Reporting on the Ukraine & Russia War

A Russian missile hit a crowded shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk. The regional governor said at least 13 people were killed and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to sabotage people's normal life, targeting a site with over 1,000 people believed inside that posed no military threat. Monday also saw deadly attacks in other Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv and Lysychansk, Ukrainian authorities said. More than 50 Russian missiles hit cities across Ukraine over the weekend.

Zelenskyy met via video with Group of Seven leaders at their summit in Germany, and urged them to approve more military help for his country. The G-7 leaders pledged in a statement to "continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

Russia appears to have defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time in over a century, after sanctions blocked the country's efforts to pay interest to its overseas creditors. Russian officials reject the designation as artificially forced by the West, because Russia has the money but the U.S. Treasury in May closed the last pathway for American investors to receive debt payments. In practical terms, little impact is expected immediately as Russia already faces many punishments that might befall an economy in default. WKSU