Ukraine-Russia war – live: Crimea bridge attacked as Kyiv says Western weapons seeing ‘significant results’

Ukraine has attacked a key Crimean bridge as Kyiv has said it is seeing ‘significant results’ from Western weapons. Kyiv struck and damaged the Chonhar road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea and a smaller bridge linking the town of Henichesk with the peninsula’s northeast coast on Sunday, Moscow -appointed officials and Ukraine’s armed forces said. Acting Kherson regional governor Vladimir Saldo, a Moscow appointee, said Ukrainian shelling wounded a civilian driver and damaged a village school as well as a gas pipeline running alongside the bridge serving Henichesk, leaving more than 20,000 people without gas. Without providing evidence, he also said the strike on the Chonhar bridge, one of three road links between Crimea and mainland Ukraine, involved an Anglo-French Storm Shadow missile. This comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Ukraine is seeing ‘significant results’ from U.S. and German air defence systems, despite waves of Russian air strikes that Kyiv says targeted civilians and residential buildings. At least six people died after Moscow unleashed missile and drone barrage attacks across parts of Ukraine overnight. Key Points Ukraine and Russia confirm Kyiv hits Chonhar bridge to Crimea Ukraine says Western weapons seeing ‘significant results’ Russian retaliation threat sees up to 70 air assault weapons used overnight Zelensky condemns Russian attack on blood transfusion centre Russia planning ‘false flag’ attack in Belarus, Ukraine warns Ukraine says Western weapons seeing ‘significant results’ 08:13 , Tara Cobham Ukraine is seeing “significant results” from U.S. and German air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, despite waves of Russian air strikes that Kyiv says targeted civilians and residential buildings. In his nightly video address on Sunday, Zelenskiy said advanced air defence systems, including the US-built Patriot and Germany’s IRIS-T, were proving “highly effective” and had “already yielded significant results.” Zelenskiy said Ukraine had shot down a significant part of Russia’s attacks over the past week, which included 65 missiles of various kinds and 178 assault drones, including 87 Shaheds. Ukraine’s military said later that Russia had launched 30 missiles and 48 air strikes. “Unfortunately, there are casualties and wounded among the civilian population. Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure suffered destruction,” the military said in a statement. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a celebration of the Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Sunday, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine (via REUTERS) Ukraine and Russia confirm Kyiv hits Chonhar bridge to Crimea 07:57 , Tara Cobham Ukraine struck and damaged the Chonhar road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea and a smaller bridge linking the town of Henichesk with the peninsula’s northeast coast on Sunday, Moscow-appointed officials and Ukraine’s armed forces said. “The enemy launched a missile strike in the area of the Chonhar bridge in the north of Crimea,” Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, wrote on Telegram. “One hit, part of the missile was hit by air defence.” The road surface was damaged, traffic diverted and repairs had begun, he said. Acting Kherson regional governor Vladimir Saldo — another Moscow appointee — said without providing evidence that the strike on the Chonhar bridge, one of three road links between Crimea and mainland Ukraine, involved an Anglo-French Storm Shadow missile. The Armed Forces of Ukraine Strategic Communications Directorate said the strike damaged the road surface of the bridge, which lies on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under its control. Ukraine struck the same bridge in June. The directorate said Ukrainian strikes had also left the smaller Henichesk bridge sagging but provided no further details. Reuters could not immediately verify the condition of either bridge nor the munitions used. Saldo said Ukrainian shelling wounded a civilian driver and damaged a gas pipeline running alongside the bridge serving Henichesk, the temporary administrative centre of the Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region, leaving more than 20,000 people without gas. He said a village school was also damaged. The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 and which is of military importance to Moscow as well as a popular tourist destination for Russians. Russian air defence takes down drone near Kaluga region bordering Moscow 07:30 , Shweta Sharma Russia’s air defence system destroyed a drone resembling an aircraft over the Ferzikovskyi district in the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, governor of the region, said on the Telegram messaging app on Monday. The Kaluga region shares a border with the Moscow region to its north. Mr Shapsha emphasised that this incident had no adverse effects on individuals or infrastructure. ‘There has been no impact on people or infrastructure,’ he said. The origin of the launched drones remains unclear, and as of now, there has been no immediate response from Ukraine. It is worth noting that Kyiv rarely takes public responsibility for attacks conducted within Russia or on territories controlled by Russia in Ukraine. Although Russian authorities have attributed the recent surge in drone attacks within Russia to Kyiv, there hasn’t been any confirmation or official statement from Ukraine regarding this matter. Ukraine says woman killed in Russian shelling of Kherson 07:10 , Shweta Sharma A woman was killed early Monday due to shelling by Russian forces in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, according to statements from regional officials. ‘A difficult night for Kherson… The Russian army continued to shell Kherson residents’ homes in the central part of the city,’ governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app. The shelling commenced around midnight and persisted for several hours. In November, Ukraine regained control of Kherson city and portions of the Kherson region following months of Russian occupation. However, Russian forces consistently subjected the city and its surroundings to shelling from across the Dnipro river. This month, another tragic incident occurred as a doctor lost their life, and a nurse sustained injuries due to Russian shelling targeting a Kherson hospital. Blood transfusion centre in Kharkiv hit by Russian attack as three killed 07:00 , Shweta Sharma Three people have been killed and a blood transfusion centre in Ukraine destroyed, as Russia unleashed a missile and drone barrage in retaliation to attacks on its naval vessels in the Black Sea earlier this week. Kyiv’s Air Force said on Sunday that Moscow had launched a multi-wave overnight attack on Ukraine, with 70 air-assault weapons, including cruise and hypersonic missiles as well as Iranian-made drones. ‘We managed to shoot down a significant number of these,’ Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said, in his nightly address. Ukraine: Moment camera operator runs for safety during shelling in Donetsk 06:30 , Shweta Sharma Six killed in overnight strikes across Ukraine 05:48 , Shweta Sharma Overnight strikes on Ukraine have now resulted in six reported deaths, with three additional fatalities attributed to the 70 missile and drone attacks conducted during the night. Among the casualties, there was a woman in her 80s in Donetsk and two individuals in Kharkiv, as mentioned in our previous report at 10.53 am. The governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, reported that two people were killed in the villages of Torske and Niu-York due to Russian attacks. Furthermore, in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman lost her life, along with the two deaths previously mentioned. Additionally, four other people sustained injuries in the Kharkiv region as a result of the strikes. 