its missile and launcher, while our partners will provide the necessary components and critical elements – radars, sensors, and everything else required … Others spent decades developing their systems. Ukraine must do this as quickly as possible, with concrete results already in place by the turn of 2026–2027,” he said.
He also said Ukraine is accelerating work on its own ballistic missile programme, adding that tests have shown “strong potential” and that the goal is to turn it into a “real weapon”.
“We are creating all the necessary conditions to make that happen.”
Moscow Supreme Court considers barring anti-war part from September elections
Russia's Supreme Court said on Friday it would consider a lawsuit to bar opposition party Yabloko from contesting parliamentary elections in September, state news agency TASS is reporting.
The party is the only one which opposes Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Watch: Trump brushes off Russia's attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine: ‘We're separated by an ocean'
Zelensky touches down in Serbia for first visit
Volodymyr Zelensky has touched down in Serbia for his first visit to the Balkan country, Serbia’s N1 TV reported.
The Ukrainian president is expected to meet populist president Aleksandar Vucic, with his visit likely sour ties between Serbia and Russia, its long-time ally and main natural gas supplier.
On Thursday, Mr Vucic said the two leaders would discuss the bid by both countries to secure membership in the European Union as well as economic and energy cooperation.
In pictures: Russian strike hits football stadium in Odesa
Pictures show the damage to the Chornomorets Stadium, which was hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa.
Ukraine strikes Russian oil refinery over 1,300km behind frontline, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday that Kyiv had struck further oil facilities deep inside Russia during nighttime attacks, intensifying its strategy to cripple Moscow's wartime economy and embarrass the Kremlin.
These persistent strikes have caused fuel shortages and rattled Russians, while heartening Ukrainians who face regular Russian barrages that Kyiv's weakened air defences struggle to counter.
Zelenskyy, speaking on social media, specified two targets: a refinery in Bashkortostan, over 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) behind the eastern front line, and another in the Yaroslavl region, nearly 700 kilometres (400 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Read the full report here:
Russian strike damages football stadium in Odesa
A Russian strike hit a football stadium in Odesa today, injuring at least one person.
The strike hit the 34,000-seater Chornomorets Stadium.
The shelling destroyed the roof, windows, and stands, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
A 29-year-old woman was injured with shrapnel wounds, Odesa's regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
The attack came a day before the Ukrainian Premier League game.
Moscow says Russian forces struck two Ukrainian cargo vessels in Black Sea
We’ve just heard from Moscow’s defence ministry, which says that Russian forces have struck two more cargo vessels in the Black Sea that were being used "in the interests of the Ukrainian military”.
The ministry said Russian forces also hit fuel storage facilities at the port of Pivdennyi.
The Independent has been unable to verify Moscow’s claims, but we’ll bring you more when we have it.
Two killed after Ukrainian drone strikes Crimean apartment block, says Russia-installed governor
Two people have reportedly been killed after a Ukrainian drone struck an apartment building in Kerch, in Russian-controlled Crimea, on Friday.
This is according to the Russia-installed governor of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov, who was cited by Moscow’s Tass news agency.