������Ƶ

KYIV, Ukraine: Russia’s invading forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said Wednesday, seeking to capture more ground in their three-year war of attrition as US-led peace efforts struggle to gain traction.
Some Russian troops have entered the villages of Novoheorhiivka and Zaporizke in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, a major Ukrainian industrial center next to the Donetsk region where fierce fighting has been taking place, Victor Trehubov, spokesman for local ground forces, told The Associated Press by phone.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed earlier this month that its forces had taken the two villages.
But the Russians have not entrenched or built fortifications there, and fighting is continuing in the villages, Trehubov said.
Ukrainian troops are under severe strain as they try to hold back Russia’s bigger army. Military analysts say there is no sign of a looming collapse of Ukrainian defenses and note that Russian forces have been unable to take major towns and cities, but their slow slog through rural areas keeps Ukraine under pressure.
The front line, where tens of thousands of troops on both sides have been killed, snakes along roughly 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of eastern and southeastern Ukraine, which borders Russia. Russian forces are already in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
Russia illegally seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014, and now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine.
Western leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump bristled Tuesday at Putin’s stalling on an American proposal for direct peace talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump said Friday he expects to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren’t scheduled.
Ukraine has accepted US proposals for a summit with Putin and a ceasefire.
Russia has also balked at US and Western plans to establish postwar security guarantees for Ukraine, which fears another Russian invasion in the future even if a peace deal is clinched now.
The possible security guarantees being worked out by Western officials could include the deployment of European troops in Ukraine. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Wednesday that soldiers from NATO member countries would be unacceptable for Moscow.
Ukraine is trying to disrupt Russia’s war effort by striking infrastructure behind the front line with ling-range drones. Gas stations have run dry in some regions of Russia after they struck refineries and other oil infrastructure in recent weeks.
Russia, meanwhile, is continuing its campaign to cripple Ukraine’s energy supply ahead of the bitter winter by wrecking the power grid with repeated attacks.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Wednesday that Russia struck energy and gas infrastructure in six regions of the country.

LONDON: Four people in the UK were arrested after a group of pro-Palestine activists broke through the gates of a defense manufacturer on Tuesday, The Independent reported.

Footage released by a group called Palestinian Martyrs shows members breaking into the Moog Aircraft Group factory in the city of Wolverhampton at 3:50 a.m.

Activists set off red flares and climbed on to the roof of the facility after smashing through two white barriers using a four-wheel drive.

The factory suffered major damage to sky lights and solar panels, Staffordshire Police said in a statement, adding that four people were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

“A number of individuals had entered a manufacturing building and gained access to the roof,” the statement said.

“Officers, along with colleagues from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, were deployed to the scene and four individuals were arrested.

“This is an ongoing investigation and we would ask members of the public to avoid the site at this time.”

Moog was targeted by Palestinian Martyrs because it produces critical parts used in the F-35 jet program, the activists said.

Israel has used the F-35, which is produced through a global consortium, extensively in its war on Gaza.

One activist said: “Each of us here today on the roof of Moog are wearing a T-shirt of one of the martyrs that have been murdered by Israel in the genocide.”

More than 700 people in the UK have been arrested since July 5 for showing support for Palestine Action, another group that has also carried out direct action demonstrations against defense firms supplying the Israeli military.

Palestine Action was listed as a terrorist organization and banned last month. Almost 70 people have been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act for publicly showing support for the group.