Latest news with #RussianMinistryOfDefence
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,244
Here is how things stand on Tuesday, July 22: Fighting A large-scale Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv killed two people and wounded 15, including a 12-year-old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The attack caused widespread damage, including when a drone hit the entrance to a subway station in Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district, where people had taken cover. Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 426 drones and 24 missiles in the overnight attack, making it one of Russia's largest aerial assaults in months. A Russian drone attack on Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region injured 11 people, including a five-year-old boy, Governor Oleh Hryhorov said on Telegram. Ukraine's Air Force said it downed or jammed 224 Russian drones and missiles, while another 203 drones disappeared from radars. The Russian Ministry of Defence said that Russian air defence systems downed 132 Ukrainian drones on Monday. The governor of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said that fragments of Ukrainian drones fell on a kindergarten and a fire station in the region's port city of Berdyansk but there were no casualties. Military aid Norway is ready to help fund the deployment of US Patriot missile systems for Ukraine's air defences, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. The Netherlands will also make a 'substantial contribution' to the delivery of Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported on Monday, quoting the country's Minister of Defence Ruben Brekelmans. Zelenskyy wrote on X that 'a decision by French companies to begin manufacturing drones in Ukraine' is 'highly valuable'. Ukrainian Minister for Defence Denys Shmyhal said the country needs $6bn to close this year's defence procurement gap, in an online meeting with Western allies. The Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting of high-level military donors to Kyiv was led by the United Kingdom's defence secretary, John Healey, and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and NATO leader Mark Rutte were among the attendees. Politics and diplomacy New talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place in Turkiye on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said in his daily public address, with more details to be released on Tuesday. 'A lot of diplomatic work lies ahead,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier on Monday, commenting on the prospects for a breakthrough with Kyiv on ending the war. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot emphasised France's support to Ukraine in a surprise visit to Kyiv. Ukraine's security services detained an official from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine on accusations of spying for Russia. Italy's Royal Palace of Caserta cancelled a concert by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, a vocal backer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, after uproar from Ukraine and its supporters.
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,240
Here is how things stand on Friday, July 18: Fighting The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that its forces have captured three Ukrainian settlements: Kamianske in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, Dehtiarne in the northeastern Kharkiv region, and Popiv Yar in the Donetsk region. Russian air defences destroyed a Ukrainian drone headed for Moscow, the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said. Russia's Defence Ministry said 46 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over a period of four hours on Thursday evening, including a single drone over the Moscow region. Most were downed in areas near the Ukraine border, including 31 over Russia's Bryansk region and 10 over the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula. Russia and Ukraine have exchanged more bodies of their war dead, a Kremlin aide said, part of an agreement struck at the second round of peace talks in Istanbul in June. A total of 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were turned over in exchange for 19 bodies of Russian soldiers. Military aid Preparations are under way to quickly transfer additional Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, NATO's top military commander, Alexus Grynkewich, said. Czech-coordinated shipments of artillery ammunition for Ukraine are rising this year, according to Ales Vytecka, director of the Czech Defence Ministry's AMOS international cooperation agency. So far this year, shipments have totalled 850,000 shells, including 320,000 NATO 155mm calibre projectiles. Ukraine will let foreign arms companies test out their latest weapons on the front line of its war against Russia, Kyiv's state-backed arms investment and procurement group Brave1 said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the US publication The New York Post that he and United States President Donald Trump are considering a deal that involves Washington buying battlefield-tested Ukrainian drones in exchange for Kyiv purchasing weapons from the US. Zelenskyy told the country's parliament that he expects his new government to increase the amount of domestically-produced weapons on Ukraine's battlefield from 40 percent to 50 percent within the next six months. The US has informed Switzerland of delays to the delivery of Patriot air defence systems, the Swiss Defence Ministry said, adding that Washington wants to prioritise delivery of the systems to Ukraine. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said clarity is needed on how the US could replace any weapons that Europe plans to send to Ukraine. He issued the statement during a visit to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Politics and diplomacy President Trump's decision to ramp up arms shipments to Ukraine is a signal to Kyiv to abandon peace efforts, Russia Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia had no plans to attack NATO or Europe but floated the idea of preemptive strikes if it believed the West was escalating what he cast as its full-scale war against Russia. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said his country will stop blocking the approval of the 18th package of European Union sanctions against Russia, which could be approved on Friday. Ukraine's parliament appointed Yulia Svyrydenko, 39, as the country's first new prime minister in five years, part of a major cabinet overhaul aimed at revitalising wartime management of the country as prospects for peace with Russia grow dim. Ukraine's former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has been named defence minister. Ukraine's parliament also voted to keep Andrii Sybiha as foreign minister, while appointing Olha Stefanishyna, a deputy prime minister responsible for Euro-Atlantic integration, as the country's new ambassador to the US. Russian lawmakers have advanced a bill that would outlaw opening or searching for content online judged to be 'extremist' in nature, such as songs glorifying Ukraine and material by the feminist rock band, Pussy Riot.
