Kyiv, UKRAINE — The Ukrainian president said on Monday that Kyiv was able to defend the country’s independence in an eight-month war waged by Russia.
In his nightly speech, Volodymyr Zelensky marked the eight-month anniversary of the invasion, as Ukrainian forces are advancing in the partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkov and Kherson regions, annexed with the Zaporizhia region. He said he intended to recapture Crimea.
“Ukraine is breaking the so-called second army of the world,” said Zelensky. “Now Russia can only be a beggar. Begging for something in Iran, trying to squeeze something out of the West, fabricating, intimidating and deceiving stories about Ukraine.”
Zelensky warned that the coming winter “will be the most difficult ever.”
“We have no right to relax.
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Main development:
— Ukraine reports successfully shooting down 70% of its drones. launched by Russia
— Ukrainian hospital staff struggle with dark memories of their profession
— Quest for Ukrainian Women recover the bodies of prisoners of war
— Macron: Ukraine will decide time and peace terms with Russia
— Explainer: What’s set back from Kherson Do you mean Russia?
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ZAGREB, Croatia — US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday that Iran is “making a big mistake” by supplying Russia with drones that target Ukraine’s infrastructure.
“We have been trying for a while to get a nuclear deal with Iran so that we can make the world a safer place, but now they are helping Russia to make the world a safer place. I’m trying,” said Pelosi. Zagreb, Croatia.
The United States and its main Western allies have accused Russia of using Iranian-made drones to attack civilians and power plants in Ukraine. Iran denies supplying Russia with explosive-laden missiles, but the distinctive triangular drone has been spotted.
“First of all, we have to be able to counter drones,” Pelosi said at a joint press conference with Croatian Prime Minister Andrei Plenkovic. “This is dangerous technology and must be stopped.”
Pelosi was in Croatia to attend an international forum aimed at supporting Ukraine’s independence in the face of Russian aggression.
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MOSCOW — Officials have taken steps to boost weapons production amid fighting in Ukraine, a senior Russian official said.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, visited the country’s largest tank factory in the Ural Mountains city of Nizhny Tagil on Monday to discuss ways to increase production. said.
Mr Medvedev noted that foreign observers predicted that Russia would soon run out of its weapons stockpile, adding that such predictions were bound to fail.
“From tanks and artillery to precision missiles and drones, production of weapons and equipment has multiplied,” he said.
“You just wait,” he said.
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MOSCOW — The Russian military says it has held talks with the British about an alleged Ukrainian threat with dirty bombs.
General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, has discussed “situations related to the possible use of dirty bombs by Ukraine” with the British Chief of Defense, Admiral Tony Radakin, according to a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry on Monday.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu first made the allegation over the weekend in a phone call with the defense ministers of the US, UK, France and Turkey.
Russia’s defense ministry said Shoigu had expressed concern about “a possible Ukrainian provocation with a ‘dirty bomb’ (a device that uses explosives to spread radioactive waste)”. Although not as devastating as a nuclear explosion, it can expose large areas to radioactive contamination.
In a joint statement, the United States, Britain and France “made it clear that we all reject Russia’s blatantly false claim that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its territory.” rice field.
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NICOSIA, CYPRUS — Hungary’s foreign minister says foreign ministers of other EU member states are caught up in “war rhetoric” that is alienating the prospects for peace in war-torn Ukraine.
Peter Sijart says his country is calling for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials as soon as possible. Europe’s security, economy and energy supply will suffer the longer the war drags on, he said on Monday.
Szijjártó said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart that EU sanctions against Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine had “failed”, causing inflation and reducing gas supplies to Hungary with “very high energy costs”. said to have brought
A top Hungarian diplomat told the EU to set about searching for new energy sources and use newly discovered gas deposits off the coast of Cyprus to “ensure the availability of the gas that is being discovered here.” We will build new pipelines and new routes to European market. ”
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MOSCOW — The Russian military says it prepared its troops for the possible use of dirty bombs by Ukraine in a false flag attack blamed on Russia, a claim strongly rejected by the US and its allies.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian military’s radiation, chemical and biological protection unit, said on Monday that Russian military assets are already prepared for operation in conditions of radioactive contamination.
