Direct challenge today between Volodymyr Zelensky and Sergei Lavrov, who will sit opposite each other in the special session of the UN Security Council on Ukraine, scheduled from 5 p.m. Italian time. All eyes are on the horseshoe table in the Glass Palace: the presence of the holder of Moscow diplomacy as well as the Ukrainian president is confirmed, but Lavrov could leave the room at the time of Zelensky’s speech and vice versa. Among those taking part in the high-level meeting are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (and not Joe Biden, as was initially rumored) and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. The list of interventions is long (approved by the rotating presidency of the Security Council, that is, Albania): of the recent indiscretions there are over sixty, because in addition to the fifteen members of the Security Council, other countries that request them are also allowed to have their say in the Security Council. Among others, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will be there.
Traffic on the Crimean Bridge is temporarily suspended, which connects Russia with the peninsula. CNN writes, citing the local road information center, emphasizing that videos posted on unofficial social media channels in Crimea showed smoke rising from an area near Verkhnesadovoye, where a Russian military base is located. Ukrainian intelligence had previously confirmed a missile attack on the Black Sea Fleet’s oil depot in Crimea and said details of the operation would be announced.
Near the coast of the city of Inkerman, smoke appeared around midday in the area of the main oil depot of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, where millions of tons of fuel are stored. At the same time, local authorities report explosions in Sevastopol, in the Belbek area, where the airport is located. Some Telegram channels write about a “repelled attack”. Black smoke was also detected between the northern side of Sevastopol and Inkerman, RBC-Ukraine reports.
Meanwhile, according to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russians are investigating a sabotage at Chkalovsky airport, a military airfield 31 kilometers (19 miles) from Moscow, that seriously damaged two planes and a helicopter on September 18. This was reported by Rbc-Ukraine. These are the AN-148 and IL-20 aircraft (both belong to the 354th Special Forces Aviation Regiment), as well as an MI-28N helicopter, which in the past was actively involved in shooting down attack drones over the Moscow region. “The Russians are angry because special government aircraft are stationed at the airport (designed to evacuate the command and operational group of officers of the Russian General Staff in the event of destruction or threat to ground and satellite infrastructure, editor’s note. ) as well as the so-called “Doomsday” (so called because they were built for use in the event of a nuclear war, editor’s note),” commented the Ukrainian intelligence service, stating that the damage to the aircraft did not give hope give a quick recovery.
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