Russian air defences destroy Ukrainian drone headed for Moscow, mayor says
Sobyanin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, made no mention of casualties or damage, but said specialists were examining the area where drone fragments fell to the ground. Sobyanin said on Wednesday that three drones had been intercepted.
The federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, briefly ordered the suspension of operations at two airports near the capital, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, but operations were later resumed.
Operations were halted well after midnight at a third Moscow airport, Vnukovo.
Russia's Defence Ministry said air defence units had destroyed 46 Ukrainian drones over a period extending four hours in the evening, including the single drone over the Moscow region.
Most of the others were downed in areas near Ukraine, including 31 over Bryansk region and 10 over Crimea, a region annexed by Russia since 2014.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
Germany's Merz casts doubt on Ukraine EU entry by 2034
BERLIN, July 18 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday cast doubt on the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union by 2034, saying accession was unlikely to come at a point affecting the bloc's medium-term finance plans, which run to 2034. "For us, the absolute top priority is, first and foremost, to do everything possible to end this war," Merz said on Friday after a meeting with Romanian President Nicușor Dan in Berlin. "Then we'll talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine... but that's going to take a number of years ... It will probably not even affect the EU's current medium-term financial outlook," the chancellor said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Kyiv in February that Ukraine could join the EU before 2030 if the country continues reforms at the current speed and quality. EU leaders have also said accession to the EU would be the most important security guarantee for the future of Ukraine.
Sky News
34 minutes ago
- Sky News
Unmasked: The 18 Russian spies who mounted series of attacks on UK
Dozens of Russian spies have been sanctioned by the government - including those responsible for targeting Yulia Skripal five years before her attempted murder in Salisbury. The Foreign Office has announced that three units of the Russian military intelligence agency (GRU) have been hit with sanctions, alongside 18 military intelligence officers. GRU officers attempted to murder Yulia Skipal and her father Sergei using the deadly Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury. The 18 military intelligence officers have been targeted because of a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity over many years, including in the UK, the Foreign Office said. The government also accused the GRU of using cyber and information operations to "sow chaos, division and disorder in Ukraine and across the world". bombing of Mariupol Theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children, were murdered. Other military officers who have been sanctioned previously targeted Yulia Skripal's mobile phone with malicious malware known as X-Agent. The Skripals had moved to the UK after Sergei Skripal became a double agent, secretly working for the UK. He was tried for high treason and imprisoned in Russia - and later exchanged in a spy swap. But five years after Yulia's phone was targeted, the pair were poisoned with the nerve agent, Novichok, in Salisbury. Russia has always denied being involved in the chemical attack. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. "The Kremlin should be in no doubt: we see what they are trying to do in the shadows and we won't tolerate it." He said the UK was taking "decisive action" with the sanctions against Russian spies. "Putin's hybrid threats and aggression will never break our resolve. The UK and our allies' support for Ukraine and Europe's security is ironclad." Those sanctioned today include: Aleksandr Vladimirovich Osadchuk Yevgeniy Mikhaylovich Serbriakov Anatoliy Sergeyvich Kovalev Artem Valeryvich Ochichenko The 161st Specialist Training Centre (TsPS) (Unit 29155) of the GRU Vladislav Yevgenyevich Borovkov Nikolay Aleksandrovich Korchagin Yuriy Federovich Denisov Vitaly Aleksandrovich Shevchenko Ivan Sergeyevich Yermakov Aleksey Viktorovich Lukashev Sergey Sergeyevich Vasyuk Andrey Eduardovich Baranov Aleksey Sergeyevich Morenets Sergey Aleksandrovich Morgachev Artem Adreyevich Malyshev Yuriy Leonidovich Shikolenko Victor Borisovich Netyksho Dmitriy Aleksandrovich Mikhaylov African Initiative Artyom Sergeevich Kureyev
The Independent
40 minutes ago
- The Independent
How the EU aims to put the squeeze on the Russian economy with new sanctions package
The European Union's 18th sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine targets Moscow's energy and financial sectors to limit its ability to fund war in Ukraine. Key measures include a lower oil price cap, Nord Stream transaction ban, more shadow fleet sanctions, and a full ban on Russian bank deals. 'We are striking at the heart of Russia 's war machine,' EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X. 'The pressure is on. It will stay on until Putin ends this war.' The measures are intended to ramp up pressure on Russia amid flagging peace negotiations, as well as targeting companies and countries that allow Moscow to evade existing sanctions. They were approved on Friday after weeks of delay caused by repeated Slovakian and Maltese vetoes over natural gas and shipping respectively. Here, The Independent looks at the key measures and their potential impact on the Russian economy. Lower oil price cap The EU will impose a moving price cap on Russian crude at 15 percent below its average market price, EU diplomats said. At present this sets the cap at about $47.60 per barrel, well below the $60 maximum that the G7 have tried to impose since December 2022. A fall in oil futures made the $60 cap largely symbolic. The cap bans trade of Russian crude above the set maximum, prohibiting shipping, insurance and reinsurance companies from handling tankers carrying it. It is designed to limit Moscow's crude revenues, the cornerstone of its war coffers and economy, to make it harder to fund the war without disrupting the global oil market by cutting off supply entirely. The EU has limited powers to enforce the measure due to US resistance. Oil is largely traded in dollars with payment clearing controlled by US banks. So far Russia has been able to sell most of its oil as the current mechanism does not specify who should police its implementation. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Turkey and India have also both continued to import Russian oil and refine it into products which are sent on to the EU. The EU will no longer import any petroleum products made from Russian crude, although the ban will not apply to imports from Norway, Britain, the US, Canada and Switzerland, EU diplomats said. Shadow fleet A further 105 vessels have been banned from accessing EU ports and locks, and undertaking ship-to-ship transfers of oils. The measure aims to shut down the so-called shadow fleet of older oil tankers transporting Russian oil and evading sanctions. The rise of a vast shadow fleet has been helping Moscow maintain its crude exports, keeping revenue flowing. The EU has now sanctioned more than 400 shadow fleet ships. Nord Stream gas pipelines ban Transactions related to Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines will be banned, including any provisions of goods or services to these projects. A network of natural gas pipelines run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and were thought to represent Berlin's over-reliance on Moscow for energy. They were disabled after 2022 explosions damaged three of them. But reports in the Financial Times in March suggested that Kremlin-linked Russian and US business people were seeking their reactivation. Financial sector A full ban on all transactions with Russian financial institutions - already excluded from the Swift interbank messaging system - will come into place. The ban extends to transactions with Russia's sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), and its investments. The move aims to further restrict Russia's access to international financial markets and foreign currency. The EU also lowered the threshold for slapping sanctions on international financial and credit institutions which circumvent sanctions or support Russia's war effort. For example, by circumventing the oil price cap. 'We are putting more pressure on Russia's military industry, Chinese banks that enables sanctions evasion, and blocking tech exports used in drones,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a post on X, without providing further details or names. When asked about the sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has built up a certain 'immunity' to Western sanctions and adapted to them. Peskov called the sanctions illegal, saying every new restriction created negative consequences for those countries that backed them.
