LIVE – War in Ukraine: Key EU summit kyiv, Putin addresses his compatriots

Buoyed by Ukraine’s difficulties and Western procrastination, Vladimir Putin appeared Thursday in a marathon session of questions from journalists and citizens, a week after announcing his intention to stay in the Kremlin until 2030. The Kremlin leader must answer questions. To take shares of the “year” from Russian officials, journalists and citizens.

Russian authorities on Thursday added to a wanted list the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) Kirill Butano, an organization believed to be responsible for several attacks against Russia. The name of 37-year-old Kirill (Kyrilo, in Ukrainian) Budano is now on the Russian Interior Ministry’s database of wanted persons for violations of criminal law. Authorities did not specify what charges he is facing.

Kirill Budanov, head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s military intelligence department since 2020, was accused by Russian authorities of orchestrating the October 2022 attack, which partially destroyed a bridge connecting the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea linked via Moscow. .

Ukraine said on Thursday it had intercepted 41 of 42 explosive drones launched by Russia, illustrating increasing pressure from Moscow on the ground in recent days. “41 (explosive drones, editor’s note) Shahed were destroyed,” out of a “total of 42 recorded,” the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement on Telegram. According to this source, Russia launched “waves” of fire from its soil from three directions and targeted “mainly Odesa”, a major Ukrainian port in the south of the country.

According to the local military administration, 11 people, including three children, were injured and 11 buildings were damaged. The air force says the Russian military fired S-300 missiles toward the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv, though it did not elaborate on the results of the strikes.

Russia said Thursday it had neutralized nine Ukrainian drones headed toward Moscow, hours before Vladimir Putin took part in a question-and-answer session in the Russian capital. “An attempt by the Kiev regime to launch a terrorist attack using aerial drones against bases on Russian territory has been thwarted,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

According to the same source, “nine Ukrainian drones were destroyed or intercepted” over the Kaluga region, 160 km from the Russian capital, and above Moscow. For his part, the mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, clarified on the Telegram network that the two drones “heading towards Moscow” were neutral in the Naro-Fominsk district near the Russian capital. According to initial reports, debris falling from these drones “did not cause any damage or injuries,” he stressed.

The first Ukrainian mobile operator, Kyivstar, announced on Wednesday that it would “gradually” restore its services after a powerful computer hack the day before that was blamed by Ukraine on Russia. “Our experts have started restoring phone calls across Ukraine,” spokeswoman Iryna Lelytchenko said, noting that services would return “gradually” so difficulties were “possible.”

Europe should not let Europe dictate its decisions for fear of provoking Moscow and risk compromising its support for Ukraine, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas warned before a crucial summit on Wednesday. “There is a lot of fear of Russia and this fear can give too much power (to Moscow): only Russia understands that strength and weakness for Russia are equal to provoking Russia,” he declared to AFP. “We need to reach an agreement on 50 billion for Ukraine. This is very important for the EU but as a message for the US, we hope they will follow our example.”

In an interview published Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov vowed that the Ukrainian army was “quickly” losing ground on the front lines and that the erosion of Western support was putting Kiev in “a difficult situation.” The US, Ukraine’s best ally in the conflict, “wonders where their money is going” because “there is no victory on the battlefield,” he told Russian media outlet Izvestia. “In addition, the Ukrainian armed forces are rapidly losing their positions.”

Encouraged by the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russia demanded a “significant” advance in the southern part of Zaporizhia. According to the Ukrainians, his army launched a major offensive around Avdiivka and Marinka, hot spots on the Eastern Front.

US Senate President Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday he was “hopeful” a deal would be found “soon” on an envelope for Ukraine, a hotly debated issue in Congress and critical to the country’s war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to Washington on Tuesday to step up pressure on the US ally, who is currently struggling with a $61 billion extension requested by Joe Biden.

Democrats favor this envelope. Republicans, with the exception of a handful of elected officials from the extreme right, are not entirely opposed to it. But in exchange for their votes, they are demanding a major tightening of America’s immigration policy, at the heart of many negotiations. “Negotiations continue today between Democrats, Republicans and the Biden administration,” said Chuck Schumer. He reported “huge progress” in discussions after Tuesday’s meeting. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said she was “encouraged” by the “progress.”

Dozens of people were injured in an attack by Russian missiles in Qew on Wednesday, the worst impact in months on the capital and underscoring increasing pressure from Moscow, against which Ukraine is seeking help from the West. The Ukrainian capital has been on the defensive since the failure of its summer counteroffensive, especially as the West, led by the Americans, has delayed the level of political, military and financial aid to its allies.

Anti-aircraft defenses shot down ten ballistic missiles launched around 3 a.m. (local time), but debris fell on populated areas, including a children’s hospital. No casualties have been reported and the hospital center remains operational. On the other hand, 53 people were injured across the city, 20 of whom were hospitalized, including two children, the health ministry said. In addition, at least nine Russian Shahed drones were launched and shot down in Odessa on Tuesday evening.

Russia has not reported these attacks. But the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that aircraft, drones, missiles and artillery destroyed Ukrainian ammunition depots and drone construction sites at an unspecified date and in an unspecified location.

European leaders will try on Thursday to get intransigent Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to accept that the EU is opening accession talks and drop his veto on aid. Diplomats and European leaders are already gearing up for long hours of discussions on Wednesday, calling for a “very difficult summit”, a “difficult meeting”, and talks that could extend beyond Friday.

Viktor Orban reiterated in his parliament on Wednesday: Europeans would make a “terrible mistake” if they agreed to open accession negotiations with Ukraine during this summit in Brussels. “We have to stop it even if the other 26 members are of different opinion,” he insisted.

Hello everyone. Welcome to TF1info to follow the latest news about the war in Ukraine, which began after the Russian invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022.