The Russian strikes against the port infrastructure of the port of Izmail on the Danube have made a new victim. Since the end of the cereal agreements, Russia has continued to target this area, the last exit door for Ukrainian agricultural goods. Last night, a man died in a drone strike. He is an employee of an agricultural company. Tuesday evening, the president of Romania, a member of NATO, denounced strikes “very close” to the border with Romania.
In addition, ten days after the death of the leader of the paramilitary group Wagner, London announced that it wanted to register the organization on its list of terrorist organizations. It “is a violent and destructive organization that acted as an overseas military tool for Vladimir Putin’s Russia,” Interior Minister Suella Braverman said according to Britain’s Daily Mail.
Blinken to Kyiv
US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken arrived on Wednesday for a surprise visit to Ukraine, during which a billion dollars in new assistance is to be announced to help the country deal with the Russian invasion.
“We expect the Secretary of State to announce new US funding for Ukraine in excess of $1 billion,” a senior State Department official told reporters. This is Mr Blinken’s fourth visit to the country since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
One dead in drone attack in Odessa region
One person was killed by a Russian drone attack on the Odessa region in southern Ukraine, local governor Oleg Kiper said Wednesday morning, adding that port and agricultural infrastructure had been damaged. Russian forces “attacked the Izmail district in the Odessa region with drones” for “nearly three hours”, Oleg Kiper said on Telegram. “Unfortunately, one person died” of his injuries in the hospital, he lamented, adding that the victim was employed in agriculture.
Massive drone attacks in the Odessa region
© / afp.com/Sylvie HUSSON
The river port of Izmail, on the Danube, has become one of the main exit routes for Ukrainian agricultural products since Moscow ended in July the grain agreement that allowed Ukraine to export freely through the black Sea. For several weeks, the region, rather spared so far, has been under attack. Port and agricultural infrastructure suffered damage, the governor reported, mentioning in particular damaged administrative buildings. On Monday, Ukrainian air defenses shot down 17 Russian drones in the Izmail district and debris fell into the Danube.
London to put Wagner on its list of terrorist organizations
The UK will add the Russian paramilitary group Wagner to its list of terrorist organisations, the UK said on Tuesday. DailyMail quoting Interior Minister Suella Braverman. “Wagner is a violent and destructive organization that acted as an overseas military tool for Vladimir Putin’s Russia,” Suella Braverman said according to the British daily. “While Putin’s regime decides what to do with the monster it created, Wagner’s persistent destabilizing activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals,” she added. These measures to classify Wagner as a terrorist organization will be presented to Parliament on Wednesday, British media report.
The UK Home Secretary has the power to “outlaw” an organization she believes is involved in acts of terrorism. This “proscription”, which already applies in particular to the Islamic State group and the jihadist organization Al-Qaeda, makes it a criminal offense to support the organization in question. “Wagner was implicated in barbaric looting, torture and murder,” Suella Braverman continued in the Daily Mail. “That’s why we proscribe this terrorist organization and we continue to help Ukraine as much as possible in its fight against Russia,” added the minister, according to whom Wagner is also “a threat to world security”.
Washington warns Pyongyang against arms sales to Moscow
The White House on Tuesday warned North Korea against selling arms to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine, ahead of a possible summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim-Jong Un. . Such arms delivery will not improve North Korea’s “image” and “they will pay the price in the international community,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. “active discussions” between Moscow and Pyongyang on this subject. Jake Sullivan admitted not being able to say precisely what types of weapons would be delivered. “It remains an open question as to what type of material and the quality of that material that could be delivered,” he said. But “that says a lot about Russia, which must turn to a country like North Korea to strengthen its defense capabilities”.
Moscow refused on Tuesday to confirm the holding of such a summit between the Russian president and the North Korean leader, but raised the possibility of joint military exercises.
Ukraine: attacks “very close” to the border with Romania
Attacks targeting Ukraine occurred “very close” to the border with Romania, the president of this NATO member country said on Tuesday, the day after the fall of Russian explosive drones on the Danube. “We had attacks […] which have been identified 800 meters from our border. So very, very close,” Klaus Iohannis said at a press conference alongside Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. On Monday, Ukraine claimed to have evidence that Russian explosive drones had fallen on the night of Sunday to Monday in Romania Bucharest had “categorically” denied these allegations, through the voice of its Ministry of Defense which says “monitor the situation in real time”.
“There was no debris, no drone or other piece of equipment that landed in Romania,” Mr. Iohannis insisted on Tuesday. “We have total control of our airspace. We have absolutely checked everything and I can reassure the population”. “But yes, we are worried because of the very close proximity” of these repeated attacks, he added.