Ukraine accuses Russia of new attacks around kyiv with Iranian-made drones

For the fourth day in a row, residents of the kyiv region woke up to the sound of air raid sirens on the morning of October 13.

A series of Shahed-136 unmanned aircraft, known as kamikaze drones, hit “critical infrastructure facilities” in the town of Makariv, said the deputy director of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

According to local authorities, the drones used by Russian troops are Iranian-made. A type of weapon that has played an increasingly lethal role in the war that is approaching its eighth month.

However, Tehran denies having supplied unmanned aircraft to Moscow, which has not commented on the matter.

“There were bombardments during the night in the Makariv community (…) According to initial information, there are no victims,” ​​said the chief of police of the kyiv region, Andriy Nebitov, in the last hours.

Until a few days ago, the attacks against the capital and its surroundings were unusual, but since last Monday, October 10, the area has been shaken by several bombardments.

Makariv, a city that had about 10,000 inhabitants before the war launched by Moscow in February, is located about fifty kilometers west of the city of kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that it is actively searching for people trapped under the rubble after a Russian attack in Mykolaiv.

“The rockets hit a five-story residential building. As a result, the top two floors were completely destroyed, the rest under rubble,” they reported.

A 12-year-old boy has been rescued from the site, but at least seven others are believed to be trapped, the entity said in a statement.

The West mobilizes to strengthen the air defenses of Ukraine and Europe

Germany and 14 other allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held a ceremony at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, in which they signed a letter of intent for the joint acquisition of air defense systems.

The measure led by Berlin, called the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), seeks to protect European skies with air defense systems such as Arrow 3 and Patriot.

“A total of 15 states have come together to organize joint acquisitions under German coordination regarding European air defense. This is something where we have gaps,” German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said.

Among the nations signing the agreement are Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Romania and Estonia.

“It’s about being interoperable, being able to design prices accordingly. And of course it’s also about being able to support each other in terms of maintenance,” explained Lambrecht.

The signing of this initiative took place on the sidelines of a meeting of defense ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

From the political-military coalition led by the United States, the allies of kyiv promised to increase military aid for the Ukrainian Army, especially in air defense systems, after a meeting of representatives of more than 50 nations, on Wednesday, March 12. october.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov hailed the arrival of the first of four Iris-T defense systems from Germany and the “accelerated” delivery of the US’s sophisticated domestic advanced surface-to-air missile systems (Nasams).

“A new era of air defense has begun in Ukraine (…) Germany’s Iris-Ts are here. Nasams are coming. This is just the beginning. And we need more,” Reznikov posted on his Twitter account.

The United Kingdom has assured that it will donate state-of-the-art air defense weapons capable of shooting down cruise missiles.

“Russia’s latest indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine warrant increased support for those seeking to defend their nation. So I authorized the supply of Amraam anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. These weapons will help Ukraine defend its skies from attack and strengthen its general missile defense along with the American Nasams,” said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

This Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country only has about 10% of what it needs for its air defenses and ruled out diplomatic contacts with Moscow.

Erdogan defends ties with Russia in meeting with Putin

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Ankara’s significant trade ties with Moscow during a meeting Thursday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Kazakhstan on the sidelines of the Asian Interaction and Confidence-Building Conference Summit. CICA).

This is the fourth meeting between the two leaders in the last three months and it comes at a time when the United States and the European Union are renewing pressure on Turkey to comply with the sanctions imposed on Moscow, in response to the war that Putin ordered. last February 24.

According to the Kremlin, the two sides did not discuss possible ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

“The issue of a Russian-Ukrainian agreement was not discussed,” Russian state news agency RIA reported, citing Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Instead, Erdogan and Putin would have focused on plans for the distribution of Russian gas, which faces heavy sanctions from the West.

The Kremlin leader proposed building what he called a supply center in Turkey, considering that country to be the “most reliable” route for transporting its hydrocarbons to the European Union.

“In the course of the work of this center, which we could create together, of course, it would also be a platform not only for supplies, but also to determine the price, because this is a very important issue: the issue of prices,” he said. Putin to Erdogan.

Currently the United States insists on imposing a price limit on Russian fuels so as not to benefit the finances of the invading country, which increases its military power in the midst of the war.

Moscow’s proposal to Ankara comes as Russia seeks to maintain its energy influence over Europe while redirecting supplies away from the Nord Stream Baltic gas pipelines, damaged by explosions last month, which are still under investigation.

Erdogan did not comment on the gas center idea during the televised meeting.

The Turkish president has tried to mediate between Moscow and kyiv since Putin launched the invasion. He made an unusual diplomatic breakthrough when, together with the United Nations, he brokered a deal last July that allowed for the resumption of commercial Ukrainian grain exports from Russian-blockaded Black Sea ports.

However, Erdogan shows an economic backing for Russia, despite sanctions and pressure from the West to isolate Moscow, in a so far unsuccessful attempt to make it desist from its expansionist goals.

With Reuters and AP