Ukraine updates: Germany's Scholz renews push for peace

Russia said on Sunday its forces had taken full control of a town in eastern Ukraine as Moscow's forces advance on the strategically important city of Pokrovsk and seek to pierce the Ukrainian defensive front lines.

Russian forces, which control about a fifth of Ukraine since invading in February 2022, are advancing in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to take the whole of Donbas.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces had taken the town of Novohrodivka, which lies 12 km (7 miles) from Pokrovsk, an important rail and road hub for Ukrainian forces in the area. The town had a population of 14,000 before the war.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian military, in a late afternoon report, described the situation as "tense" throughout the Pokrovsk sector and said "fierce battles" gripped areas around several towns, including Novohrodivka.

"So far, the enemy has carried out 23 assaults on Ukrainian positions," the report said. "Battles are going on in six locations." 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed former arms production minister Oleksandr Kamyshin as an external adviser for strategic issues.

Zelenskyy said the government reshuffle of cabinet ministers was meant to instil "new energy" and that changes would "strengthen the state in numerous areas."

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was the most senior cabinet official to offer his resignation earlier this week. Kuleba was  particularly well-known abroad due to his regular diplomatic meetings with international figures.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on Sunday that a Russian drone had crashed on its territory, shortly after Romania reported that a Russian drone entered its airspace.

"[A] Russian military drone crashed in the eastern part of Latvia yesterday," Rinkevics wrote on social media, adding that an investigation was underway.

"We are in close contact with our allies," he said. "The number of such incidents is increasing along the eastern flank of NATO and we must address them collectively."

Latvia's Defense Ministry said in a statement the drone had flown into the country's airspace from Belarus and crashed in the municipality of Rezekne.

"This situation is confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia's eastern border, including the development of air defense capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] of different applications," said Defense Minister Andris Spruds.

Latvia has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointing out  that if his country falls, other countries like Estonia and Latvia could be looking at similar Russian aggression too. 

Romania was looking for possible drone fragments after its national airspace was breached during an overnight Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

Romania's Air Force said it deployed two F16 fighter jets after radar systems detected a drone in its airspace.

Romanian emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions and authorities were looking for drone fragments that may have landed on its soil.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said there were no serious problems in the largely uninhabited border area. "We have a war on our border, that's how it is," he said.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on all parties to ramp up efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.

"I believe this is the moment to discuss how we can achieve peace quicker than is currently the case," he told German public broadcaster ZDF.

"It's important that we make progress," he said, adding: "There will be definitely be another peace conference."

When Ukraine hosted a peace summit in Switzerland in June 2024, Russia wasn't invited.

Following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Scholz said both leaders agreed that Russia should be invited to take part in a second summit for peace.

mf/rm (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)