According to unofficial information, Ukraine attacked the important Russian airport in Sochi on the Black Sea with combat drones. The target was a parking area for helicopters, Ukrainian media reported on Sunday, citing intelligence sources. The attack was a military intelligence action.
Russia’s main seaside resort, Sochi, from where President Vladimir Putin frequently conducts his official business, is about 800 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory. The Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow said an enemy drone was shot down over the Krasnodar region. Sochi is part of this administrative region.
Sochi airport in the city of Adler was temporarily closed in the morning, according to Mayor Alexei Kopajgorodski. Arriving aircraft were diverted.
Drone attacks also in Smolensk and Belgorod
Ukrainian drone attacks were also reported in the Russian regions of Smolensk and Belgorod on Sunday. According to military reports from Moscow, two Ukrainian missiles were intercepted on the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia. However, this could not be independently verified. Strong explosions were recorded near the city of Dzhankoi in northern Crimea.
The Russian military claims to have intercepted two Ukrainian missiles over the Crimean peninsula. “The debris of the launched Ukrainian missiles fell on the territory of the Dzhankoy district,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on its Telegram channel.
The Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, reported that storage buildings in the city were damaged by rocket debris. “There were no deaths or injuries,” he added. He did not provide any information about the extent of the damage.
Read about the war in Ukraine
All developments in the live ticker:
12:00 – British Minister: Military training will take place in Ukraine
Britain’s Defense Secretary Grand Shapps announced that British soldiers could also be sent to Ukraine for the first time. In an interview with The Telegraph, Shapps said he had spoken to Army leadership about the issue. According to its own information, Britain has trained more than 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers on British soil since the beginning of 2022.
The negotiations were about transferring an official British-led training mission for Ukrainian soldiers to Ukraine. So far, these trainings have taken place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in NATO countries, including Germany.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, for whom his first party conference as Conservative leader began at the weekend, quickly put his defense minister’s comments into perspective. There were errors in the reporting, Sunak told reporters on Sunday. The plans are long-term and not for the “here and now”. Shapps talked about the possibility at some point in the future. There are no British soldiers sent to fight in the current conflict.
11:10 am – The current situation in Ukraine
The current situation in Ukraine
Source: WELT Infographic
11:00 am – Former Russian President: British military instructors would be legitimate targets
According to former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, possible British military trainers in Ukraine would be legitimate targets. The same applies to German weapons factories if the Federal Republic of Germany delivers Taurus missile systems to Ukraine. Medvedev, currently deputy head of the Russian Security Council, spoke on the Telegram news platform. He has long distinguished himself through particularly drastic anti-Western rhetoric.
10:15 am – Ukrainian grain leaves land through Black Sea ports
According to the data, five ships are on their way to Ukrainian Black Sea ports to load grain and other agricultural products. This is according to data from the MarineTraffic website. Additionally, three cargo ships left ports after loading. According to Ukrainian information, they are expected to bring 127 thousand tons of agricultural products and iron ore to China, Egypt and Spain.
In August, Ukraine announced a so-called humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea, through which cargo ships that have been stranded since the start of the war in February 2022 will leave Ukrainian ports. There is a de facto blockade because Russia suspended the agreement that guaranteed the safe passage of these freighters carrying Ukrainian cereals in July. This blockage must be bypassed by the corridor.
09:47 – British Intelligence: Moscow prepares for a long-term war
According to British intelligence experts in Ukraine, Moscow is preparing for several more years of war. This emerges from the Ministry of Defense’s London daily intelligence report on the war in Ukraine. Consequently, the extent of Moscow’s planned military spending next year is expected to reach around 30 percent of total Russian government spending. It is likely that Russia will be able to maintain this spending prioritization throughout the year, but this will likely come at the expense of the broader economy.
8:20 am – Russian drone attack in central Ukraine
Ukraine claims to have shot down 16 of around 30 Russian drones overnight. Authorities said the attack targeted Ukraine’s central Cherkasy region. Unfortunately, attacks occurred on the industrial infrastructure of the city of Uman, provincial governor Ihor Taburez said on the Telegram news platform. Fire broke out in grain warehouses.
04:48 – Pipeline fire in western Ukraine
A large-scale fire broke out on a pipeline in western Ukraine. According to authorities, the fire occurred on Saturday near the village of Strymba, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, when a pipe burst at one point. According to the local governor, nine people were injured in the fire, which was later extinguished.
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Images shared on online networks showed thick clouds of black smoke over a village. It was initially unclear how the fire started. Local media reported a loud explosion. The fire caused oil to leak in an area of 100 square meters.
The fire site is hundreds of kilometers away from the fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops in the eastern part of the country.
3:26 am – Biden: US support for Ukraine must not be stopped
US President Joe Biden quickly called for more support for Ukraine after the US Congress voted to avoid a government shutdown. The Democrat said that the agreement is “good news” for the country’s population. “Under no circumstances can we allow American support for Ukraine to be stopped,” he warned. After the House of Representatives, dominated by Republicans, the Senate, dominated by Democrats, had already approved an interim budget, which, however, does not provide for any additional aid to Ukraine.
More about US aid
12:09 – US House of Representatives votes interim budget – no aid for Ukraine
Just hours before an impending budget freeze, the US House of Representatives voted in favor of an interim budget with a surprisingly large majority of Democrats. However, this budget does not contain any additional aid to Ukraine. On Saturday, 335 members voted in favor of the bill introduced by House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, and 91 voted no. The bill must also pass the Democratic-controlled Senate to avoid a budget impasse.
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