News on the war in Ukraine: Zelensky thanks Biden for support during the “terrible war”, Kyiv receives third Patriot system

Francisco Seco lives in Istanbul and enjoys photographing everyday life in cities around the world. This assignment took the Associated Press photographer to Ukraine to document the impact the Russian invasion is having on the lives of athletes trying to train for the Paris Olympics, which begin next week. Here’s what Seco had to say about capturing this extraordinary photo.

This photo is part of a story about Ukrainian athletes who will compete in the Paris Olympics this summer. Because of Russia’s large-scale invasion, many athletes train outside Ukraine, but high jumper Oleh Doroshchuk trains in the town of Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine. The city has been bombed several times since the war began.

Our AP team accompanied Oleh during his training sessions for two days. On the second day, he trained in an open-air stadium, surrounded by other young athletes. He had to interrupt his training a few times because of the noise of anti-aircraft alarms.

The Ukrainian armed forces have received another Patriot system from Germany, said President Volodymyr Zelensky, thanking his allies for “more power for Ukraine”.

“The German Patriot system has arrived in Ukraine and I thank Germany and the United States for this step. We will be able to do more in the air. While there is still a lot of work ahead of us and this is far from guaranteed protection, it still means more power for Ukraine,” he said in his evening speech yesterday, adding that the system was probably ready for use.

He pointed to the defense against Russian missiles in the Frontline update. “Today, the commander of the Air Force reported on the operations of our fire teams, the shooting down of the ‘Shahed’ drones and the defense against Russian missiles. We can now say that our air defense has been strengthened,” Zelensky said.

Russia and Ukraine carried out drone, missile and artillery strikes yesterday, killing at least two people in Ukrainian attacks on the partially Russian-occupied Donetsk region, Russian state media reported.

Ukrainian authorities said at least five people were injured in Russian attacks. On the front line in the east, Russia said it had taken control of two villages, one in the Kharkiv region and one in the Luhansk region.

Two people were killed in the village of Horlivka as a result of Ukrainian shelling of Russian-held areas in the Donetsk region, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Three people were injured by Russian drone strikes in the partially occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine, local authorities said yesterday morning. In the northeast of the country, two people were injured in the Kharkiv region when a village was hit by Russian shells, authorities said.

On Sunday night, Ukrainian air defense intercepted 35 of the 39 drones launched by Russia, said Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshuk. Russia also fired three ballistic missiles and two guided missiles, but they did not reach their targets, he said.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced yesterday that its troops had taken control of two villages: Pishchane Nizhne in Kharkiv region and Andriivka, sometimes called Rozivka, in Luhansk region. Kyiv did not immediately comment.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he respected US President Joe Biden’s “tough but strong” decision to end his re-election campaign and not run for a second term.

“Ukraine is grateful to President Biden for his unwavering support of the Ukrainian struggle for freedom, which has been and will continue to be critical, along with strong bipartisan support in the United States,” Zelensky said.

“Many strong decisions have been made over the past few years, and they will be remembered as bold steps taken by President Biden in response to challenging times. And we respect today’s tough but strong decision.”

He added: “We will always be grateful to President Biden for his leadership. He supported our country at the most dramatic moment in history, helped us prevent Putin’s occupation of our country, and continued to support us throughout this terrible war.”

“The current situation in Ukraine and across Europe is no less challenging, and we sincerely hope that America’s continued strong leadership will prevent Russian evil from succeeding or bringing its aggression to fruition,” the Ukrainian president said.

The Prime Minister is keen to maintain Britain’s position as one of Ukraine’s most vocal supporters in the world – a role that will become even more important as support from other powers begins to falter, writes Maria Dejevsky.