Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Kyiv for a previously unannounced visit. He paid respect to fallen Ukrainian soldiers and is expected by meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other top officials. Trudeau’s trip comes as Ukraine continues to press allies for additional weaponry to support its counteroffensive against Russia, and comes under frequent heavy airstrikes from Kremlin forces. The NATO-member leader previously visited in May 2022, when he reopened his nation’s embassy months after the start of the war. Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent, accompanied Trudeau.
Ukraine’s ground offensive is active in at least four areas. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the counteroffensive had begun early this week and claimed that all attempts made by Ukraine “so far have failed.” The acknowledgment of hostilities “is a notable departure from his previous distanced approach to discussing battlefield realities and may indicate that the Kremlin is learning from its previous failed approach to rhetorically downplay successful Ukrainian counteroffensives in 2022,” said US military analysts at the Institute for the Study of War. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held out the possibility - not for the first time - of talks with Putin “soon.”
Rescue efforts continue in response to flooding caused by the Kakhovka Dam collapse. The UN’s top humanitarian official defended the agency’s response to the New York Times after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized international aid groups actions on the ground in an interview with a German newspaper. “They’re not here,” Zelenskiy told Bild of aid agencies including the UN and International Red Cross.
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