The fighting continues. Russia says it neutralized, this Thursday, February 1, 11 Ukrainian drones in the border regions, after having destroyed, the day before, twenty missiles launched by Ukraine above the Black Sea and in Crimea.
Information to remember
⇒ Russia says it shot down 11 Ukrainian drones in border regions
⇒ EU aid to Ukraine: Orban at the heart of a tense summit
⇒ Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of prisoners of war
Russia says it shot down 11 Ukrainian drones in border regions
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it had shot down 11 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions bordering Ukraine during the night and Thursday morning.
“Tonight, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack with aerial drones against sites on Russian territory was foiled,” the ministry said in a statement. “Air defense intercepted and destroyed drones over the territory of the Belgorod region (four drones) and Kursk (one drone),” he said.
EU aid to Ukraine: Orban at the heart of a tense summit
Will Orban lift his veto? European leaders will again try to convince the unpredictable Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, to authorize 50 billion euros in aid for Ukraine on Thursday during a decisive summit for EU unity .
The populist leader, alone among the Twenty-Seven to have maintained close ties with Moscow after the launch of the invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago, aroused the anger and exasperation of his counterparts gathered in last December by opposing this essential financial support for Kiev.
Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of prisoners of war
Russia and Ukraine announced Wednesday that they had exchanged about 200 prisoners of war from each side, a week after a Russian military plane that Moscow said was carrying captive Ukrainian soldiers crashed and was shot down by kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin assured that the Ukrainian army had shot down the Il-76 aircraft with an American Patriot missile, used by kyiv to intercept Russian missiles or aircraft. For their part, Ukraine and its Western allies say they are still trying to obtain proof of Russian allegations.
NATO, the “good deal” for the United States, says its leader
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday again called for continued military aid to Ukraine and made a plea for the Atlantic Alliance in a clear message to the American public at the height of the year electoral. Speaking before the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, the NATO chief judged that “Ukraine had to win. And it can but it needs us.” “Supporting Ukraine is not charity […] and is in the interest of the United States,” he said as the Republican opposition in Congress blocked a new budget package of $61 billion for Ukraine.
For her part, American Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, during a meeting with several members of the European Commission, that “we cannot let Ukraine run out of money.” while Congress is still discussing a new financial aid plan for the country at war.
Anti-Putin rockers escape deportation to Russia
Members of the dissident Russian-Belarusian rock band Bi-2 detained in Thailand by immigration authorities have been released and are on their way to Israel, the group announced on its Facebook page. Bi-2, famous in Russia, has taken a stand against the war in Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading to accusations of supporting terrorism from the Kremlin.
Thailand’s National Security Council, chaired by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, took up the matter on Wednesday, and the group confirmed Thursday morning that its members had left the kingdom. “All the musicians of the Bi-2 group have left Thailand and are safe. They are on their way to Tel Aviv,” the publication says, putting an end to fears of deportation to Russia, where they risked ‘be persecuted.