From Moscow and kyiv drone attacks are now daily. Early this Wednesday, August 9, the Russian air defense said it shot down two Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow.
In addition, the solution to the transport of Ukrainian cereals in the Black Sea “depends on Western countries which must keep their promises”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday evening.
Russia shoots down two Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow
The Moscow-reported attack came two days after two Russian missile strikes killed nine people in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine. “Above the territory of the Moscow region, an attempted ‘Kiev-led’ attack using unmanned aerial vehicles was foiled,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram. “The air defense destroyed two drones. As a result of this foiled terrorist attack, there were no fatalities or damage,” the ministry added. According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, one of the devices was shot down “in the Domodedovo area”, south of the capital, and the second “in the Minsk highway area”, west of Moscow, he said on Telegram. Both were trying to enter the city, he said, adding that emergency services are at the scene.
Ukrainian drone attacks have multiplied in recent weeks on Russian territory, often targeting Moscow and the annexed Crimean peninsula. Authorities said Moscow suffered several drone attacks last week, including one that damaged an office building in its main business district, Moscow City, which was targeted twice within days.
Berlin offers to extend the deployment of Patriot anti-missile systems in Poland
Germany said on Tuesday it had offered to extend the deployment of its Patriot missile defense systems in Poland, likely until the end of the year. Berlin deployed three Patriot units to eastern Poland in January after a Polish village was hit in late 2022 by an explosion, presumably from a stray Ukrainian air defense missile. This deployment was originally scheduled to last a maximum of six months. But the German Defense Ministry said it had offered Warsaw to keep these Patriot batteries “during the summer, and probably until the end of the year”. However, he indicated that there were no plans to extend this deployment beyond 2023.
Poland’s defense minister initially rejected the German offer, asking Berlin to send them to Ukraine instead to fight the Russian invasion, then agreed. Germany, a major arms supplier to kyiv, also sent a Patriot system to Ukraine.
Cereals in the Black Sea: Westerners must keep their promises according to Erdogan
The solution to the transport of Ukrainian cereals in the Black Sea “depends on Western countries which must keep their promises”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday evening. “I think a solution can be found,” he added, referring to his recent telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who refused to extend the agreement, of which Turkey and the UN were the guarantors. , which expired on July 17. “Last week, during our telephone conversation with Mr. Putin, we became aware of Russia’s requirements,” said the head of state without further details, before the conference of ambassadors in Ankara.
“The solution to this problem depends on Western countries honoring their promises. The steps that would have turned the positive atmosphere created by the Black Sea Initiative into a ceasefire and then a lasting agreement of peace, have not been taken”, he accused. Russia demanded in particular the removal of obstacles, linked to Western sanctions, to the export of its own agricultural products, notably fertilizers.
The United States will soon announce a new tranche of military aid to Ukraine
Tuesday, August 8, the spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller. New funds are allocated following a miscalculation by the Pentagon, which overstated the value of weapons sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years.