Latest news with #RussianDefenceMinistry
Reuters
an hour ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia says it downed 142 Ukrainian drones, including 27 over Moscow region
MOSCOW, July 20 (Reuters) - Russia's defence ministry and the mayor of Moscow said it had downed 142 drones overnight, including 27 over the Moscow region. The drones were reportedly shot down over a number regions in the European part of Russia, as well as over the Black Sea. The latest attacks included four drones headed toward the Russian capital, which were downed on Sunday morning, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram around 1000 local time (0700 GMT). According to Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia, four major airports serving Moscow - Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovskiy - were affected, resulting in 134 flights being redirected. By 1000 Moscow time, only two airports remained closed to air traffic - Vnukovo in the Moscow region and Grabtsevo in the Kaluga region.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Three drones downed en route to Moscow, some flights suspended, officials say
MOSCOW, July 19 (Reuters) - Russian air defence systems shot down three drones en route to Moscow on Saturday, city mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his Telegram account. Two Moscow airports - Vnukovo and Domodedovo - suspended arrivals and departures for safety reasons but later resumed operations, Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said. The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 27 Ukrainian drones in total from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Moscow time (1200-1600 GMT), including four over Moscow region, 15 over Bryansk region, six over Kaluga region and two over Tula region.
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Russia pounds Ukraine with hundreds of drones, killing at least one person
Russia has launched hundreds of drones at Ukraine, killing at least one person in a stepped-up bombing campaign that has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia fired more than 300 drones overnight into Saturday, along with more than 30 cruise missiles. Advertisement One person died when Russian forces attacked the Black Sea port city of Odesa with more than 20 drones and a missile, the city's mayor, Hennadii Trukhanov, said, while five people were rescued when a fire broke out in a residential high-rise building. A residential building burns in Odesa (Ukrainian Emergency Service/AP) According to Mr Zelensky, six other people were wounded in the attack on Odesa, including a child, and critical infrastructure was damaged in Ukraine's north-eastern Sumy region. The Ukrainian president also thanked international leaders 'who understand how important it is to promptly implement our agreements' aimed at boosting Ukraine's defence capabilities, including joint weapons production, drone manufacturing, and the supply of air defence systems. Moscow has been intensifying its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities. It often batters Ukraine with more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. Advertisement On July 8, Russia unleashed more than 700 drones — a record. Russia's Defence Ministry said it shot down 71 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 13 were shot down as they approached the Russian capital.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: EU and UK increase sanctions on Russia as drone strike on Odesa kills one
One person was killed and at least one apartment building set alight in Odesa after Russian forces staged a mass drone attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port. The city's mayor, Gennadiy Trukhanov, said at least 20 drones had converged on the city. 'Civilian infrastructure was damaged as a result of the attack. A residential high-rise building is on fire' and rescuers were pulling people out, he said. The Odesa region's emergency service said later that five people were rescued from burning apartments but 'one rescued woman died'. The Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed 87 Ukrainian drones in a five-hour period on Friday evening, including over the Bryansk region bordering northern Ukraine and the Moscow region. Russian aviation authorities were once again forced to suspend flights at Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo airports serving Moscow. The Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said 13 drones were downed or destroyed after midnight, but made no mention of casualties or damage. The acting governor of Rostov region, on Ukraine's eastern border, said Ukrainian drones triggered fires and knocked down power lines. The EU on Friday agreed an 18th package of sanctions against Russia, including measures aimed at restricting the Russian oil and energy industry. The EU will set a moving price cap on Russian crude at 15% below its average market price, aiming to improve on a largely ineffective $60 cap that the G7 economies have tried to impose since December 2022. The measures were approved after Slovakia dropped its opposition in exchange for further guarantees on gas imports. Kaja Kallas said the measures by the EU would be 'one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date'. 'We will keep raising the costs, so stopping the aggression becomes the only path forward for Moscow,' said the EU foreign policy chief. The UK announced it would join the price cap, dealing a blow to Moscow's oil revenues. 'The UK and its EU allies are turning the screw on the Kremlin's war chest by stemming the most valuable funding stream of its illegal war in Ukraine even further,' said the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, at a G20 meeting in South Africa. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, complained to reporters that Russia considered 'such unilateral restrictions illegal'. 'We oppose them,' he said. 