Latest news with #DPAKiev
Qatar Tribune
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Ukrainian officer allegedly spied on Western jets for Russia
DPA Kiev A Ukrainian air force officer is said to have spied on the locations and deployment plans of the country's few Western fighter jets for Russia, Ukraine's SBU intelligence service has claimed. The major collected data on the F-16 aircraft from the United States, Mirage jets from France and also Ukrainian Su-24 planes, the SBU said in Kiev on Wednesday. The officer - who had served as a pilot trainer in the Ukrainian air force - allegedly helped Russia to plan missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian air bases. He was detained for treason. There were no independent reports on the case. 'Whoever chooses the side of the occupiers will feel the righteous strength of Ukrainian justice,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Ukraine, which has been under all-out attack from Russia for more than three years, only has a few dozen Western fighter jets. In the case of the F-16, 42 deliveries are publicly known, the majority of which were delivered by the Netherlands. The aircraft are used less by Ukraine in its own attacks, but play a major role in intercepting Russian drones and missiles. Russia hunts down these jets. For example, it repeatedly fires on the Starokostyantyniv airbase in western Ukraine, where the foreign aircraft are believed to be located.
Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Russians attempt to encircle Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine
DPA Kiev After unsuccessful direct assaults on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, Russian troops have now shifted to attempts at encirclement, local troop spokesman Viktor Trehubov reported on Ukrainian state television on Sunday. Efforts are being made, particularly from the east, to break through Ukrainian positions and encircle Pokrovsk, Trehubov said, adding that the defensive battle in the area near Kostiantynivka is ongoing. A direct assault on Pokrovsk reportedly makes no sense for the Russian military given the high losses, hence the attempt at encirclement. Pokrovsk has been a persistent hotspot on the fronts in eastern Ukraine for months. The city is located in the west of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk at a strategically important transport hub. It is now almost completely destroyed. Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for over three years. Meanwhile, at least three passengers have died in a Russian drone attack on a bus in the eastern Ukrainian region of Sumy. Additionally, a further 20 passengers were injured, according to the regional military administration. The information could not be independently verified. In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, a 58-year-old woman died in a Russian attack, according to official reports. Two days earlier, a resident was killed and another seven were injured in a Russian attack on the city. The respective reports did not specify whether the people were victims of drone or artillery attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday announced the restructuring and further armament of the navy during the conclusion of a major naval exercise. By the end of the year, two marine infantry brigades will be converted into divisions, with three more to follow shortly, Putin said. 'This will significantly increase the fleet's striking power and combat capabilities,' he stated. The five-day exercise, which concluded on Russia's Navy Day on Sunday, involved more than 150 warships and support vessels, 120 aircraft and helicopters, and over 15,000 soldiers, according to official information. The drills took place simultaneously in the Baltic Sea, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Caspian Sea. The aim of the exercise was to defend against a large-scale naval attack, the Russian government said. The Kremlin accuses NATO of endangering Russia's security. The Western military alliance also conducted a naval exercise earlier this year: BALTOPS 2025. According to official figures, around 50 ships and approximately 9,000 soldiers participated in the exercise in June. In a video message, Putin described the navy as the 'pride and achievement of the fatherland.' However, the naval parade planned for Sunday — an annual event Putin started in 2017 — was cancelled for security reasons, unlike the military exercise. In the region surrounding St Petersburg, more than 10 drones were reportedly shot down in the morning, according to official information. Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said a woman in the Lomonosov district was slightly injured by falling drone debris. St Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport was closed for several hours in the morning for take-offs and landings. The Russian military reported the downing of 99 drones nationwide. Putin called this year's Navy Day a wonderful holiday, but added, 'It is right that we spend the holiday in a combat and working atmosphere, with everyone in their place, and the fleet demonstrating its combat potential and quality.' The head of the Kremlin followed most of the naval manoeuvres via video transmission from the navy's main headquarters in St Petersburg.
Qatar Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
At least 4 killed in Russian attacks on eastern, southern Ukraine
DPA Kiev At least two civilians died in Russian attacks in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, according to Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak on Telegram on Saturday. A man was killed by artillery fire in the Nikopol district. Lysak said three more people were injured by remote-controlled drones in the Synelnykove district. In the eastern region of Donetsk, another civilian was killed in a drone attack in the city of Kostiantynivka, according to the military administration chief of the industrial city, Serhij Gorbunov. In a post on Facebook, he urged the remaining residents to leave the city and move to safer areas as the front line is only a few kilometres from the city limits. A civilian was killed by a Ukrainian drone in the western Russian border region of Kursk, an official said earlier. The attack took place in the village of Obesta, about five kilometres from the Ukrainian border, regional governor Alexander Hinshtein said on Telegram. A remote-controlled drone struck next to the village club, he said. There was no independent confirmation of this. Ukraine has been fending off Russia's full-scale invasion for more than three years. Kiev has also attacked targets on Russian territory, mainly using drones. Russian forces launched 208 drones and dummy drones, 12 Iskander ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles at Ukraine overnight, targeting the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region in particular, the Ukrainian Air Force reported early on Saturday. Ukrainian forces downed 183 drones and 17 missiles and cruise missiles, the report said. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak posted on Telegram that three people had been killed and six injured in Dnipro and its environs. He spoke of a 'terrible night.' President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Sumy and Kharkiv had also come under attack. 'Such strikes certainly cannot be left without response, and Ukrainian long-range drones ensure one,' he posted on X. 'Russian military enterprises, Russian logistics, and Russian airfields must see that Russia's own war is now hitting them back with real consequences. The precision of our drones, the daily nature of Ukraine's responses — are some of the arguments that will surely bring peace closer,' Zelensky posted. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said five people, including three emergency workers, had been injured as they were attending an earlier strike.
