The drone war continues in Russia. This Tuesday, September 5, the Russian air defense claims to have lowered three new Ukrainian drones above its soil, according to the Ministry of Defense and several local city officials.
The western cities of Kaluga, Tver and Moscow would have been targeted: “Last night, the air defenses of the Kaluga region and the Istrinsky district destroyed drones that were trying to attack Moscow”, said on Telegram the mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin. Damage was found as a result of falling debris in the Istrinsky district, the elected official added.
The mayor of Moscow also indicated that a third aircraft heading towards the capital was destroyed by the Russian air defense at the level of Zavidovo in the Tver region, in the north-west of the country, without causing any casualties or damage. . The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed these attacks as well as a third aircraft shot down in the Kaluga region.
Cuba denounces “human trafficking” by Russia
Despite the distance that separates the island from Russian soil, Moscow would try to “recruit” workers there according to the Cuban government. In a statement released on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said it had identified a Russian “trafficking network” aimed at recruiting Cubans for “military operations in Ukraine”, and had initiated criminal proceedings against those involved.
The Cuban Interior Ministry “is working to neutralize and dismantle a human trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces involved in military operations in Ukraine,” the Cuban government said in its statement.
A statement in response to testimonies published last Friday by the Miami newspaper America TeVe: two teenagers said they had been deceived via Facebook to work as masons on construction sites in Ukraine with the Russian army.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, assured, in a message published on the social network X (ex-Twitter) that his State has initiated “criminal proceedings against those involved in these activities”, without giving more details.
Moscow claims to have repelled Ukrainian “saboteurs”
On the spot, the war continues to spread on the territory of Russia according to the local authorities. In a message on Telegram on Monday evening, the governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, claimed to have repelled an attempt to infiltrate “Ukrainian saboteurs”.
“Border guards of the FSB”, that is, internal security, “and units of the Russian Ministry of Defense repelled an attempt to penetrate the territory of the Russian Federation by a sabotage group and Ukrainian recognition,” said the governor. However, it does not specify the fate reserved for the Ukrainian agents mentioned.
Zelensky on the Donetsk frontline
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday evening that he was paying a visit to the eastern front line, in the Donetsk region.
In his daily message on Telegram and X, accompanied by a videohe explained to “visit the combat brigades defending Ukraine, which are part of the Donetsk tactical operational group”.
Ukraine claims defection of Russian pilot
This is a small symbolic victory for Ukraine. According to a statement released Monday by Ukrainian military intelligence, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter pilot opposed to the invasion has defected and returned to the country at the controls of his aircraft.
The whole thing took place during a special operation set up in secret. kyiv explains that it prepared “for months” for this operation after being contacted by the Russian pilot, named Maxime Kouzminov, who demanded security guarantees. When he had the opportunity while flying near the border, he hijacked his aircraft by flying “at very low altitude” to the specified location “for the delivery of his helicopter to the Ukrainian soldiers”, details the ministry, without specifying the date of the operation.
“The pilot is now in Ukraine” while “the other two crew members who did not know his intentions and did not surrender died after landing,” he explained. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, he served in the 319th helicopter regiment of the Russian Air Force. At the same time, his family was transported to Ukraine “safely”, writes Ukrainian military intelligence.
Putin calls Ukrainian counter-offensive a failure
On the ground, Russian President Vladimir Putin nevertheless believes that Ukraine is failing to defend its territory. According to the autocrat, the counter-offensive launched in early June by the Ukrainian army to retake the territories occupied by Russia is “a failure”, he said at a press conference in Sochi, in the south of Russia, alongside his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“It’s not that it skates, it’s a failure. In any case, that’s exactly what it looks like today,” said the Russian president. “We’ll see what happens next, but hopefully it stays that way,” he added.
The Ukrainian army launched in June a major counter-offensive in the south and east, supposed to drive Russia out of the Ukrainian territories it occupies. At this point, Kyiv’s troops have advanced only slowly, partly due to minefields, but Kyiv claims to have broken through the first Russian line of defense in the south and hopes to be able to advance and cut Russian lines of communication.
Kim Jong-Un wants to continue arms sales to Russia
The White House persists and signs. According to Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the United States administration’s National Security Council, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un wants “a diplomatic exchange at the highest level” in Russia with President Vladimir Putin to discuss of arms sales from Pyongyang to Moscow.
“As we have already said, negotiations on the supply of arms between Russia and North Korea are actively progressing,” the spokeswoman said. And “we know that Kim Jong-Un wants these negotiations to continue, including a diplomatic exchange at the highest level in Russia,” she added in an email to the press.
On Wednesday, the chief spokesman of the National Security Council, John Kirby, had already expressed alarm at the rapid progress of these negotiations on future arms deliveries from Pyongyang to Moscow and had called on the communist regime to “stop “these talks.