Ukraine fends off 27 Russian drones – Kiev raises allegations against Moscow

Russian war of aggression
Ukraine fends off 27 Russian drones – Zelensky accuses Moscow of warlike desires in the Middle East

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has accused Russia of wanting to start a war in the Middle East in addition to attacking his country. “We have data that clearly proves that Russia is interested in starting a war in the Middle East, so that a new source of pain and suffering undermines the unity of the world,” Zelensky said on Monday on the social network X (formerly Twitter). with. He didn’t give any details. He also warned of the danger of a world war in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev.

“The world wars of the past began with local aggression,” said Zelensky, also referring to the attacks on Israel by the militant Hamas. He did not explain what information he had that Russia was interested in starting a conflagration in the Middle East. “We see Moscow’s Iranian friends openly supporting those who attacked Israel,” said Zelensky, who himself has Jewish roots. He also accused Russian propagandists close to the Kremlin of gloating about the violence against Israel.

“And all this is a much greater threat than the world is currently experiencing,” said the Ukrainian president. During the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, he had repeatedly accused Iran of supporting Moscow in its terror with drones and other weapons.

Moscow probably has contacts with Hamas

As in his video message on Sunday, Zelensky once again called for a joint fight against terror. International law must be defended against attempts by terrorists to take over power. “I am grateful to all leaders and states who are aware of the danger and are willing to cooperate to keep the situation under control and prevent the sponsors of terror from engaging more broadly.”

On Monday morning, in a video speech to parliamentarians from NATO member states in Copenhagen, the president compared Hamas’s atrocities against Israel with those of Russia against Ukraine. “The only difference is that there it is a terrorist organization that attacked Israel, and here it is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine.”

According to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia also has contacts with the militant Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA, the EU and Israel. For example, the Kremlin’s Middle East representative, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, held discussions with Hamas representatives several times this year – on the phone and in personal meetings. The Kremlin only commented on the violence in Israel for the first time on Monday and expressed concern.

Zelenskyy replaces head of regional defense forces

In his video message, Zelensky also informed that he had replaced the commander of the area defense forces for the second time since the beginning of the Russian invasion. He appointed Major General Anatoly Barhylevych as the new boss by decree. Ihor Tanzjura had previously been discharged with the same military rank. Tanzjura had held the position since May last year. Nothing was initially known about the reasons for the dismissal.

The main task is not to stop the development of the units, said Zelensky. As a sub-structure of the army, the area defense forces are primarily responsible for organizing defense in the regions. Barhylewytsch had already been involved in setting up the regional defense forces since 2020.

Ukraine repels 27 Russian drone attacks

In addition, Ukraine says it repelled numerous Russian drone attacks in the south of the country during the night. The Ukrainian Air Force announced on the Telegram online service that 27 attack drones were shot down in the Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. In total, Russia fired 36 drones from the annexed Crimean peninsula.

Moscow attacks various parts of Ukraine with drones and missiles almost every night. According to the Ukrainian consulting group Defense Express, Russia used more than 500 Iranian-made Shahed drones against Ukraine in September alone.

The targets of the attacks are often the ports in southern Ukraine that are important for the export of grain. In July, Russia withdrew from the grain agreement with Ukraine, which had allowed Ukraine to transport grain across the Black Sea despite Russia’s war of aggression.

With Western military assistance, Ukraine has been waging a defensive battle against Russian attacks for almost 20 months. President Zelensky repeatedly emphasizes that Ukraine is waging its fight against Russian aggression not only for its own independence, but for freedom throughout Europe. The head of state is calling for more support from the West for the defensive struggle in order to permanently weaken Russia militarily through a defeat.

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DPA