Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron have held their first call since 2022 to discuss the war in Ukraine. Elsewhere, two children are among those injured in an overnight Russian attack in Odesa. Watch our latest Ukraine Q&A with Michael Clarke below.
Thursday 3 July 2025 08:50, UK
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Ukraine’s armed forces said six people have been killed and 12 wounded in the eastern Donetsk region in the last 24 hours.
The governor of the nearby Poltava region has also reported that two people were killed and 11 injured there, with attacks beginning at 9am local time (7am UK time).
Meanwhile, emergency crews are still assessing the damage done to buildings in Odesa, where two children were among those injured in the overnight attack (see 07.11 post).
Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron have held a “substantial” phone call to discuss the war in Ukraine and the Iran-Israel conflict.
Macron’s office said the call lasted two hours in what was the first such exchange between the two leaders since September 2022.
A French diplomatic source said Macron spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskiy before and after the call last night to brief him on the talks, and spoke with Donald Trump about the exchange.
The Kremlin said Putin reiterated his position that any possible peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv should have a “comprehensive and long-term character” and be based on “new territorial realities”.
Macron’s office said he told Putin that Ukraine alone should decide on whether to accept territorial concessions and that “emphasised France’s unwavering support” for Kyiv’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Moscow has predictably welcomed the halt on US weapons shipments to Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said yesterday that the war would end sooner if fewer arms reached Kyiv.
But the Institute for the Study of War thinktank says the aid suspension will only reinforce Vladimir Putin’s theory that Russia can win the war by making slow advances and outlasting Western support for Ukraine.
It says the latest US suspension of aid will only strengthen Moscow’s belief that time is on Russia’s side and a war of attrition will only benefit the Kremlin.
It notes that during previous delays in US weapons reaching Ukraine, Russia has accelerated its gains on the battlefield and significantly intensified offensive operations in key positions.
Ukraine has summoned the acting US envoy to Kyiv to warn the Trump administration that “any delay or procrastination” in supplying it with weapons will only benefit Russia.
The US has blocked several shipments to Kyiv, warning that its own domestic stockpiles were running low. The shipments included Patriot air defence missiles, which Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles fird by Moscow.
It also included portable air defence systems, thousands of artillery shells and air-to-ground missiles, all promised by the Biden administration.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was “clarifying” details with the US, while his foreign minister wrote on X that Ukraine was “ready to purchase or rent” air defence systems.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry said yesterday that the continued deliveries of US defence packages were “critically important”, particularly to strengthen the country’s air defence.
Russia launched its biggest aerial attack of the war so far on Saturday night, firing a total of 537 drones and missiles at Ukraine as part of an escalating bombing campaign.
Five people were injured, including a seven-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl, in an overnight Russian attack on the port city of Odesa, the Ukrainian authorities said.
A multistorey residential building and other civilian infrastructure were damaged, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. Six flats were completely destroyed, while another 36 were partially damaged, he said.
“The children, who were poisoned by combustion products, were hospitalised,” Kiper said. The other three injured people, all adults, received medical aid on the site.
Ukraine’s state emergency services shared photos showing rescuers carrying children in the dark out of a multistorey building on fire and firefighters tackling the blaze, which it said has since been extinguished.
The country’s air force said Russia launched 52 drones at the country overnight, of which 40 were either shot down or misdirected using electronic warfare.
Hello and welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Overnight, Russia launched 52 drones and missiles across various areas of Ukraine as part of its intensifying bombing campaign on the country.
Two children were among those injured in an attack in the port city of Odesa, according to local authorities, while explosions were also reported in Kharkiv.
It comes as the US halted some weapons shipments to Kyiv over concerns that its own domestic stockpiles were getting too low, which Ukraine has warned will only benefit Moscow.
We’ll bring you the full story on that and more updates right here, so stay with us.
Thanks for joining us.
We’ll be back soon with all the latest from the war in Ukraine. Until then, here’s a rundown of the main stories of the day:
Here are the latest scenes in Donetsk after what local Russian-installed authorities said was a Ukrainian strike last night.
Ukrainian jets destroyed more than 600 targets throughout the month of June, Kyiv’s air force says.
These included command posts, logistics facilities as well as “places of concentration of enemy manpower and equipment”, it added.
Meanwhile, the air force says Ukrainian air defence systems destroyed 4,750 targets, which included several types of Russian drones and missiles.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has signed the documents needed to ratify a new special tribunal to try crimes of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The tribunal has been established by the Council of Europe and the Ukrainian government.
It will focus on senior political and military leaders who are responsible for planning, preparing, initiating, or executing the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
“Russia must already feel this year that its accountability for the crime of aggression is inevitable — and that the international legal process to bring it to justice has truly begun,” Zelenskyy said.
What about the ICC?
The International Criminal Court has the jurisdiction to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Ukraine.
However, it cannot currently examine the crime of aggression in this case due to jurisdictional limitations for the crime of aggression. The new tribunal will fill this gap.
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Ukraine war latest: Children 'poisoned' in Odesa attack; Macron and Putin hold first call in three years – Sky News