Al Jazeera
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,236
Here is how things stand on Monday, July 14: Fighting: Russian drone attacks killed a 53-year-old Ukrainian man in Ukraine's Sumy region and left parts of the city of Sumy without power, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing local authorities. Ukraine's SBU intelligence service said it killed several Russian secret service agents during an operation to arrest them in the Kyiv region on Sunday. The SBU said it believed the agents were behind the killing of its colonel, Ivan Voronych, in Kyiv on Thursday. Russia's Ministry of Defence said its forces have captured the villages of Mykolaivka and Myrne in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. The United Nations's nuclear watchdog reported hearing hundreds of rounds of small arms fire late on Saturday at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces. The agency described the shots as unusual and said that it was seeking further information about the incident. Weapons United States President Donald Trump said Washington would send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, without specifying how many, just two weeks after Washington said it would pause some arms deliveries for Kyiv. 'I haven't agreed on the number yet, but they're going to have some because they do need protection,' he told reporters. Top Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, told the CBS News broadcaster that he expects an influx of US weapons shipments to Ukraine to begin soon. 'The game… is about to change,' he said. 'I expect, in the coming days, you will see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves.' Politics and diplomacy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government is preparing to receive Trump's special envoy, Keith Kellogg, in Kyiv on Monday and said: 'We count on the United States fully understanding what can be done to compel Russia to peace.' Zelenskyy also said Russian forces launched more than 1,800 long-range drones, more than 1,200 glide bombs and 83 missiles of various types at Ukraine in the past week. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing on Sunday and 'discussed relations with the United States and prospects for resolving the Ukrainian crisis', according to Moscow. French President Emmanuel Macron called for a massive boost to France's defence spending, saying that freedom in Europe is facing a greater threat than at any time since the end of World War II.
Al Jazeera
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,234
Here is how things stand on Saturday, July 12: A Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv damaged a maternity hospital, authorities said, terrifying patients as windows shattered and shards of glass fell onto the beds, leaving families rushing to shelter their babies. Three women and three newborns suffered acute stress and received medical help. Nine people were injured in Kharkiv, and an apartment building was also damaged in Russian attacks over the past day, while one person was killed and five others injured as a result of various Russian attacks in the surrounding region, governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Ukraine said its drones struck a Russian fighter aircraft plant in the Moscow region and a missile production facility in the Tula region, causing explosions and fires at both. The Russian Ministry of Defence said that 155 Ukrainian drones were downed between Thursday and Friday, including 11 bound for Moscow. Dmitry Milyaev, Tula regional governor, said on Telegram that one person was killed and another injured in a Ukrainian attack on the region, approximately 200km (124 miles) south of Moscow. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had taken the village of Zelena Dolyna in Donetsk, northeast of the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, as their troops move westward. The United States has resumed military supplies to Ukraine, and senior officials in Kyiv will work on military cooperation next week with US special envoy Keith Kellogg, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian media covering his ASEAN meeting in Malaysia that he outlined Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on settling the Ukraine war during a meeting with top US diplomat Marco Rubio the day before. Lavrov has arrived in North Korea, according to North Korea's state media KCNA, the latest visit by a senior Russian official to the isolated state amid warming ties between the countries. The visit, scheduled for Sunday, includes a meeting with the country's foreign minister. After North Korea, Lavrov is expected to travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting, which is set to take place on Monday and Tuesday. South Korean intelligence service said North Korea may be preparing to deploy additional troops in July or August, after sending more than 10,000 soldiers to fight with Russia in the war against Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has described as 'unacceptable' French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine should Moscow and Kyiv agree to an elusive ceasefire. He also accused European leaders of a 'pattern of militaristic anti-Russian sentiment'. Russia is awaiting the 'major statement' that US President Donald Trump announced he would deliver on Monday, Peskov said. Peskov also said wartime censorship in Russia is justified amid the conflict with Ukraine and the closure of opposition-minded media. Several Russian-language media outlets have been blocked since the start of the war in February 2022, as well as social media platforms like X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Fatigue over the war in Ukraine and US-led foreign aid cuts are jeopardising efforts to support people fleeing hardship, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director-General Amy Pope warned, a day after a Ukraine recovery conference in Rome mobilised over 10 billion euros ($11.69bn) for the country. The United Nations trade and development agency, UNCTAD, has announced that its agreement with Moscow to facilitate exports of Russian foodstuffs and fertiliser to international markets in a bid to rein in global food prices 'will not be renewed' when it expires on July 22, citing disagreements. Germany has no plans to procure additional F-35 fighter jets, a Federal Ministry of Defence spokesperson said on Friday, denying a Politico report that the country planned to grow its planned fleet to 50 amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. NATO will need more long-range missiles in its arsenal to deter Russia from attacking Europe because Moscow is expected to increase production of long-range weapons, US Army Major-General John Rafferty told the Reuters news agency. Kyiv will allocate 260 million hryvnias ($6.2m) for a drone interceptor programme to defend the capital's skies from Russian drones, city authorities said.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Daily Mail
