Russian air defense shot down a drone that was approaching Moscow overnight, said the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin, early this Saturday, August 26. “Last night, the air defense forces destroyed a drone approaching Moscow from the Istrinskii district,” he wrote on Telegram. According to initial information, “there are no casualties or damage. Emergency services are on site,” he added.
Another Ukrainian drone was shot down this Saturday morning by Russian air defense in the Belgorod region, near the Ukrainian border. Specifically in the Chebekino district, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense. “An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack with a drone against sites on Russian territory was prevented,” the ministry said on Telegram.
The Russian capital had rarely been targeted since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, but Ukrainian drone attacks have multiplied in recent months. Moscow and other regions have been targeted, including very recently the annexed Crimea. On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down 42 Ukrainian drones there. For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pleased to see the war “coming to Russia”. On Wednesday, authorities in the Belgorod region also reported that three civilians had been killed by Kyiv forces.
New Zealand offers residency status to Ukrainians fleeing war
New Zealand announced on Saturday that it will grant access to permanent resident status to refugees from the war in Ukraine. “Many of those who sought safety here in New Zealand would never have imagined staying here long-term, but as the war continues we have a humanitarian obligation to provide them with certainty,” said the Minister of Health. ‘Immigration, Andrew Little.
“We are simplifying the application procedure for the residency program as much as possible,” he said. To do this, candidates will not need to pass a language test, have the appropriate funds, or resort to sponsorship. More than 1,500 special visas for Ukraine have been granted since the special category was created in 2022 as part of efforts by the New Zealand government since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Ukrainian cereals: “no other solution” than the original agreement
Turkey sees “no other solution” than the agreement on grain exports that Ukraine has concluded with Russia, the Turkish Foreign Minister stressed on Friday in Kiev, dismissing a possible other route that the United States would think about. United. “We know that we are looking for other routes, but we do not see any alternative solution to the original agreement because of the risks,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke with Hakan Fidan, hailed an “important” meeting. “We talked about the situation created by Russia’s despicable attacks on grain exports in the Black Sea region,” he said on Telegram. Accusing Moscow of “calculated” attacks aimed at “causing crises in different regions of the world”, he said he wanted to “restore security step by step” with the help of Turkey.
The Kremlin denies having ordered to kill Prigozhin and reframes the paramilitaries
The Kremlin on Friday denied having ordered the assassination of the leader of the Wagner group Evgueni Prigojine and summoned the paramilitaries to take an oath of “loyalty” to Russia, two months after their abortive coup. Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s spokesman, has called an “absolute lie” the insinuations of Western leaders that the Kremlin orchestrated the crash of the plane carrying Yevgeny Prigojine on Wednesday.
“Currently, around the air disaster and the tragic deaths of passengers, in particular Yevgueni Prigojine, there is a lot of speculation and we know well in which direction we are speculating in the West,” he also said. Many of the Russian regime’s critics or disgraced ex-supporters have been killed or targeted in assassination attempts. The Kremlin has always denied any involvement.
Investigators said the investigations are ongoing. They announced at the start of the evening that they had recovered the ten bodies of the victims from the scene of the crash as well as the flight recorders and indicated that “molecular genetic analyzes” were in progress to establish their identity. “The investigation will thoroughly check all possible versions of what happened,” the Russian Investigative Committee insisted on Telegram.