05:18 , Shweta Sharma Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia ‘s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage. The Kremlin , in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin ‘s spurious war to ‘de-Nazify’ Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries. Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses. Former MP killed while defending Ukraine 04:52 , Shweta Sharma A former member of Ukraine’s parliament was killed in combat at the Zaporizhzhian region, the government confirmed yesterday. Serhiy Slabenko who served the parliament from 2002 to 2006 and then served as a deputy of the Volyn Regional Council was killed in action on 4 August. He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter. His body will be brought home today. Ukraine pace talks in Saudi Arabia ends with no concrete resolution to war 04:26 , Shweta Sharma Jeddah-hosted talks for peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine war concluded yesterday with no concrete resolution to invasion as Moscow did not take part in the meeting. The participants from at least 40 countries agreed on the importance of continuing consultations to pave the way for peace, according to a closing statement released by Saudi Arabia. Countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the talks. While a senior Ukrainian official called that talks productive Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants a global summit to take place based on those principles later this year. Speaking about the Jeddah talks, Mr Zelensky’s head of staff Andriy Yermak said in a statement: ‘We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built.’ Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state media as saying the meeting was ‘a reflection of the West’s attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts’ to mobilise the Global South behind Mr Zelensky’s position. Ukraine eager to see F-16 in action as soon as possible, Zelensky says 04:01 , Shweta Sharma Volodymyr Zelensky said they are eager to see America’s F-16 fighter jets soaring in the skies as soon as possible as both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks. The president added that he is seeing ‘significant results’ from US and German air defence systems. Russia reported it had shot down a drone heading for Moscow in the third such attack in a week, while officials on both sides said Ukraine had struck two bridges linking Crimea to the mainland. In his nightly video address on Sunday, Mr Zelensky said advanced air defence systems, including the US-built Patriot and Germany’s IRIS-T, were proving ‘highly effective’ and had ‘already yielded significant results.’ Icymi: Blood transfusion centre hit by Russian missiles 03:01 , Holly Bancroft Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of committing another war crime against Ukraine after a blood transfusion centre was hit by missiles. The president said there are fatalities and injuries after the strike in the town of Kupiansk. Kupiansk is a railway hub that is less than 10 miles from the frontline. Zelensky says Ukraine needs ‘complete protection against terror’ as he calls for more air defence supplies 01:22 , Holly Bancroft Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the country needs ‘complete protection against terror’ as he calls on allies to supply air defence systems and missiles. Speaking in a video posted on Twitter, he said: ‘The reponsible position of each partner in supplying air defence systems and missiles is very important. Complete protection against terror is needed here.’ China reportedly backs further Ukraine peace talks Sunday 6 August 2023 23:58 , Holly Bancroft China is reportedly in support of a third round of talks to find a framework for peace in Ukraine. According to European officials, China has apparently signalled that it is willing to attend further international talks on resolving the conflict in Ukraine. The progress happened at a Saudia Arabian forum this weekend, which focused on a 10-point peace plan proposed by Kyiv. Although no concrete developments were made at the talks, the presence of Chinese representatives was seen as a win for Ukraine. One European diplomat told the Financial Times that the ‘mere presence of China shows Russia is more and more isolated’. Dozens of countries, including Brazil, Turkey, the US and the EU, attended the forum. Germany has delivered only 10% of Leopard 1 tanks promised – reports Sunday 6 August 2023 22:49 , Holly Bancroft Germany has delivered only around 10 per cent of the Leopard 1 tanks that it promised to Ukraine, German newspaper Die Welt has reported. In May the country agreed to a 2.7 billion-euro military aid package with Ukraine. Die Welt, who has tracked the delivery of the military aid, reported that in the last two months Germany has sent Ukraine just 10 out of the 110 promised Leopard 1 tanks and 12 of 18 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks. Pictured: Ukrainian president Zelensky attends celebration of air force Sunday 6 August 2023 22:02 , Holly Bancroft Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a celebration of the Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, amid Russia’s continued attack on the country. Road bridge to Crimea destroyed by Ukrainian missile, Moscow-appointed head of Crimea says Sunday 6 August 2023 20:35 , Holly Bancroft A road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea was damaged by a Ukrainian missile strike, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea has said. Acting governor of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, another Moscow-appointee, was reported by Russian media as saying that the strike on the bridge involved an Anglo-French Storm Shadow missile. He did not provide any evidence for his claim however. In June Ukraine struck the same bridge, which lies on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine that are under Russian control. Saldo also said that another road link to the region, a small bridge across the Tonky Strait, has been shelled. A gas pipeline which serves the area has also been damaged, he said, leaving more than 20,000 people without gas. The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014. Reporting by agencies. Overnight airstrikes kill three in Ukraine as Moscow airport halts flights