A police officer died and 12 others, including 4 policemen, were injured this morning in a Russian shelling on the town of Orikhov, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram , as reported by Rbc-Ukraine. Doctors are fighting for the lives of the wounded, many of whom are in serious condition, the minister specified, adding that the victim was “a 31-year-old police captain”.
Moscow: “20 drones shot down on Crimea”
Russia announced on Saturday that it had shot down 20 Ukrainian drones near the Crimean peninsula. Fourteen were destroyed by air defense systems and six others were suppressed by electronic warfare, the defense ministry said on Telegram. There were no casualties or damage, he said.
In Moscow, authorities announced on Friday that they had destroyed a drone targeting the capital, the latest in a string of attacks on the city in recent days. A Ukrainian drone was destroyed over the western suburbs of Moscow, the defense ministry said, adding there were no fatalities or damage as a result of the crash. In July, Ukrainian drone strikes on Crimea blew up an ammunition depot and damaged the Kerch Strait bridge that connects the peninsula to mainland Russia.
Zelensky hard-fisted, fired all recruiting officers
In war, loyalty is everything, there is no room for corruption, there is no mercy for betrayal. Thus, President Volodymyr Zelensky fired all regional officials in charge of military recruitment, to eradicate a system that allowed conscripts to escape the military. “Illegal enrichment, legalization of illegally obtained funds, illicit profits, illegal transportation across the border of conscripts,” the Ukrainian leader denounced. “Our solution: let’s fire all the military commissars.”
A hard punch, that of Zelensky, on those who act against their own country while peace cannot be seen on the horizon. Indeed, the conflict continues to stretch as far as Moscow, where a drone was shot down with its debris falling on the Karamyshevskaya embankment. Yet another raid that prompted the authorities to close the Vnukovo airport in Moscow for a few hours and also the Kaluga airport, 160 km southwest of the capital.
For days now the raids have been dailyand according to Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov, things will only get worse for Muscovites: “It would be logical to assume an increase in daily attacks” on the Russian capital, the official said, speaking of a “certain justice” in Ukraine’s retaliatory raids on the city. If on the one hand it is now clear that Russian territory is not safe from bombs and drones, on the other the battered Ukraine continues to suffer from the rain of Russian bombs.
The raids of the invaders again targeted the capital Kiev with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, shot down by anti-aircraft but whose debris hit a children’s hospital in the Obolon district of the city. The deadly Russian daggers were also launched to the west, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, where the Russians targeted the Kolomyia airport: two missiles hit the airport area, while one fell in a nearby residential area killing an eight-year-old boy. His name was Volodia, and he adds to the too long list of innocent victims of a war that knows no mercy in front of anyone, not even the little ones. And that knows no free zone or respect even for the structures used by international operators.
In fact, it emerged that the Russian attack that caused one death and at least 16 wounded in Zaporizhzhia hit the Reikartz hotel, which was often used by United Nations personnel and NGO operators. This was denounced by the UN humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, saying she was “dismayed” by the attack. On the front, meanwhile, eyes continue to be focused on the new epicenter of Kupiansk, where Moscow continues to claim a ” improvement of the tactical situation.” To the south, the invaders instead announced that they had hit a gathering center for foreign mercenaries.
With the war that sees no respite, there is a rush to arms: according to Spiegel, the German government is considering supplying the Ukraine with the sophisticated Taurus cruise missiles provided it does not use them in attacks on Russian territory. As for the coveted Western fighter jets, senior Ukrainian officials have expressed to the Washington Post their disappointment over partners’ delays in training pilots to use the F-16s. According to Wp sources, a first group of six Ukrainian pilots will in fact complete their jet training not before next summer. “That’s called dragging out,” said one of the officials.
In the meantime, the White House has asked Congress for another 40 billion in urgent new spending, including $24 billion in aid to Ukraine. With both sides unwilling to give in on anything, there is still no room for a mediated solution to the conflict. According to Putin’s hawk, Dmitry Medvedev, the road to peace could be opened by the surrender of Kiev, an impossible option for Ukraine and the West. As is impossible “any civil dialogue” with Russiaaccording to Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak who on X posted a video of a Russian rocket hitting a park in Zaporizhzhia, among children playing and families. On the other hand, the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko gave a signal of openness. After days of tensions with Warsaw, Putin’s ally asked his government to “contact” neighboring Poland, stating that he was ready for dialogue: “We have to talk to the Poles. We are neighbors and you don’t choose your own neighbours”.
Kiev, “Already 58 countries support the Ukrainian peace formula”
There are already 58 countries that support the peace formula announced by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky last November: the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andry Yermak, announced it, as reported by Ukrinform. «Fifth meeting with representatives of foreign diplomatic missions on the implementation of Volodymyr Zelensky’s Peace Formula. Already 58 countries are with us,” wrote the senior official on Telegram. The meeting was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on August 5-6, 2023. Representatives from 43 countries were present at the previous meeting, he added. Yermak announced preparations for the next meeting at the level of heads of state advisers dedicated to discussing the Ukrainian peace formula. The plan, first announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the G20 summit in November 2022, contains 10 points: nuclear and radioactive safety; food safety; energy security; release of all prisoners; implementation of the United Nations Charter and restoration of territorial integrity and world order; withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities; restoration of justice, security and public order.