'Audio recording of Russian military suggests Putin's troops shot down Azerbaijan plane on Christmas Day, killing 38 passengers'
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38, was shot down in an attack authorised by the Russian Ministry of Defence, according to the apparent testimonies of a Russian air defence crew. Flight J2-8243 crash landed just short of Aktau airport on December 25. It was claimed that its navigation systems had been compromised and the plane had been shot down, possibly confused with a Ukrainian projectile by artillery in Chechnya. Azerbaijani outlet Minval reported on Tuesday it had received audio, video and an explanatory note ostensibly signed by a Russian air defence officer, claiming the ministry had cleared the crew to shoot down a 'potential target' in 'very thick fog'. The author claims to have been the head of the crew in Grozny when the plane was shot down. Three audio recordings shared with the outlet reportedly included three voices claiming they had all given the operational command and fired twice at the plane. Footage purported to show the moment the order was given to fire. The clip seen by MailOnline includes a Russian speaker listing coordinates before giving an order to 'Fire! Fire, I say!'. There is a loud explosion and then an admission the attack missed. The camera, focused on two screens inside what appeared to be a mobile artillery system, shook after the instruction and a loud bang could be heard. 'It's on the way...' the audio continues. 'Missed! Repeat. One more time!' MailOnline was unable to verify the authenticity of the files. Mirval said it had received an 'anonymous letter' with the multimedia evidence and what they said was a note signed by a Captain Dmitry Sergeevich Paladichuk. Minval shared video and audio claiming to show 'The moment the Russian Defense Ministry gave the order to destroy the AZAL flight' According to the explanatory note, at 8:11am, 'the target detection station detected a potential target, which I took on precise tracking by the [multiple rocket launcher system], which I reported to the 51st Division Command Post.' Two minutes later, 'I was given the command to destroy the target over the phone'. The target was 'not visible in the optics due to very thick fog, which was reported to the command post'. But within half a minute, 'I gave the command to the operator to destroy'. The first attack missed and 'I gave the command to fire again.' The crew was said to have been commanded to 'switch to readiness' at 5:40am. In the days before, Chechnya had assured its air defences were on standby to shoot down incoming Ukrainian drones. A media report on December 20 noted that four drone strikes had hit Chechnya since October, with 'not a single drone' shot down despite assurances that defences were operational. Sources told Novaya Europe at the time that aircraft defence systems had hitherto never been used during drone attacks on Chechnya. The documents since shared with Minval describe the poor condition of the equipment available to the Chechen forces in Grozny. 'Due to poor mobile reception and a lack of functional wired communication, coordination relied heavily on unstable mobile connections,' it reads. The outlet was unable to verify the authenticity of the letter received, or the author. It said it was in the interests of the ongoing investigation to publish the document. The outlet also did not publish all three audio recordings, as they 'still need to be studied by investigative bodies', it said. The crash has been under investigation for more than six months, after a preliminary report found fragments from a Pantsir-S missile lodged in the plane. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not say that Russia had shot the plane down, but has apologised for the 'tragic incident' inside Russian airspace. A day after the crash, Azerbaijani government officials told Euronews that there had been drone activity above Grozny at the time of the incident. They said that the pilot of the commercial plane, travelling from Baku to Grozny, had been blocked from landing at any Russian airports despite emergency pleas. The pilots asked for help from several different airports in Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, the officials said. But the plane was barred from landing in Grozny, with the official reason given as 'fog'. Ordered to carry on towards Kazakhstan, Flight J2-8243 crossed the Caspian Sea towards Aktau before crashing. It ultimately came down just a few miles from Aktau, and data shows its radars were jammed as it crossed over the sea. A source familiar with the Azerbaijani investigation told Reuters that while 'no one claims that it was done on purpose', Baku 'expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft'. Most of the passengers on board were Azerbaijani. Sixteen were from Russia, and several from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Russia had tried to play down speculation the flight had been shot down by a Russian missile, urging patience while the investigation is carried out. The two countries have enjoyed bilateral ties, with Azerbaijan becoming an essential partner for trade and acting as a corridor to Iran amid the war in Ukraine. But diplomatic relations have reached a new low in recent days, as two Russian state journalists were arrested in Baku and a further around 15 more Russians arrested separately on suspicion of drug trafficking and cybercrime. The arrests followed Russian police raids against ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Russia suspected of involvement in serious crimes in which two men died. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that certain forces were trying to wreck Moscow's ties with Azerbaijan and that they should think hard about what they were doing, the state RIA news agency reported.
