Ukraine and Russia attacked each other with drones and missiles overnight from Thursday to Friday. The two countries have, in fact, intensified their cross-border air attacks in recent months, with kyiv targeting Russian refineries and fuel depots and Moscow targeting Ukrainian power plants and gas storage facilities.
Information to remember
⇒ Ukraine: Moscow mocks a worthless “piece of paper”
⇒ Crossed drone and missile strikes
⇒ At the G7, Zelensky receives $50 billion for the war
Ukraine: Moscow mocks a worthless “piece of paper”
Russia said on Friday that the security agreement signed the day before between the United States and Ukraine was a simple “piece of paper” with no value. “The fact is that (these agreements) are just pieces of paper […] These agreements are nothing, they have no legal value,” declared the spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, quoted by Russian press agencies.
These agreements are in reality a bilateral security agreement signed Thursday on the sidelines of the G7 between the United States and Ukraine, paving the way for integration into NATO. The agreement “stipulates that the United States supports Ukraine’s future integration into NATO and recognizes that our security agreement paves the way for Ukraine’s integration into NATO,” said Volodymyr Zelensky. during a joint press conference with Joe Biden following the signing ceremony.
Crossed drone and missile strikes
Ukraine and Russia attacked each other with drones and missiles overnight from Thursday to Friday. The Ukrainian Air Force announced that it had destroyed 14 missiles and 17 Russian drones overnight, while more than a dozen people were injured, in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. A new wave of strikes was also underway in the morning, with Kinjal missiles flying over the kyiv region and heading towards the Khmelnytsky region, further west.
On the Russian side, anti-aircraft defenses shot down 87 Ukrainian drones during the night, 70 of which targeted the southern region of Rostov, which notably houses the headquarters of the Russian operation in Ukraine. According to the governor of the region Vassili Goloubev, the attack did not cause any casualties, but caused power cuts in several localities. A fuel depot was also hit. Both countries have intensified cross-border air attacks in recent months.
Zelensky receives $50 billion for war
“We have reached a political agreement to provide additional financial support to Ukraine of around $50 billion by the end of the year,” said the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, whose country ensures this year the rotating presidency of the G7.
This breakthrough at the G7 and the bilateral security agreement between kyiv and Washington the same day on the sidelines of this summit “demonstrate to Putin that he will not wear us down, that he cannot divide us”, said underlined Mr. Biden during a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart.
American journalist Evan Gershkovich to be tried for “espionage”
The Russian Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday that American journalist Evan Gershkovich would soon be tried in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, for “espionage”, accused of having collected information on a tank factory on behalf of the CIA, Washington and the NATO, for their part, demanded his “immediate” release.
This Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist, aged 32, was arrested in March 2023 by the Russian security services (FSB) during a report in Yekaterinburg. He, his relatives, his employer and his country denounce a fabricated affair, while Russia has never substantiated its accusations.