UKRAINIAN  –  Russian missiles have hit a civilian container ship at a port in Ukraine’s Odesa region, killing eight people, according to local officials. “This is the third attack on a civilian vessel in the past four days,” said the region’s head, Oleh Kiper, who described it as “yet another crime” by an “insidious enemy”. He said Russia had targeted port infrastructure and all the victims were Ukrainian. A 46-year-old port employee and another man, aged 26, died of their injuries in hospital, while several others were wounded. The wave of strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports coincided with a European tour by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is visiting leaders in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin.

In Downing Street on Thursday, he met UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Nato’s new Secretary General Mark Rutte, who warned this week that Ukraine could be facing its toughest winter since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Zelensky had been due to meet US President Joe Biden along with other Western allies in Berlin, but Biden cancelled his trip because of the threat to the US from Hurricane Milton. That is a blow for Ukraine, less than a month away from the US elections and with increasing concerns over the continued support of key allies.  Zelensky played down any disappointment before his trip to London though.

“Any leader in similar circumstances would have stayed in their country,” he told journalists in Croatia on Wednesday. He expected a “new schedule” for the leaders’ meeting to be prepared shortly.

Later on Thursday, Zelensky held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and then went to Rome to meet Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. The Italian leader announced that Rome would host the next “recovery conference” to help Ukraine’s reconstruction in July 2025. On Friday, Zelensky will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican before heading to Germany to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. (BBC) …[+]