A Russian drone attack injured a 19-year-old woman and set a house on fire in Kyiv oblast, marking another grim day in the ongoing war. Meanwhile, a Russian assault on Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s east killed one person and injured at least 14, including four children. The town of Kramatorsk, located about 17 kilometers from the active combat line in the Donetsk region, remains a persistent target for Russian military attacks. The assault damaged a residential district, affecting 17 houses.
Eighteen countries, including Canada, Germany, and Portugal, have raised approximately $1.8 billion by June 2024 to purchase 155mm artillery shells as part of the Czech ammunition initiative. The Czechs coordinated the delivery of around 1.5 million shells throughout 2024, with Ukraine receiving 500,000 artillery shells sourced from outside Europe under this initiative. Despite efforts, production shortages have stretched the European goal of sending Ukraine a million shells by March 2024 to December 2024. Nevertheless, the Czech Republic continues to supply tens of thousands of shells monthly.
In Russia, a military court sentenced a man to 16 years in jail for providing Ukraine with intelligence on a military site near Moscow and preparing attacks. Amidst these developments, calls are intensifying for the use of hundreds of billions in frozen Russian assets to bolster Ukraine’s defense efforts.
"Europe has to act quickly, and I believe we should move from freezing assets to seizing assets. It’s not an issue on which any government can act alone. We must act with European allies," said British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer highlighted the urgency of international cooperation.
"I am hosting a number of countries at the weekend for us to continue to discuss how we go forward together as allies in light of the situation that we face," he stated.
Starmer plans to address the conflict's latest developments after returning from a meeting with former U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.
Despite growing pressure, European leaders have yet to reach consensus on seizing Russian assets without facing legal challenges or setting a risky international precedent. The enormous cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is projected to reach $524 billion over the next decade following three years of full-scale invasion by Russia.