Russia says it downed 112 Ukrainian drones
Russia's defense ministry said on Friday its air defense systems had downed 112 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 24 over the Moscow region.
Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on Russia in the past several days, forcing temporary shutdowns of Russian airports. On Thursday Russia said it had fired an Iskander-M missile at part of the city of Pokrov in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Russia says no quick breakthrough in ‘complex' Ukraine talks
Russia has said it was wrong to expect a quick breakthrough in Ukraine talks, after Moscow rejected Kyiv's call for an unconditional ceasefire at negotiations in Istanbul. The sides agreed on a large-scale swap of captured soldiers and exchanged their roadmaps to peace, or so-called 'memorandums', at the discussions, which lasted less than two hours. More than three years into Russia's offensive -- which has killed tens of thousands on both sides and forced millions from their homes in eastern Ukraine -- the two sides appear as irreconcilable as ever. 'The settlement issue is extremely complex and involves a large number of nuances,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday. 'It would be wrong to expect immediate solutions and breakthroughs,' he added. Moscow demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of four eastern and southern regions that Moscow claims to have annexed as a precondition to pausing its offensive, according to the document handed to the Ukrainians that was published by Russian state media. Kyiv had pressed for a full and unconditional ceasefire. Russia instead offered a partial truce of two to three days in some areas of the frontline, its top negotiator said after the talks. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha on Tuesday denounced Russia for presenting 'old ultimatums that do not move the situation any closer to true peace' and for having 'so far rejected any meaningful formats for a ceasefire.' Peskov earlier also dismissed the idea of a summit between the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and the United States. 'In the near future, it is unlikely,' Peskov told reporters when asked about the chances of the leaders meeting, adding that such a summit could only happen after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators reach an 'agreement.' The White House had said on Monday that US President Donald Trump was 'open' to the idea, which is also backed by Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Targeting civilians Zelenskyy on Tuesday accused Russia of 'deliberately' targeting civilians in a rocket attack on the city of Sumy, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border, that killed four people. Russian troops have accelerated their advance, seeking to establish what Putin called a 'buffer zone' inside Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region. Zelenskyy posted a video from the emergency services showing destroyed cars and the body of one victim lying on the road. The attack 'says everything one needs to know about Russia's so-called 'desire' to end this war,' he added, calling for 'decisive actions' from the United States and Europe to push Russia into a ceasefire. 'Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defense,' he said. A seven-year-old girl was among 20 wounded, with doctors 'fighting for her life,' Sumy's Acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said. Three people were also killed in a rocket attack in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Moscow's army said it had captured the village of Andriivka in the Sumy region, located around five kilometers (three miles) from the Russian border. Zelenskyy said last week that Russia was massing some 50,000 soldiers for an offensive on the region. Meanwhile, Ukraine's SBU security service claimed it had hit a pillar of the Crimean bridge linking the annexed peninsula to Russia with an underwater explosive device. The extent of the damage was unclear following a temporary closure to the bridge after the attack. A delegation of top Ukrainian officials also landed in Washington for talks with US officials on defense and economic issues, including the possibility of new sanctions, Zelenskyy's office said. Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy's top aide and a member of the delegation, met with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg. 'I emphasized that Russia is stalling and manipulating the negotiation process in an attempt to avoid American sanctions, and has no genuine intention of ceasing hostilities,' Yermak wrote on social media. 'Only strong sanctions can compel Russia to engage in serious negotiations.' Meanwhile, Russia's top security official Sergei Shoigu was in Pyongyang on Wednesday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The two countries have drawn closer in recent years, with North Korea sending troops and weapons to support Moscow's war effort. Russian news agencies reported Shoigu and Kim were expected to discuss issues including Ukraine. Trump, who said he could end the conflict swiftly when he returned to the White House in January, has repeatedly expressed anger at both Putin and Zelenskyy as the fighting drags through its fourth year with no end in sight. But he has held off from imposing new economic penalties on Moscow.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
NATO'S Baltic drills are part of preparations for a potential clash with Russia, TASS reports
NATO'S Baltic drills are part of the alliance's preparations for a potential military clash with Russia, TASS news agency cited Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying in remarks published on Wednesday.'We assess NATO's military activity as part of preparations for military clashes with Russia,' TASS cited Grushko as saying.'If we look at the focus of these exercises, the concept, the structure of the deployment of forces, the forces themselves, their quality, the tasks that are formulated for these exercises, then this is a fight against a comparable adversary,' Grushko said according to – NATO's annual exercise in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it – is being held this month.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Britain pledges to deliver 100,000 drones to Ukraine by April 2026
Britain pledged on Wednesday to supply 100,000 drones to Ukraine by the end of the current financial year in April 2026, marking a tenfold increase, after saying the unmanned aerial vehicles had transformed the way wars are fought. The government on Monday endorsed an independently produced Strategic Defense Review, which calls for a more lethal, tech-driven army to counter emerging threats, including possible Russian aggression. Britain, one of Ukraine's staunchest Western supporters, plans to learn from Kyiv's more than three-year fight against the Russian invasion, during which drones have transformed the battlefield. The 350-million-pound ($473 million) drone package is part of a broader 4.5-billion-pound military support initiative for Ukraine, the government said. Defense Secretary John Healey will make the announcement at a 50-nation Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels, co-hosted with Germany. 'The UK is stepping up its support for Ukraine by delivering hundreds of thousands more drones this year and completing a major milestone in the delivery of critical artillery ammunition,' Healey said in a statement ahead of the meeting. In addition to the drone deliveries, Britain said it has completed the shipment of 140,000 artillery shells to Ukraine since January and will spend a further 247 million pounds this year training Ukrainian troops.