Kirillov accused Ukraine of having a large stockpile of radioactive waste accumulated in nuclear power plants and waste storage facilities, as well as the expertise needed to make dirty bombs.
Speaking at the briefing, Kirillov claimed that a dirty bomb detonation could spew deadly radiation at a distance of up to 1,500 kilometers (900 miles).
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov backed the military’s claims, saying on Monday that “the information was confirmed through the corresponding channels.”
“It’s not an unfounded suspicion. There are serious reasons to believe that something like that could be planned,” he said at a news conference Monday.
Ukraine rejected Russia’s allegations in an attempt to divert attention from its plans to detonate a dirty bomb, while Western allies dismissed Russia’s allegations as “clearly false.”
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MOSCOW — Russian officials say Ukrainian forces have fired rockets at a major hydroelectric power plant in the southern Kherson region.
Russian news outlets quoted a statement from the regional emergency service on Monday as saying that Ukrainian forces had fired 19 rockets at the Kakhovka plant and scored three hits.
There was no immediate information on casualties and damage was still being assessed.
Vladimir Rogov, a senior member of the Kherson Regional Administration, said the Kakhovka plant was not seriously damaged and was still operating.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of trying to blow up a dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station to flood the mostly flat terrain.
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Kyiv, UKRAINE — Ukraine’s top diplomat urges the UN Nuclear Observatory to immediately send an inspection team to the country to refute Moscow’s claims that Kyiv is preparing a “provocation” involving dirty bombs is doing.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Monday that he had made the request in a phone call with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi.
According to Kleba, Grossi agreed to send an inspection team, saying, “Unlike Russia, Ukraine has always been transparent. We have nothing to hide.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a telephone call with the defense ministers of the United States, Britain, France and Turkey that Ukraine is preparing a provocation with a dirty bomb. claimed.
The United States, Britain and France said in a joint statement that they “reject Russia’s apparently false claim that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its territory.”
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BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that rebuilding Ukraine will be a “generational task” that can be managed solely by countries, donors and international organizations.
Scholz said on Monday, the day before he and the head of the European Union Executive Committee would host a meeting of experts to help mobilize international support for the reconstruction of Ukraine, that German and Ukrainian business I spoke on the forum.
The Prime Minister noted that the EU had decided in June to nominate Ukraine as a candidate for EU membership. He said, “This decision also sends a signal to private investors. Anyone who invests in the reconstruction of Ukraine today will be a part of our legal community and future EU member states that will be part of our single market.” are investing in.”
Scholz said it is important not only to repair destroyed energy plants and networks, but also to make them more efficient.
He stressed the need for greater transparency and a “more resolute fight against corruption” as Ukraine aims to eventually join the EU.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmykhal said on the forum that reconstruction would be a positive process. “The transformation process will open up incredible opportunities for European companies in the energy sector, agriculture, the military sector, IT and everything else,” he added.
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MOSCOW — The Russian government has backed claims that Ukraine may be preparing to detonate a so-called dirty bomb that spews radioactive material, but Ukraine, the US, the UK and France have dismissed Moscow’s claims. there is
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the claim during a telephone call with the defense ministers of the United States, Britain, France and Turkey.
Russia’s defense ministry said Shoigu had expressed concern about “a possible provocation by Ukraine with a ‘dirty bomb’,” a device that uses explosives to spread radioactive material.
Such a device would not have the catastrophic effects of a nuclear explosion, but could expose large areas to radioactive contamination.
The Russian Ministry of Defense and the Kremlin have not publicly provided any specific information to support their claims.
But at a press conference on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued that Shoigu’s warning reflected a real threat.
“Their distrust of the information provided by the Russian side does not mean that the threat of using such dirty bombs does not exist,” Peskov said. “Such a threat exists and the Minister of Defense has provided information about it to the interlocutors. It is up to them to believe it or not.”
Western allies said they rejected “Russia’s blatantly false allegations” and warned that they would “see through any attempt to use these allegations as a pretext for escalation.”
