On the 704th day of the war, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia had launched drone and missile attacks across the country, targeting both civilian and critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, Ukraine demanded proof from Russia regarding a military transport plane that crashed in the Belgorod region, as Moscow claims it was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) also charged five people with corruption in weapons procurement, accusing them of embezzling $40m earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war.
In an effort to promote transparency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly declared his income for the first time. Meanwhile, Russian officials in occupied Ukrainian regions stripped the Ukrainian language of its official status, effectively banning it from public use. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that its chief, Rafael Grossi, will visit Ukraine, including its capital and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Zelenskyy warned that a drop in military aid from the United States to Ukraine would send a “bad signal,” as right-wing Republicans in the US withhold additional support unless it is linked to changes in US border policy. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, on a visit to the US, highlighted the key deterrent message for China in continued US military funding for Ukraine, with US President Joe Biden requesting Congress to approve $61bn in new aid. Stoltenberg also emphasized that the aid had enabled Ukrainian forces to “destroy and degrade” the Russian military.