Qatar Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Ukraine, Russia report deaths and damage in renewed aerial attacks
DPA Kiev Russian forces launched 208 drones and dummy drones, 12 Iskander ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles at Ukraine overnight, targeting the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region in particular, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Saturday. Ukrainian forces downed 183 drones and 17 missiles and cruise missiles, the report said. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak posted on Telegram that three people had been killed and six injured in Dnipro and its environs. He spoke of a "terrible night." President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Sumy and Kharkiv had also come under attack. "Such strikes certainly cannot be left without response, and Ukrainian long-range drones ensure one," he posted on X. "Russian military enterprises, Russian logistics, and Russian airfields must see that Russia's own war is now hitting them back with real consequences. The precision of our drones, the daily nature of Ukraine's responses - are some of the arguments that will surely bring peace closer," Zelensky posted. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said five people, including three emergency workers, had been injured as they were attending an earlier strike. Sumy military Governor Oleh Hryhorov said three people had been injured. Authorities in the Rostov region in southern Russia said that two people had died in Ukrainian attacks. Governor Yury Slyusar posted on Telegram that a car had burnt out and that power had been cut to a row of houses by a falling drone. Videos published on Telegram showed an explosion at an industrial company in Stavropol in southern Russia. According to media reports, the Signal factory was hit. It is one of the main manufacturers of radio electronics for the Russian army and is under EU sanctions. Governor Vladimir Vladimirov posted that a Ukrainian drone attack on industrial sites had been warded off, while he acknowledged a "small fire" that had quickly been doused. The Russian civil aviation authority said that traffic had been disrupted at the Vladikavkaz, Kaluga and Grozny airports. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that 54 Ukrainian drones had been downed overnight over seven Russian regions and the Crimean Peninsula, 12 of them over the Rostov region. The tit-for-tat attacks occur almost nightly, as Ukraine seeks to ward off a full-scale Russia invasion that began in February 2022.
Qatar Tribune
21-07-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Ukraine seeks €5bn more for weapons amid new push for peace negotiations
DPA Kiev Kiev said on Monday that it requires the equivalent of over €5 billion ($5.84 billion) in additional military aid this year to boost its production of weapons, as Moscow responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal for new peace talks. The funds are necessary to manufacture more remote-controlled drones, interceptor drones and long-range weapons, Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal said during an online meeting in the so-called Ramstein format. According to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, he asked partner countries to already provide funds for 2026. Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi also called for an increase in military aid. 'We are still urgently lacking air-defence systems and associated missiles, long-range weapons, artillery shells, armoured technology, evacuation equipment, electronic warfare systems, radars, drone systems and more,' the general said, adding that only with joint efforts could Russian aggression be stopped. The 29th meeting was attended by 50 partner countries of Ukraine, led by Germany and the United Kingdom. Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years with massive Western support. Moscow confirms interest in negotiations with Kiev The Kremlin confirmed on Monday its interest in a third round of negotiations proposed by Zelensky to end the war. At the previous meeting, both sides exchanged their position papers, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. According to Russian news agencies, he said that an exchange of views and negotiations are now pending, but so far they are completely opposing. He added that 'great diplomatic work' is still needed. On Saturday, Zelensky proposed a meeting to take place later this week. According to Peskov, there is no finalized date yet. He stated that there are no changes on the Russian side regarding the composition of the delegation. In the previous two rounds of talks in Istanbul, Russia's chief negotiator was presidential adviser and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky. In May, Kiev and Moscow held bilateral negotiations for the first time in three years. At this meeting and a later one in June in Istanbul, both sides agreed on a large prisoner exchange and the return of fallen soldiers. However, steps towards ending the war against Ukraine, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2022, were not discussed. Fresh wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine At least one person was killed and eight others injured as Russia launched a wave of drone attacks on Kiev overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Monday morning on the platform X about a total of two dead and 15 injured following the attacks across the country as a whole. The attacks hit the capital and its surroundings, as well as Kharkiv in the north-east and Ivano-Frankivsk in the west of the country, near the Polish border. Referring to Ivano-Frankivsk, Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv described it as the largest attack since the beginning of the war. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia attacked its neighbouring country overnight with 426 drones and drone decoys. Additionally, Moscow reportedly used five Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles and 19 cruise missiles of various types. The air force stated that 403 drones and decoys were shot down or brought down by targeted jamming. The majority of the missiles and cruise missiles were also neutralized, they wrote, but did not specify an exact number. Air and rail traffic in Russia restricted due to drones The Ministry of Defence in Moscow said on Monday that 74 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russian territory overnight. Of these, 15 were reportedly approaching the capital. The drone attacks once again affected air traffic. According to the aviation authority Rosaviatsiya, the four Moscow airports and the one in Nizhny Novgorod were closed for take-offs and landings for several hours. In the Rostov region, the drone attacks also led to restrictions in train traffic. Drone debris caused a fire at the station in the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, the North Caucasus Railway Company reported. More than 50 trains were delayed as a result.
