Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy suggests Russia 'regime change'

• At least eight killed and almost 90 injured in Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight
• Ukraine's Zelenskyy calls for confiscation of Russian assets and even a "change of regime" in Moscow
• Russian forces claim capture of Chasiv Yar — Ukraine dismisses "lie"
• Ukrainian drones strike Russian electronics plant

Welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, July 31.

07/31/2025July 31, 2025

Zelenskyy calls for 'confiscation' of Russian assets, suggests 'regime change' in Moscow

Following the latest deadly overnight strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, a furious Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for tougher action against Russia, including the total confiscation of frozen Russian financial assets and even a change of regime in Moscow.

"Russia keeps launching such attacks even when the whole world is calling on it to stop the war, a war that Russia started, a war that Russia keeps dragging on, a war that only the Russian leadership wants," the Ukrainian president said at a conference in Helsinki, Finland.

He accused the Russian government and military leadership of being "mentally stuck in another century, a time of brutal violence [and] total disregard for human rights and equality" and said that the current regime in the Kremlin is founded on "a total rejection of the post-Second World War world."

Referring to Russian assets frozen in the European Union, Zelenskyy said: "It's time to confiscate the Russian assets, not just freeze them … to use them to serve peace, not war. We need to fully block Russia's war machine, cut off its arms industry [and] limit its energy profits."

In some of his strongest terms yet, he warned: "If the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means, even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries."

07/31/2025July 31, 2025

Kyiv: At least 8 dead, nearly 90 injured in Russian strikes

At least eight people, including a six-year-old boy and his mother, were killed in further Russian airstrikes on Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Another 88 people were reported to have been injured, including ten children — the youngest being a five-month-old girl.

"Today, the world once again saw Russia's response to our desire for peace, shared with America and Europe," wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyon social media, describing the latest attacks as "showcase killings."

According to Zelenskyy, the Russian military launched eight rockets and over 300 drones at targets across the country. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down three of the rockets and most of the drones but nevertheless reported 27 hits across the capital, Kyiv.

"This is a horrific morning for Kyiv," wrote Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, while Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko spoke of the highest casualty rate among children in a single night since the war began in February 2022.

"This is how the Kremlin responds to calls for peace: with deliberate terror and the systematic targeting of Ukraine's civilian population," said Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not seeking a solution. He is testing the world's resolve, continuing to receive confirmation that mass murder has no real consequences."

07/31/2025July 31, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, July 31.

After overnight Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine left at least seven people dead and over 80 injured, a furious Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the confiscation of frozen Russian financial assets and even regime change in Moscow.

In response, Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted an electronics plant in western Russia.

Meanwhile, on the frontline, Russian forces have claimed to have captured the embattled town of Chasiv Yar — denounced as a "lie" by Kyiv.