Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s whereabouts remain hazy — he is not in Belarus as previously thought, but in St. Petersburg, according to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
And in western Ukraine, six people have now died as a result of a Russian attack early Thursday, according to officials. Catch up on the latest developments here:
Where is Prigozhin? Lukashenko was noncommittal in an answer to CNN during a press conference in Minsk, saying Prigozhin “is in St Petersburg. Or maybe this morning he would travel to Moscow or elsewhere.”
“But he is not on the territory of Belarus now,” Lukashenko said.
When asked by CNN if the Kremlin is aware of Prigozhin’s whereabouts, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he was “not commenting on that right now.”
Prigozhin has not been seen in public since June 24.
Lviv attack: The death toll from a Russian missile attack in the western city rose to six on Thursday, according to a Ukrainian official.
More than 30 houses, over 250 apartments, at least 10 dormitories, two university buildings, an orphanage, a school and a power substation were damaged.
The attack violated the World Heritage Convention by hitting a historic building in a protected area, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Looking ahead to NATO in Vilnius: Ukraine hopes for “a clear signal” in regard to an invitation to join the NATO alliance during the summit in the Lithuanian capital next week, Zelensky said Thursday. The Ukrainian president met with leaders of NATO members Czech Republic and Bulgaria on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the alliance’s chief says admission is “within reach” for Sweden, which was driven to join NATO by Russia’s war in Ukraine, but has been stalled in the process by objections from Turkey.
Cluster munitions: The United States is expected to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine on Friday that will include cluster munitions for the first time, defense officials told CNN. Changing battlefield conditions inside Ukraine over the last two weeks prompted US officials to give the cluster munitions renewed and serious consideration, officials told CNN.
On the front lines: Ukraine’s offensive “is not fast” but is “moving forward,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday during a press conference in Prague.
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, told US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley that his country’s counteroffensive is going “according to the plan.”
And Ukrainian forces on the southeastern front continue to advance and take back territory, according to the commander of the Tavria Joint Forces Operation.
200,000 children missing: About 200,000 Ukrainian children are missing due to Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Some of them are deported, some are in the occupied territories, and we don’t know who is alive,” he said.
Moscow has been accused of forcibly and unlawfully transferring Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia. In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova Belova for their responsibility in the alleged forced deportations.
