LIVE – War in Ukraine: 17 Russian drones shot down in the night, according to kyiv

A fire broke out this Wednesday at dawn at a fuel depot near the airport of Sochi, a busy seaside city in southwest Russia. Russian media have mentioned a possible Ukrainian drone attack. On his Telegram account, the mayor of Sochi, Alexei Kopaigorodsky, indicated that the fire, which did not cause any casualties, had been extinguished by firefighters and that the area affected by the flames was less than 100 m2.

The incident took place at a fuel depot near Sochi International Airport in the Adler district. According to the mayor, “the airport and all transport are operating normally”. “The causes of the incident are being established”, he added. The Russian online media Baza, close to the security services, claimed that it was a drone strike and published photos showing metal parts presented as debris from the machine.

If the drone attack is confirmed, it would be the first such incident in Sochi, a popular tourist city, since Russia’s offensive in Ukraine began in late February 2022. Unlike other cities in the region, Sochi was spared from the strikes and its airport is still open, while those of other large nearby cities (Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar) are closed to avoid incidents linked to the fighting.

On the social network “despite the maritime blockade imposed by Russia, Ukraine delivered grain to many countries around the world”such as Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, China, India, Thailand, Iraq, Vietnam and even Turkey.

“In total, we provided 32 million tonnes of food”he added, thanking “all leaders who supported our export programs, the Black Sea Grain Initiative and ‘Grain of Ukraine’.” “Ukraine is proposing very concrete measures to alleviate the global food crisis”underlined Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president delivered a speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. This Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky will address the United Nations Security Council. On the ground, Ukraine and Russia indicated that they had shot down several drones. A look back at the significant events of the last 24 hours of the war in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. He notably accused Russia of committing “genocide” in Ukraine, criticizing Russia’s transfer of “tens of thousands” of Ukrainian children in the territories it occupies in Ukraine. The wife of the Ukrainian president, Olena Zelenska, also present at the United Nations headquarters, implored the international community to help recover these young minors taken by force to Russia. According to her, more than 19,000 Ukrainian children were transferred or forcibly taken to Russia in occupied regions. Only 386 of them were reported to have been returned to Ukraine. “We are trying to bring these children home, but time is running out. What will happen to them? In Russia they are taught hatred of Ukraine, and all ties with their families are cut. C “is clearly a genocide”denounced the president, under the eyes of the deputy Russian ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy, present at the Russian table.

Also before the UN General Assembly, Volodymyr Zelensky also accused Moscow of using food and energy “like weapons” and believed that Russia had not “no right to possess nuclear weapons”. The Ukrainian head of state also declared that his country was preparing a “world peace summit” to which he wants to invite all the leaders of the planet opposed to “aggression” of Ukraine by Russia.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at the UN General Assembly. “For the first time in modern history, we have a real chance of ending aggression on the terms of the nation that was attacked. Evil cannot be trusted.”he declared, before referring to the death of the boss of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in a plane crash in Russia: “Ask Prigozhin if Putin’s promises can be trusted.”

Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 17 Russian Shahed-type drones overnight, the army said early Wednesday. In its daily report at the start of the day, it reported 24 Shahed drones launched by Russian forces, including 17 shot down, without being able to give details on the consequences of this assault. The day before, 28 of these same devices out of 31 had been destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses, the army also indicated.

Russia uses these Iranian-made devices and missiles almost daily to attack Ukrainian cities. Two Russian drones were destroyed in the Dnipropetrovsk region (center-east), Governor Serguiï Lysak said, also on Telegram, mentioning material damage but no casualties at this stage.

Russia claimed this Wednesday to have destroyed four Ukrainian drones overnight over the regions of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, and Orel, also in the west. In three separate press releases published overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported three attacks involving four drones.

The first two were shot down by air defenses over the Belgorod and Orel regions around 9 p.m. local time (6 p.m. GMT Tuesday), a third again in the Orel region around 10:30 p.m. local time (7:30 p.m. GMT), then a fourth while he was flying over the Belgorod region around 11:45 p.m. local time (8:45 p.m. GMT), according to the ministry. The ministry has not provided information on possible damage or casualties at this stage.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to address the UN Security Council on Wednesday, facing permanent member Russia for the first time since the start of the war. While the Russian invasion of Ukraine is bogged down, the Ukrainian president continues his diplomatic offensive in New York where the great leaders of the world are gathered, in the notable absence of the Chinese Xi Jinping and the Russian Vladimir Putin.

He is among the first to speak during this monster special meeting, carefully calibrated, where more than sixty speakers are planned under the Albanian presidency, according to the agenda consulted by AFP. This is the first time since the start of the Russian invasion of his country, on February 24, 2022, that President Zelensky will speak in person before the UN Security Council, a body which moreover is paralyzed at this time. subject due to the Russian veto. Russia will be represented by its Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.

It is not clear whether Sergei Lavrov will attend President Zelensky’s speech in person or will be represented during his speech, as was already the case during a meeting of the Council at the level of heads of diplomacy.

Hello and welcome to this live dedicated to the news of the war in Ukraine. Here you will find all the latest information on the conflict as well as the strong images of the day.