IAir alarms were triggered again in numerous areas of Ukraine on Thursday night. According to the authorities, the air defense was also active in the vicinity of the capital Kiev. In particular, the population was warned of drone attacks and asked to remain in protective facilities until the all-clear. Ukrainian media reported explosions in Kiev and western regions of Ukraine.
Zelenskyj: F-16 fighter jets would be a sign of Russia’s failure
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has high hopes for the prospect of US F-16 fighter jets. They would not only strengthen the country’s defenses, but would also send a strong signal that Russia’s aggression would fail, Zelenskyy said in his evening speech on Wednesday.
On the fringes of the G7 summit of leading democratic economic powers last week, US President Joe Biden basically cleared the way for a coalition of allies to deliver F-16 jets to Ukraine. Ukrainian fighter pilots are to be trained to fly the machines.
Zelenskyy appeals to Iran: No drone deliveries to Russia
Zelenskyy also appealed to the people of Iran not to support the delivery of Iranian kamikaze drones to Russia. Although Ukraine has learned to stop most attacks with the Shahed attack drones, there are still hits. The drone attacks on civilians are carried out by Russia, “but with their weapons,” he told the Iranians. According to Selesky, around 900 of the approximately 1,160 Shahed drones sent by the Russian military were shot down. The flying robots, most of which are equipped with explosive charges, are designed to fall on their targets in a manner similar to rockets.
Fire at Russian Ministry of Defense denied
The Russian civil protection rejected a report of a fire at the Ministry of Defense building in Moscow on Thursday night. The fire crews had not discovered a fire, a spokesman for civil protection told the Tass news agency. The state agency had reported a fire on a balcony of the building shortly before, citing a representative of the emergency services. Smoke could be seen on the building in a video posted online. There was also talk of a pungent odor in the area in posts on online platforms.
Earlier this month, according to Russian sources, two drones were shot down over the Kremlin – the official residence of President Vladimir Putin. Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for this.
Report: US suspects Ukraine behind drone incident in Moscow
According to a report, the United States suspects that a military or secret service special unit in Ukraine was probably responsible for the drone incident on the Kremlin premises. The US intelligence services did not know which unit carried out the attack, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources in the US government. It is also unclear whether the Ukrainian President or his top officials were aware of the action.
According to the newspaper report, the US secret services came to their preliminary assessment through intercepted messages, among other things. However, there is only a “low” degree of certainty. In early May, Russia announced that two drones had crashed as they approached the Kremlin site.
Stoltenberg: Differences in NATO over Ukraine’s desire to join
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged differences between the allies over possible steps to include Ukraine in the defense alliance. “I admit that there are different views in the alliance on this matter,” said Stoltenberg on Wednesday at an event of the US foundation German Marshall Fund (GMF) in Brussels.
He also reminded that decisions in the defense alliance are made according to the consensus principle. This means that steps towards Ukraine’s admission can only be taken if no one objects. President Selenskyj had recently called on the alliance states to clear the way for his country’s admission to the western military alliance at the next NATO summit in July.
Bundeswehr receives 18 new Leopard 2 tanks
As compensation for tank deliveries to Ukraine, the Bundeswehr will receive 18 new Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks. According to participants, the budget committee of the Bundestag released around 525 million euros on Wednesday. At the end of March, Ukraine received 18 modern Leopard 2A6 tanks from Germany. The Leopard 2 is considered the main weapon of the German armored forces. It has been in series production since 1978 and is constantly being modernized.
That will be important on Thursday
The situation in the contested areas of Ukraine and the Russian airstrikes are likely to continue to be the focus. The international contact group for the coordination of military assistance to Ukraine holds a virtual meeting. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chief of Staff Mark Milley hold a press conference in the United States.
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