Russia has attacked a hospital in the centre of Kyiv, close to several western embassies, after Volodymyr Zelenskyy said speed restrictions on SpaceX’s Starshield system had made it harder for Ukraine to shoot down enemy drones.
asserted
Ukraine → attack → drones
Three people were injured when a drone smashed into the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics at 3am, hitting the second floor of the hospital and an adjoining 19th-century building.
asserted
drone → injure → hospital
Meanwhile, Russia claimed it had shot down nearly 1,200 Ukrainian drones overnight, one of the largest swarms sent by Kyiv.
asserted
it → claim → Kyiv
It reported that at least four people were killed in the southern region of Volgograd.
asserted
people → report → Volgograd
The blast in Kyiv blew out windows in nearby buildings including in the National Academy of Arts across the road.
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blast → blow → road
The six-storey hospital is located in the Shevchenkivskyi district, not far from the Danish and Romanian embassies, as well as cafes and a park popular with dog walkers.
asserted
hospital → locate → walkers
Standing in the yard as smoke billowed from the burning building, and firefighters led dazed patients to safety, one witness, Oleksandr, said the attack had narrowly missed patients.
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attack → stand → patients
“We were asleep when there was this massive boom.
asserted
We → be → ?
We all jumped out of bed straight away.
asserted
We → jump → bed
People were running about …
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People → run → ?
If it had hit a little further to the left it would have been much worse.
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it → hit → left
We felt the shock wave.”
asserted
We → feel → wave
He added: “Targeting the wounded – that’s really low.
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that → add → wounded
Russia attacks everything.
asserted
Russia → attack → everything
Where I live, high-rise blocks are being constantly hit by bombs.
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blocks → live → bombs
They don’t care where they drop them, or where they land.
asserted
they → care → them
Russia has recently stepped up its strikes on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, hitting power plants, passenger trains and two bridges across the Dnipro river.
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Russia → step → river
Ukraine says the attacks are part of a campaign of terror, designed to make a weary population capitulate.
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population → say → terror
On Thursday, Zelenskyy said the Starshield system – operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and overseen by the Pentagon – was again experiencing significant disruptions, after an unexplained slowdown last month.
asserted
system → say → slowdown
He said some Russian aerial sorties had got through because Ukrainian interceptor systems that rely on the US satellite service could not reach the necessary speed to knock out enemy drones.
uncertain
that → say → drones
The White House has yet to explain why the service has been throttled for a second time, but it comes after intense US-led shuttle diplomacy this week, with Donald Trump seemingly pressuring Zelenskyy to make territorial concessions to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
asserted
Trump → have → president
Trump’s emissaries, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and real estate developer Steve Witkoff, met Putin in Moscow on Thursday.
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emissaries → meet → Thursday
They then flew to Dublin to brief Zelenskyy on their talks, which came after trilateral negotiations on Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.
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which → fly → Dhabi
Kremlin negotiators insist that Ukraine hand over four Ukrainian provinces, including cities and villages Russian troops have been unable to conquer.
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troops → insist → cities
They are also calling for a new “security architecture” in Europe – a demand in effect that Nato go back to its pre-1997 posture, before eastern European nations joined the alliance.
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nations → call → alliance
At the same time, Moscow does not want European states to be involved in US-brokered talks to end the war in Ukraine.
asserted
states → want → Ukraine
On Thursday, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said Europe had to take part since “US support” for Kyiv had ended.
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support → say → Kyiv
“Without Europeans, there is no support for Ukraine,” Macron said.
asserted
Macron → be → Ukraine
“At the end of the day, we will be the ones to define and decide for our future security as Europeans.
asserted
we → define → Europeans
Meanwhile, Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight caused power outages in 12 regions, said deputy energy minister Artem Nekrasov.
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Nekrasov → cause → regions
“Energy workers are working at an intensified pace, but new attacks and constant air raid alerts are complicating and delaying repairs,” Nekrasov said.
asserted
Nekrasov → work → repairs
In Kyiv, the orthopaedic hospital’s director, Ronan Derkach, said medical services had been temporarily suspended as a cleanup operation got under way.
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operation → say → way
Thirty patients were taken to safety.
asserted
patients → take → safety
The Aporia