'But at the same time, of course, we have already acquired a certain immunity from sanctions. We have adapted to life under sanctions.' The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the possibility of Ukraine joining the EU by 2034 was unlikely. 'For us, the absolute top priority is, first and foremost, to do everything possible to end this war,' Merz said on Friday. 'Then we'll talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine … but that's going to take a number of years.' He said it would 'probably not even affect the EU's current medium-term financial outlook', which runs to 2034. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said in Kyiv in February that Ukraine could join the EU before 2030 if the country continued reforms at the current speed and quality. Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Friday that his forces were 'containing intense pressure' from Russia on Pokrovsk, a logistics hub in eastern Donetsk region that has weathered months of Russian attempts to capture it. Syrskyi said he had presented a report to the president describing the challenges facing Ukrainian troops along the 1,000km (620-mile) front. 'The enemy is continuing to deploy its tactic of small infantry groups, but has proved powerless on its attempts to seize Pokrovsk. Today, they tried to break through with sabotage groups but were exposed and destroyed,' Syrskyi wrote on Telegram. The first tranche of Australian tanks has been handed over to the Ukrainian army. Australia had previously pledged to give Ukraine 49 Abrams tanks last October. A majority of the tanks have been delivered and a final tranche will arrive in the coming months, but actual numbers have not been released.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: EU and UK increase sanctions on Russia as drone strike on Odesa kills one
One person was killed and at least one apartment building set alight in Odesa after Russian forces staged a mass drone attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port. The city's mayor, Gennadiy Trukhanov, said at least 20 drones had converged on the city. 'Civilian infrastructure was damaged as a result of the attack. A residential high-rise building is on fire' and rescuers were pulling people out, he said. The Odesa region's emergency service said later that five people were rescued from burning apartments but 'one rescued woman died'. The Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed 87 Ukrainian drones in a five-hour period on Friday evening, including over the Bryansk region bordering northern Ukraine and the Moscow region. Russian aviation authorities were once again forced to suspend flights at Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo airports serving Moscow. The Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said 13 drones were downed or destroyed after midnight, but made no mention of casualties or damage. The acting governor of Rostov region, on Ukraine's eastern border, said Ukrainian drones triggered fires and knocked down power lines. The EU on Friday agreed an 18th package of sanctions against Russia, including measures aimed at restricting the Russian oil and energy industry. The EU will set a moving price cap on Russian crude at 15% below its average market price, aiming to improve on a largely ineffective $60 cap that the G7 economies have tried to impose since December 2022. The measures were approved after Slovakia dropped its opposition in exchange for further guarantees on gas imports. Kaja Kallas said the measures by the EU would be 'one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date'. 'We will keep raising the costs, so stopping the aggression becomes the only path forward for Moscow,' said the EU foreign policy chief. The UK announced it would join the price cap, dealing a blow to Moscow's oil revenues. 'The UK and its EU allies are turning the screw on the Kremlin's war chest by stemming the most valuable funding stream of its illegal war in Ukraine even further,' said the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, at a G20 meeting in South Africa. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, complained to reporters that Russia considered 'such unilateral restrictions illegal'. 'We oppose them,' he said. 'But at the same time, of course, we have already acquired a certain immunity from sanctions. We have adapted to life under sanctions.' The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the possibility of Ukraine joining the EU by 2034 was unlikely. 'For us, the absolute top priority is, first and foremost, to do everything possible to end this war,' Merz said on Friday. 'Then we'll talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine … but that's going to take a number of years.' He said it would 'probably not even affect the EU's current medium-term financial outlook', which runs to 2034. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said in Kyiv in February that Ukraine could join the EU before 2030 if the country continued reforms at the current speed and quality. Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Friday that his forces were 'containing intense pressure' from Russia on Pokrovsk, a logistics hub in eastern Donetsk region that has weathered months of Russian attempts to capture it. Syrskyi said he had presented a report to the president describing the challenges facing Ukrainian troops along the 1,000km (620-mile) front. 'The enemy is continuing to deploy its tactic of small infantry groups, but has proved powerless on its attempts to seize Pokrovsk. Today, they tried to break through with sabotage groups but were exposed and destroyed,' Syrskyi wrote on Telegram. The first tranche of Australian tanks has been handed over to the Ukrainian army. Australia had previously pledged to give Ukraine 49 Abrams tanks last October. A majority of the tanks have been delivered and a final tranche will arrive in the coming months, but actual numbers have not been released.
