A new Russian drone attack on an airfield containing a Ukrainian army airfield shows Moscow is tracking fighter jets involved in this week’s movements in occupied Crimea, Kiev claimed.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 17 drones installed in the central Khmelnytskyi region, home to the Starokostiantyniv airbase that was the target of a series of attacks during the conflict.
Regional official Serhiy Tiurin said the drone destroyed 12 houses and a school, but there were no casualties.
Vladimir Putin said Russia “never rejected negotiations” with Ukraine in reaction to a suggestion made by the United States that Moscow would block talks.
At a joint press conference with Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, Russia, Putin said: “We have never rejected talks, and if the other side considers them, it is welcome, to say it categorically, as I say now. “
The Russian president said a decree signed last year by Volodymyr Zelensky banning negotiations with Putin blocked such discussions.
“We didn’t hear anything about the other aspect related to the negotiations,” Putin said.
U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said the United States has not noticed any symptoms that Putin is “interested in meaningful diplomacy. “
Russia and Ukraine have given conflicting accounts of an incident in which a projectile hit a residential construction in southern Ukraine.
Vasilyevich Saldo, the Kremlin-appointed governor of the occupied Kherson region, said Ukraine fired on a multi-story building in Nova Kakhovka, a city captured by Russia at the start of the war.
He claimed on Telegram that one civilian was killed and 12 wounded and that four apartment buildings were damaged.
However, Kiev gave a different version: army spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk claimed that Russian forces dropped an aerial bomb on Nova Kakhovka that was destined for the right bank of the Dnieper, controlled by the Ukrainians.
According to a report by the Kyiv Independent, Humeniuk said the incident damaged “several apartment buildings” and resulted in casualties.
He accused Russia of falsely blaming Ukraine for the attack.
Sky News has not been able to verify the reports.
Here is Kherson’s most recent territorial chart, said this morning, listed through the Institute for War Studies:
Finland is the latest in a list of developing countries that ban cars with Russian license plates on their territory.
It joined the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in deciding on the restriction on passenger cars, which will come into force from midnight.
Estonia said its resolution to enforce the ban was an “additional interpretation” of new EU sanctions imposed on Moscow on Sept. 8.
Under the new EU directive, cars registered in Russia can no longer enter the territory of the 27-member bloc.
Finnish TV channel YLE reported: “Cars registered in Russia carrying less than 10 passengers will no longer be allowed to enter Finland from Russia, some exceptions are likely. “
The North Korean leader looked at the cockpit of a complex Russian fighter jet while visiting an aircraft factory in the country’s Far East.
Their infrequent multi-day meeting has raised concerns among Western officials about the option of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
At the factory, Kim tested the Su-57, Russia’s top fighter jet, and shook hands with a pilot.
The Kremlin earlier said that Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un had signed some military agreement at their summit (see message from 10:49 a. m. m. ), but indicated that Russia would expand relations with North Korea.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow “is interested in building and establishing relations with our closest neighbors in all fields. “
Kim said their face-to-face talks were kept secret, even though the Russian president has continuously hinted that military cooperation had been discussed.
Kim also had infrequent access to military sites during his vacation in Russia’s Far East, underscoring the deepening ties between the nations.
U. S. media reported Volodymyr Zelenskyy would make a stopover at Congress next week, after an official said the Ukrainian leader was scheduled to meet Joe Biden on Thursday.
Washington-based Punchbowl News said its stopover in Congress is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 21, as shown through a Washington Post report.
The Wall Street Journal would meet with U. S. lawmakers.
Zelensky is believed to have returned to Washington after attending a meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Russian Defense Ministry claims its forces have destroyed two more Ukrainian naval drones in what appears to be a separate incident from the one reported earlier that day (see 11:15 a. m. message).
The official TASS news agency quoted the ministry as saying the drones had been destroyed in the southwestern part of the Black Sea.
Kiev and Moscow’s military activity in the Black Sea has intensified since Russia ended a grain deal in July aimed at guaranteeing the export of Ukrainian food products.
The Wagner mercenary organization has officially been a terrorist organization in the United Kingdom.
This comes after the British announced last week that they would make it a crime to support the organization or make it a criminal offense.
Violation of the prohibition order is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
In announcing the move last week, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman called Wagner a “violent organization that has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia abroad. “
Part Five: Drones, Explosives and Raids in Crimea
Even if it is not on the front line, Ukraine has suffered from the war in Crimea in recent months.
Wave after wave, maritime drones harass Russian ships in the area, the Kerch bridge has been hit several times, and Ukrainian forces have reportedly attacked the peninsula itself.
Crimea is home to Vladimir Putin’s valuable Black Sea Fleet and is of great strategic importance due to its location on the Black Sea.
It has been in Russian hands since its annexation in 2014, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to return it to Ukraine.
However, it is heavily fortified and will be very difficult to capture by force. In fact, in World War II, Axis forces led by Nazi Germany lost 30,000 men in their pursuit of Crimea.
So why is Ukraine attacking it? Because, beyond the prospect of seizing territory, it is helping its forces elsewhere.
Military analyst Sean Bell states: “Ukraine has made clear its objective of capturing it, which has forced Russia to withhold its forces. “
Russia would likely have 150,000 troops in Ukraine, but if it puts them all on the front line, there will be no one left to protect Crimea if Kiev’s forces make a breakthrough.
“The more Ukraine threatens Crimea, the more Russia wants to withdraw its forces from the front,” Bell said.
This is the end of this series on our Ukraine blog: our long era of questions and answers returns on Monday at 12:30.