At least 18 wounded in latest missile strike, army says; US president says Russia has 10 days to end invasion or face new sanctions. What we know on day 1,253

At least three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 18 wounded in a Russian strike on a military training camp, the Ukrainian army announced early on Wednesday. “The enemy launched a missile strike on the territory of one of the training units of the ground forces” on Tuesday, the army said on Facebook. At least “three servicemen are dead and 18 wounded,” it added, without specifying where the attack took place.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian attack on a prison on Tuesday in which 16 people were killed and dozens injured, was deliberate . “The Russians knew it was a civilian facility. They could not have been unaware,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “Each such Russian strike, each instance of Russian arrogance in response to global calls to end the war, all this only confirms that pressure is necessary.”

Hours after Tuesday’s attacks US President Donald Trump shortened his deadline for Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine or face new sanctions to 10 days . Trump told reporters flying with him back from a visit to Scotland that he had not heard from Putin, adding “It’s a shame.”

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it had “taken note” of Trump’s earlier statement.“The special military operation continues,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, employing the term that Moscow uses for its war effort in Ukraine.

However former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy head of the country’s Security Council, warned Trump against threatening Russia. “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” Medvedev wrote on social platform X.

A Russian court jailed a journalist and former volunteer for Alexei Navalny for 12 years on Tuesday under laws that ban cooperation with the opposition activist’s organisations – even if it happened in the past . Olga Komleva, 46, volunteered for the party run by Navalny – who died last year – before it was banned as “extremist” in 2021, according to independent media outlet Mediazona. She was also found guilty of criticising the Russian army as she covered Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and anti-government protests for independent outlet RusNews. The journalist did not admit guilt on either charge.

Zelenskyy on Tuesday signed a law allowing Ukrainian people over 60 to join the armed forces, which are struggling to find recruits . The law will allow them to sign a one-year contract for non-combat roles if they pass medical tests, according to an explanatory note on the parliament’s website.

The EU is set to make a reduced aid payment to Ukraine from its wartime fund for the first time, after Kyiv failed to fulfil all required reforms, Brussels said Tuesday. The European Commission has proposed paying Kyiv just over 3bn euros ($3.5bn) instead of 4.5 bn euros originally foreseen in a latest instalment of aid, spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said. That comes after Ukraine admitted in June that it had missed three of 16 reform benchmarks, including concerning the appointment of judges to an anti-graft court.

Russian airline Aeroflot cancelled dozens more flights on Tuesday but said it had now stabilised its schedule after a major cyber-attack a day earlier, and the transport ministry said the issue had been resolved . Two pro-Ukraine hacking groups claimed on Monday to have carried out a year-long operation to penetrate Aeroflot’s network. They said they had crippled 7,000 servers, extracted data on passengers and employees and gained control over the personal computers of staff, including senior managers.