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Russian attack hits flats in one of deadliest strikes on western Ukraine
At least 20 people have been killed including two children in a Russian drone and missile attack on the western city of Ternopil that hit two blocks of flats, Ukrainian officials say.
Another 66 people were wounded, 16 of them children, police said, in one of the deadliest Russian strikes on western Ukraine since the full-scale war began in February 2022.
Two other western regions were hit, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, and a drone attack targeted three districts of the northern city of Kharkiv, wounding more than 30 people. Photos posted online showed buildings and cars ablaze.
Power cuts were affecting a number of regions across the country, Ukraine’s energy ministry said.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had fired more than 470 drones and 47 missiles, leaving “significant destruction”. He warned that people could be trapped under the rubble in Ternopil.
The devastation caused by the Russian strikes on Ternopil soon became clear. A video shared by Zelensky showed that one of the two blocks of flats had completely caved in. The interior minister Ihor Klymenko said it had been destroyed between the third and the ninth floor.
Plumes of smoke poured from windows and small fires burned outside the tenement.
A giant smoke cloud rose in the distance behind the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ternopil, as sirens blared throughout the city.
Energy facilities, transport and civil infrastructure were damaged elsewhere in western Ukraine.
The energy sector came under attack in Ivano-Frankivsk region where two of three people reported wounded were children.
The head of Lviv region said an energy facility had been struck.
The Russian strikes came a day after Ukraine’s military said it had fired US-supplied longer-range Atacms missiles at military targets inside Russia, the first time they have admitted using the Atacms on Russian soil.
Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine of firing four of the missiles at the southern city of Voronezh but said they had all been shot down by air defences.
Meanwhile, Zelensky is heading to the Turkish capital Ankara, in an attempt to revive a US bid to end the war. He will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid reports that President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has been working on a plan with Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev.
The Kremlin said no Russian representative would be joining the talks in Ankara. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on a media report that the US and Russia had been secretly working on a peace plan for Ukraine.
“In this case, there is nothing new that we can inform you about,” Peskov told journalists on Wednesday.
His comments came amid reports that Zelensky was due to meet two top US army officials in Kyiv on Thursday. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff General Randy George are the most senior US military officials to visit the Ukrainian capital since President Donald Trump took office, Reuters reports.
In a separate development, Romania’s defence ministry said a Russian drone had flown for about 8km (5 miles) through its airspace in the early hours of Wednesday. The drone then crossed into Ukraine and Moldova before returning to Romania, it said.
Romanian and German air force planes were scrambled in response to the incursion and the defence ministry said it was unclear where the drone had come down.
Poland also deployed jets early on Wednesday and temporarily closed two airports in the southeast in response to the strikes in western Ukraine.
As the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches next February, Moscow and Kyiv remain fundamentally opposed in their views of how to end the war.
Earlier this month Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia’s conditions for a peace deal had not changed since Putin laid them out in 2024.
[BBC]
Dambulla Sixers powered by an all-round performance from Marques Ackerman [2-27 and 35] and an unbeaten 64 off 37 balls from Reeza Hendricks handed the Galle Gallants their first defeat in LPL 2026. The match, the 8th game in LPL 2026 was played on Wednesday [22nd July] at Dambulla. The Gallants used nine bowlers but were unable to restraint the Dambulla batsmen who won with six wickets in hand 23 balls remaining.
Scores:
Galle Gallants 178/8 in 20 overs [Lasith Croospulle 12, Sam Harper 40, Charith Asalanka 25, Chamika Karunarathne 45, Dasun Shanaka 20, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 16; Vishwa Lahiru 1-20, Fazalhaq Farooki 3-39, Maheesh Theekshan 1-29, Gulbadin Naib 1-23, Marques Ackerman 2-27]
Dambulla Sixers 180/4 in 16.1 overs [Niroshan Dickwella 14, Shaibzada Farhan 13, Reeza Hendricks 64*, Pavan Rathnayake 29, Marqes Ackerman 35, Gulbadin Naib 20*; Dasun Shanaka 1-18, Mohammad Nawaz 1-40, Eshan Malinga 1-35, Chamika karunarathne 1-07]
Jaffna Kings defended 179 runs to defeat Colombo Kaps by five runs in the 7th Match of the Lanka Premier League played on Wednesday [22nd July] at Dambulla.
Chamindu Wickremasinghe was named player of the match for his 22 ball 43 while Lizaad Williams captured three wickets for the Kings.
Scores
Jaffna Kings 179/6 in 20 overs [Avishka Fernando 34, Kamil Mishara 39, Chamindu Wickremasinghe 43, Ibrahim Zadran 19, Dunith Wellalage 19, Shakib Al Hasan 10*; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-33, Shahnawaz Dehani 2-25, Milan Rathnayake 1-40, Wanuja Sahan 1-10]
Colombo Kaps 174/9 in 20 overs [Kamindu Mendis 58, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 26, Milan Rathnayake 15, Wanuja Sahan 34*; Dilshan Madushanka 2-12, Traveen Mathew 2-21, Lizaad Williams 3-29, Shakib Al Hasan 1-19, Dunith Wellalage 1-33]
Sri Lanka edge Qatar in Davis Cup opener
Dambulla Sixers hand Galle Gallants first defeat in LPL 2026
Jaffna Kings beat Colombo Kaps by five runs
Showers will occur in the Western and North-western provinces and Galle, Batticaloa, Ampara and Monaragala districts
United Opposition moves to halt interference with judicial independence
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