▲ Ukrainian war refugees arrive in an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region.Afp Photo
Juan Pablo Duch
Correspondent
The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, August 22, 2024, p. 30
Moscow. The capital was the target of 11 Ukrainian drones intercepted early yesterday morning by Russian anti-aircraft defence in the metropolitan area, just a few kilometres from the administrative limits of the city, out of a total of 45 unmanned aerial devices launched by the Ukrainian army against Moscow and the regions of Bryansk, Belgorod, Kaluga and Kursk.
The Ministry of Defense, through a statement, reported that it was able to shoot down 11 drones in the Moscow metropolitan area, as well as 23 in Bryansk, six in Belgorod, three in Kaluga and two in Kurskwithout specifying whether the falling fragments caused victims or material damage.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the incident a One of the largest attempts to attack the capital with droneswhich were following a flight path towards Domodiedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports, as seen in several videos widely circulated on Russian social media.
Sobyanin reported the previous drone attack on July 11. Yesterday’s attack, according to observers, appears to be a symmetrical response to the recent Russian bombing of kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military command, for its part, does not comment on the sending of drones to Russian territory, but it did announce that yesterday morning dealt a blow against an anti-aircraft missile system S-300 near the town of Novoshakhtinsk in the Rostov region, while some Telegram channels showed images of the fire that started, they say, after fragments of a (Ukrainian) missile fell. Rostov Governor Vasili Golubev confirmed that a missile was shot down.
And his colleague from Murmansk, Andrei Chibis, posted on social networks that Ukrainian drones attacked the region. Pro-Kremlin bloggers such as Voyenny osvedomitel (Military Informant) reported that the drones reached the village of Vysoky in northern Murmansk, near the Oleniya airfield that serves as a base for strategic aircraft. Tu-95MC and Tu-92M3.
According to experts, this Ukrainian attack on targets beyond the Arctic Circle is a record for the longest flight distance since the beginning of the armed conflict, with a distance of 1,850 kilometres from the Ukrainian border to Vysoky. At the end of May, the Ukrainian army was able to use drones to damage an early warning station for a nuclear attack in Orks, Orenburg region, 1,800 kilometres away.
Fighting continues in both Donetsk (Ukraine) and Kursk (Russia), with contradictory official reports that some towns change hands several times after being reported taken prematurely, as is the case of New York, founded by a group of Mennonites in Donetsk, which the Ukrainians say is still under their control, or Zhelannoye, 20 kilometers from Pokrovsk, which the Russians recaptured. release a few days later.
Last night, the first reports, not yet confirmed, emerged that fighting is taking place in a new part of Russian territory, the Bryansk region, about 150 kilometres from the Kursk clash zone, in the Klimov district, a meeting point of three countries: Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
Bilateral cooperation agreements with Beijing
President Vladimir Putin yesterday received Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, who signed several cooperation agreements with his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Mishustin, on his first trip to another country since taking over as head of the State Council in China.
Our countries have large-scale joint plans in the economic and humanitarian spheres, and we are confident that this will continue for many years to come.Putin said when greeting the Chinese visitor, in a protocolary meeting that highlights the importance that Moscow attaches to its relationship with Beijing, since the head of the Kremlin does not usually receive representatives of other countries who are not heads of state.
Putin noted that October 2 will mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China and invited Li to attend the Eastern Economic Forum, to be held in Vladivostok in September.
He also extended his best wishes to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is expected to attend the BRICS summit on October 22-23 in the Russian city of Kazan.
Mishustin and Li signed an investment cooperation program and memorandums in priority areas, transportation and the chemical industry.
At the signing ceremony, Mi-shustin said: We are not facing easy external conditions. It is important to focus our efforts on defending our common interests, building a multipolar world order and coordinating at the international level..
For his part, Li stressed: China-Russia friendship has withstood international turbulence and has a long history. Our friendship is solid and unbreakable, it is our valuable common achievement..
And he offered, amid the changing international situationmove forward together with Russia firmer mode in line with the leaders of both countries for benefit of their people.
