Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said Russia wanted to "destroy" Ukraine, but the war had "returned to its home", in his Independence Day video address from Kyiv. Zelensky was referring to Ukraine's August 6 surprise military incursion into Russia's Kursk region. Ukraine has since broadened its Kursk incursion, but Russia has been gaining ground around the city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine's Donbas region. Follow FRANCE 24's live coverage of the Ukraine war.Â
Summary:Â
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed his country's surprise incursion on August 6 into Russian soil in an Independence Day video speech released on Saturday.
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Zelensky on Saturday signed a law banning the Moscow-linked Orthodox Church and its religious organisations.Â
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The US on Friday announced a new round of military aid for Kyiv after President Joe Biden spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart.
Yesterday's key developments:Â
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Indian leader's first visit to the war-torn country. Modi called for a diplomatic solution to more than two years of war with Russia, saying he stood "firmly for peace".
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The US announced a new round of military aid for Kyiv after President Joe Biden spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Russia accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power station overnight from Thursday to Friday in what it called an act of "nuclear terrorism", days before the head of the UN atomic watchdog is due to visit the site.
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Russia suspended a ferry service operating between southern Russia and annexed Crimea after a Ukrainian attack on a Black Sea port on Thursday, Russia's transport ministry said.
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Ukraine's forces destroyed 14 out of 16 Russian attack drones launched overnight, Ukraine's Air Force said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
