Moscow mayor says air defence units downed two drones overnight
Sobyanin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said specialists were examining the debris of at least one drone downed after midnight.
The mayor said a third drone targeting the capital had been repelled earlier in the evening.
Russia's defence ministry reported that air defence units had destroyed nine drones in a 90-minute period before midnight, including nine over the border regions of Kursk and Bryansk.
Ukraine has launched drone attacks on a wide range of targets in recent months, some a long distance from the Ukrainian border.
In one attack this month, dubbed "Operation Spider's Web," Ukrainian drones targeted long-range military aircraft at a number of Russian bases.
In recent months, Russia has stepped up mass drone attacks against Ukrainian cities. Waves of Russian drones and missiles swarming in and around Kyiv killed 10 people overnight on Sunday.
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Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
Lula and Putin discuss peace in Ukraine before US summit
BRASILIA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Saturday for about 40 minutes, the Brazilian presidential palace said, adding that Putin shared information about his discussions with the United States and "recent peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine." The leaders also discussed their cooperation in the BRICS group of emerging countries and "discussed the current international political and economic scenario," according to the statement. The conversation with Lula is the latest of a flurry of calls between Putin and foreign leaders in recent days ahead of the Russian president's expected meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump next week. Putin spoke to the leaders of China and India, both also part of the BRICS group of developing nations, and other presidents from Central Asia and Europe on Friday to brief them on his contacts with the United States about the war in Ukraine. Lula has been in a public spat with Trump since the U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on the imports of Brazilian goods, which Trump linked to an alleged "witch hunt" against his ally and Brazil's former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. U.S. imports of some Brazilian products, such as orange juice and aircraft, received a lower rate. Lula told Reuters on Wednesday he planned to call the leaders of the BRICS countries, which also include South Africa, to discuss a joint response to Trump's tariffs on U.S. imports. The Brazilian leader spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Trump has threatened BRICS nations with additional 10% tariffs last month, as the group gathered in a summit in Rio de Janeiro in July.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Donald Trump must not reward Vladimir Putin's aggression
Donald Trump understands symbolism and imperial delusions, so Alaska is a fitting location for his meeting with Vladimir Putin on Friday. The US president will know that in Putin's eyes, Alaska ought to be Russian territory, sold in a moment of weakness by Alexander II. Just as, in Mr Trump's mind, Canada and Greenland ought to be part of the United States. The theatre of the summit, then, is all set. But some of the cast will be missing. By agreeing to a meeting of just the two of them, Mr Trump appears to be convening a conspiracy to carve up Ukraine in the absence of its leader, Volodymyr Zelensky. This impression was reinforced by Mr Trump talking breezily about Russia and Ukraine 'swapping' territory as part of a peace deal. To Ukrainians – or indeed to anyone who respects the principle of self-determination and the rule of law – this means Mr Putin giving up territory that he has seized by force in exchange for being rewarded for his aggression by gaining further territory that he has not yet been able to steal. No wonder Mr Zelensky has his doubts about this meeting. The Ukrainian president has made it clear that he will discuss anything with anyone anywhere, but what he will not do, rightly, is agree to the dismemberment of his country as a condition of talks. Without Mr Zelensky, it is not clear what this summit can achieve, except to demonstrate ever more clearly to the world and to Mr Trump that it is Mr Putin who is the obstacle to peace. The other cast members who will be missing in Alaska are Ukraine's allies in Europe, what Sir Keir Starmer calls the 'coalition of the willing'. But the Trump administration has at least ensured a side negotiation takes place, with a meeting of national security advisers convened on Saturday by JD Vance, the US vice president, and David Lammy, the British foreign secretary, at Chevening. Meanwhile Mr Zelensky has been canvassing support from European allies, holding phone calls today with Sir Keir, as well as leaders from Estonia, Denmark and France, including conversations about Ukraine's progress "towards EU membership". Recently, President Trump has shown some signs of recognising that Mr Putin does not want peace in Ukraine. He said that he had had enough of the Russian leader assuring him on the phone that he was ready to negotiate, only to discover the next day that Russian missiles had hit a hospital or a school in Ukraine. He set a deadline for the imposition of further sanctions on Russia, which passed this weekend with no measures announced. By agreeing to the Alaska meeting, it looks as if Mr Putin has strung Mr Trump along – again. We have no way of seeing into Mr Trump's heart, so we cannot tell if his appeasement of Mr Putin is a diplomatic ploy to allow the Russian leader to agree a deal that saves face, or if it arises from the genuine admiration for a strong leader. But Mr Trump's motive does not matter – except that, if he is as fixated on the idea of a Nobel Peace Prize as he is said to be, he should be unlikely to win the prize by securing peace through Ukraine's surrender. If it is beginning to dawn on Mr Trump that Mr Putin wants the war to continue, then that can only be a good thing, because it will then be clear exactly who is responsible for prolonging the bloodshed. It is not Mr Zelensky or the Ukrainian people who started this war or who are keeping it going. A recent Gallup poll suggested that a large majority of Ukrainians want a negotiated end to the fighting. They know that this means yielding territory, however bitterly they may resent it. They are willing to pay a price for peace. Mr Trump must ensure that Mr Putin is made to pay a price as well. The Russian aggressor must not be rewarded.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Lifting sanctions on Putin for Trump meeting is a massive victory for Moscow
The location of Alaska is unexpected. Although close to Russia geographically - less than three miles away at the narrowest point - it's a very long way from neutral ground. The expectation was they would meet somewhere in the middle. Saudi Arabia perhaps, or the United Arab Emirates. But no, Vladimir Putin will be travelling to Donald Trump's backyard. It'll be the first time the Russian president has visited the US since September 2015, when he spoke at the UN General Assembly. Barack Obama was in the White House. How times have changed a decade on. The US is not a member of the International Criminal Court, so there's no threat of arrest for Vladimir Putin. But to allow his visit to happen, the US Treasury Department will presumably have to lift sanctions on the Kremlin leader, as it did when his investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev flew to Washington in April. And I think that points to one reason why Putin would agree to a summit in Alaska. 1:16 Instead of imposing sanctions on Russia, as Trump had threatened in recent days, the US would be removing one. Even if only temporary, it would be hugely symbolic and a massive victory for Moscow. The American leader might think he owns the optics - the peace-making president ordering a belligerent aggressor to travel to his home turf - but the visuals more than work for Putin too. Shunned by the West since his invasion, this would signal an emphatic end to his international isolation. Donald Trump has said a ceasefire deal is close. The details are still unclear but there are reports it could involve Ukraine surrendering territory, something Volodymyr Zelenskyy has always adamantly opposed. Either way, Putin will have what he wants - the chance to carve up his neighbour without Kyiv being at the table. And that's another reason why Putin would agree to a summit, regardless of location. Because it represents a real possibility of achieving his goals. It's not just about territory for Russia. It also wants permanent neutrality for Ukraine and limits to its armed forces - part of a geopolitical strategy to prevent NATO expansion. In recent months, despite building US pressure, Moscow has shown no intention of stopping the war until those demands are met. It may be that Vladimir Putin thinks a summit with Donald Trump offers the best chance of securing them.
