Russia-Ukraine war news: Kyiv source says arms depot hit in Russia
- Drones have struck a warehouse storing missiles and artillery in Russia’s western Tver region, causing a powerful explosion and massive fire, according to a Ukrainian security source.
- Russia says it downed 54 Ukrainian drones launched overnight, half over the Kursk border region.
At least 2 seriously injured in drone attack on Ukraine’s Nikopol
That’s according to Serhii Lysak, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.
He said on Telegram that the drone attack in the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region injured a 42-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman.
“Unfortunately, their condition is serious. Doctors are providing all necessary medical assistance,” Lysak wrote.
The administrative building of the city was also damaged, he said.
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Here are the latest developments:
- The Ukrainian Air Force has claimed to have shot down 46 of 52 drones launched against Ukraine by Russia overnight.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describes as “dangerous” comments by Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing head of NATO, on allowing Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons.
- Ukraine’s parliament has amended the 2024 budget, raising defence spending by an additional 500 billion hryvnias ($12bn) as the war against Russia rages on after nearly 31 months.
- Lithuania’s Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas says Vilnius intends to provide Kyiv up to 50 million euros ($55m) in additional military aid by the end of this year.
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Romania says NATO must enact a “robust, coordinated” response to incidents in which Russian missiles or drones fired at Ukraine enter the alliance’s airspace.
Romania says NATO must react to Russian incursions into its airspace
NATO must enact a “robust, coordinated” response to incidents in which Russian missiles or drones fired at Ukraine enter the alliance’s airspace, Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tilvar said on Wednesday.
States on NATO’s eastern flank, whose defence ministers met in Bucharest on Wednesday, have repeatedly said Russia’s activities in the Black Sea region and beyond were a source of deep concern.
Earlier this month, NATO states Romania and Latvia saw Russian drones crash after breaching their airspace, prompting official calls for measures to act jointly to counter Russia air incursions.
Last week Ukraine accused Russia of using strategic bombers to strike a civilian grain vessel in a missile attack in Black Sea waters near Romania, further escalating tensions between Moscow and the military alliance.
“B9 states are profoundly concerned about the repeated incursions of Russia’s drones and missiles in NATO air space, in Poland, Romania, Latvia, as well as escalating tensions along NATO’s eastern flank,” Tilvar told reporters, referring to the regional grouping of NATO members.
“That is why a robust, coordinated response on an allied level is needed as well as enforcing the rotational air defence and integrated anti-missile model as soon as possible.
Russia claims to have destroyed Ukraine’s Starlink station in Chernihiv
Russian National Guard servicemen have destroyed a Starlink satellite communications station used by the Ukrainian army in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region, according to the Tass news agency.
The press service of the Russian National Guard told Tass the attack was carried out with a drone from Russia’s border areas in the Bryansk region after aerial reconnaissance noticed the Starlink satellite communications terminal.
Lithuania to provide up to $55m in additional military aid to Ukraine
The Baltic republic’s Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas says Vilnius intends to provide Kyiv with up to 50 million euros ($55m) in military aid by the end of this year.
“This year, the volume of our military aid to Ukraine amounted to 153 million euros [$170m]. By the end of the year, the cost of additional aid will be from 40 million euros [$44m] to 50 million euros [$55m],” he said.
Kasciunas said the country intends to invest 10 million euros ($11m) in the development of the production of Ukrainian long-range weapons, including the Palianytsia drone missile, and to buy short-range air defence systems, radars, and mine-clearing equipment for transfer to Kyiv.
He was speaking after a meeting of the parliamentary committee on national security and defence.
Top Ukraine, Romania diplomats discuss Black Sea security
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and his Romanian counterpart Luminita Odobescu meet in Bucharest to discuss strengthening security in the Black Sea region.
“Ukraine and Romania strengthen and will strengthen the security of the region. And we will continue to work together to make the Black Sea a space of security, trade and development,” Sybiha said at his joint news conference. “We must restore full freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.”
Speaking about the Russian attack on a civilian ship there, he said it was “another evidence that Russian evil is closer than it might seem”.
Kremlin calls Stoltenberg’s comments on long-range missiles ‘dangerous’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describes as “dangerous” comments by Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing head of NATO, on allowing Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons.
In an interview with The Times published on Tuesday, Stoltenberg dismissed a warning by Russian President Vladimir Putin last week that letting Ukraine use such weapons to strike deep inside Russian territory would mean the West was directly fighting Russia.
“There have been many red lines declared by him before, and he has not escalated, meaning also involving NATO allies directly in the conflict,” said Stoltenberg, whose tenure as head of the military alliance ends in October.
“He has not done so, because he realises that NATO is the strongest military alliance in the world. They also realise that nuclear weapons, nuclear war, cannot be won and should not be fought. And we have made that very clear to him several times.”
Peskov told reporters “this ostentatious desire not to take seriously the Russian president’s statements is a move that is completely short-sighted and unprofessional”.
Stoltenberg’s position is “extremely provocative and dangerous,” Peskov added.
Ukraine amends 2024 budget to channel extra $12bn for defence
Ukraine’s parliament has amended the 2024 budget, raising defence spending by an additional 500 billion hryvnias ($12bn) as the war against Russia rages on after nearly 31 months.
Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker from the Holos party, said total budget spending for this year had been increased to a record 3.73 trillion hryvnias ($90bn).
As Ukrainian troops defend more than 1,000km (620 miles) of front lines, demand for ammunition and weapons is growing and more money is required. Ukraine has also increased the pace of mobilisation and needs more funds to pay soldiers’ wages.
Ukraine spends most of its state revenues on funding the national defence effort, and relies on financial aid from its Western partners to be able to fund pensions, public sector wages and other social spending.
