Ukraine war: Missiles over Kyiv, Russia struggles to hold territory, Zaporizhzhia under threat

Ukraine claimed on Friday to have shot down 12 Russian missiles, including six hypersonic Kinjals, that were fired toward Kyiv – this just as a delegation of African leaders arrive to promote a peace plan

According to the Ukrainian Air Force's official Telegram channel, the projectiles destroyed included six hypersonic Kinjal missiles, six Kalibr cruise missiles and two reconnaissance drones. The head of the military administration, Sergei Popko, said that all the missiles were intercepted over the capital region.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and several other senior African political figures arrived in Ukraine on Friday morning to promote a plan that would provide a roadmap to Russian-Ukrainian peace negotiations.

Appearing at an economic conference in Russia today, Vladimir Putin has shared some of his thoughts on Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he, his government and Kremlin-backed media outlets have repeatedly said is leading a "Nazi" regime despite being Jewish.

In remarks delivered on stage in St Petersburg, Putin commented: "I have a lot of Jewish friends, since childhood. They say Zelensky isn't a Jew. He is a disgrace to the Jewish people."

The appearance also saw Putin claim that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has "no chance of success" in the southern part of the country. However, the Russian army  separately admitted on Friday that fighting was underway for control of two towns on Ukraine's southern front, an  for the first time that it had ceded territory.

Moscow has been insisting since the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in early June that the Ukrainian military is failing in its efforts and that all attacks have been repulsed, while Kyiv claims to have liberated a handful of towns and around a