Ukraine on Saturday fired cruise missiles at a shipyard on the eastern coast of the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia, the Russian government confirmed on Sunday. The shots damaged a ship and caused debris to fall onto a dock, Russian authorities admitted.
Since launching its counter-offensive against Moscow’s forces this summer, kyiv has increased attacks on the peninsula, targeting the Russian Black Sea Fleet. “On November 4, the Ukrainian army launched 15 cruise missiles at the BE Butoma (Zaliv) shipyard in the city of Kerch,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday, according to state media. “Air defense systems shot down 13 of the cruise missiles,” the ministry said, adding “a ship located at the factory was damaged after being hit by an enemy cruise missile.”
The war is not at a “stalemate”
During a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday disputed that the war between his country and Russia was at a “stalemate”. Comments which come after statements by the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Valery Zalouzhn to the newspaper “The Economist this week, who declared that there would “probably not be a magnificent and profound breakthrough”, and asserted that the two Russian and Ukrainian armies were trapped in a war of attrition and positions, and therefore, in a “dead end”.
The Ukrainian president also rejected the idea of pressure from Western countries on kyiv to begin negotiations with Russia. “No one among our partners is putting pressure on us to sit down with Russia, talk to them and give them something,” he said.
Ursula von der Leyen “confident” towards Ukraine’s accession to the EU
Ursula von der Leyen, visiting Ukraine to discuss the issue of enlargement of the European Union, highlighted the progress made by Kiev, officially a candidate to join the EU since June 2022. “You have taken many steps” , declared the President of the European Commission to Volodymyr Zelensky. “You have reformed your justice system. You have reduced the power of the oligarchs. You have tackled money laundering and many other things,” she noted.
“We must never forget that you are waging an existential war while profoundly reforming your country”, also underlined Ursula von der Leyen, saying she was “confident” that Ukraine would progress in the accession process when these reforms were implemented. implemented.
Russia successfully tests intercontinental ballistic missile
Moscow announced on Sunday that it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, from a 4th generation nuclear submarine. The launch of this Bulava missile, the first in about a year, comes shortly after Russia revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
With a range of 8,000 kilometers and 12 meters long, the Boulava (SS-NX-30 in the NATO classification) can be equipped with ten nuclear warheads. The Emperor Alexander III submarine, from which the test was carried out, is equipped with 16 Boulava missiles, according to the Russian army.
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has blown hot and cold about the use of nuclear weapons, deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, the closest ally, in the summer of 2023. from Moscow.