2023-07-02 05:33:01
According to their own statements, the Ukrainian air defense repelled the first Russian drone attack on the capital Kiev in twelve days on Sunday night. This was announced by the head of the military administration in Kiev, Serhiy Popko, via the short message service Telegram. According to preliminary findings, the air defense hit all targets. “Another attack on Kiev,” Popko wrote. “There is currently no information about possible casualties or damage.” The information could not be independently verified. Reuters witnesses heard explosions resembling the sound of anti-aircraft systems hitting targets.
Air raid warnings had been issued for about an hour during the night for Kiev, its surroundings and a number of regions in central and eastern Ukraine. There was initially no comment from Russia. Most recently, on the night of June 20, the country launched aerial attacks on several cities in Ukraine, including Kiev and Lviv, about 70 kilometers from the Polish border. According to the first reports, the air defense shot down 28 of 30 drones.
Zelenskyj sees Ukraine on the way to Europe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed confidence in his country’s European future. It has always been impossible to imagine a “common house in Europe” without Ukraine, but now Kiev has achieved that, even at the political level, European affairs are no longer thought of without Ukraine, he said in his daily video address on Saturday evening. The visit of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on the first day of Spain’s EU Presidency was an important gesture in this regard, he added.
He thanked Madrid for the political, economic and military aid and for taking in refugees. However, he is confident that they will soon be able to return home once it is safe there again. Part of this security is Ukraine’s entry into NATO, which Kiev is aiming for. He thanked Spain for its support of Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.
The Ukrainian head of state gave his speech in the north-west of the country at the Rivne nuclear power plant. There he had a briefing with military and political decision-makers, among other things on the safety of nuclear power plants, said Zelenskyj. In recent weeks, Kiev has repeatedly accused Moscow of provoking a nuclear incident at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russians. Russia denies these allegations.
Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2072 Eckart Lohse and Matthias Wyssuwa Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 7 Thomas Gutschker, Brussels Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 10
Complaint about delays in pilot training
During Sánchez’s visit, Zelenskyy lamented delays in training Ukrainian pilots on US-made fighter jets. “I think some of our partners are dragging here,” he said in Kiev on Saturday. There are still no fixed dates for the start and no timetable for pilot training. In May, several European countries announced the formation of a fighter jet coalition for Ukraine. Washington paved the way for this by giving the green light to training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
#Russian #air #raid #Kiev #days