Ukraine live blog: ++ Russia starts maneuvers with 400 warships ++

Russia is demonstrating its power through a naval exercise with 90,000 participants. Kiev has again demanded to be allowed to use Western weapons against missile depots in Russia. The developments in the live blog.

If a company in the European Union brokers a deal for military goods involving a company from Russia, the entire proceeds can be confiscated. This was the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in a five-year-old case from Romania. The ban also applies if the goods have never been imported into an EU country.

In 2019, the Romanian company in question had brokered a deal between a company from Ukraine and one from India for the sale of 32 radio stations. 20 of these were manufactured in Russia. After the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, the EU had already adopted various restrictive measures. Among other things, brokerage services related to military goods were banned for Russian companies.

The Romanian authorities informed the Romanian company that its brokerage activities were covered by this ban. The company nevertheless received almost three million euros for it. The authorities therefore imposed a fine of around 6,000 euros and also confiscated the proceeds. The company took the matter to court in Romania.

Ref. C-351/22

According to government figures, Ukraine has significantly increased its weapons production this year. “In the first eight months of 2024, we doubled our weapons production compared to 2023,” said Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv. Ukraine plans to have built more than a million drones by the end of the year. “We are making progress. Drone production continues to grow,” said Shmyhal.

As part of its efforts, the Ukrainian military successfully tested a domestically produced ballistic missile, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced just over a week ago. He also said that his armed forces had used a Ukrainian-made long-range missile drone called “Palianytsia” in combat for the first time. Despite expanding its own weapons production, Ukraine still relies on military support from its Western allies.

Russian armed forces have managed to capture four towns in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, Russian news agencies report, citing the Defense Ministry in Moscow. Army Group South has gained control of Krasnohorivka and Hryhorivka, Army Group East of Vodyane and Army Group Center of Halytsynivka. The information cannot be independently verified.

The army is increasing the pace of its offensive and has captured almost 1,000 square kilometers in a period of eight days in August and September, the Interfax agency quoted the Secretary of the National Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, as saying. Even the invasion of Ukrainian forces into the Russian border region of Kursk in early August was unable to stop the Russian offensive, said the former defense minister.

400 warships from various naval units: Russia’s navy has begun its strategic maneuver “Ocean-2024” in various waters. The surface ships and submarines will be in action until September 16, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced. 120 aircraft and helicopters will also take part in the exercise. The exercises will take place in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Baltic Sea, the Sea of ​​Japan and the Caspian Sea, and the Mediterranean, where Russia has a base in the Syrian port city of Tartus.

The aim of the maneuver is to test the readiness of the navy and its commanders, the ministry said. The exercise will also test the use of high-precision weapons and interaction with troops from allied states. Members of other security structures will also be among those taking part, including the Interior Ministry, the FSB domestic intelligence service and the Russian National Guard and Security Service.

The ocean maneuvers have a long tradition in Russia. In times of the war in Ukraine, however, they are also seen as a demonstration of power towards the West. China has also announced that it will take part in the exercise.

Flights at Moscow’s Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Vnukovo airports were suspended for around six hours this morning. This was to ensure safety following Ukrainian drone attacks, the Russian aviation authority said. The number of flight cancellations is unclear. However, planes are now taking off and landing again. Operations only continued unhindered at the capital’s largest airport, Sheremetyevo.

The head of the Ukrainian presidential office has again called on the Western allies to allow Ukraine to use its weapons against targets deep in Russian territory. Andriy Yermak said that they must be able to attack missile depots in Russia.

During the war, some Western countries hesitated to allow Ukraine to use the weapons they supplied on Russian territory for fear of being drawn into the conflict. Under international law, such attacks are permitted for defensive purposes. Russia nevertheless describes this as an escalation and regularly threatens the West with the use of nuclear weapons. Yermak said: “Protection is not escalation.” Ukraine must be allowed to attack weapons depots. It is about using Western weapons to prevent terrorism, said Yermak.

According to the region’s governor, a child was killed and another civilian injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian capital Moscow. The region’s governor, Andrei Vorobyov, announced this via Telegram. Further details are not yet known.

Russia says it shot down more than 70 Ukrainian drones on Tuesday night. In the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, 59 enemy drones were “intercepted and destroyed,” regional governor Alexander Bogomas said on the Telegram online service. There were “no injuries or material damage” in the attacks.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that 11 drones had been shot down in the area around the Russian capital. Three airports around Moscow suspended flights because of the attacks, according to their websites. According to the Russian state news agency Tass, two Ukrainian drones were intercepted in the Tula region south of Moscow.

Ukrainian air defense units have repelled a Russian drone attack on Kiev, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital announced via the short message service Telegram.

According to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, after two Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Domodedovo district near Moscow, emergency services have been dispatched to the crash site. Sobyanin has not yet provided any information on possible damage or casualties.

One of Moscow’s largest airports is located in the Domodedovo district, about 50 kilometers south of the Kremlin.

According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Russian air defense has destroyed a drone that was flying toward the Russian capital. “According to initial information, there is no damage and no injuries where the debris fell,” Sobyanin said via the short message service Telegram. There was no comment from the Ukrainian side.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has tied Russia’s participation in a possible Ukraine peace conference to conditions. On Monday evening, at an event organized by the “Vorwärts” newspaper, he stressed that in addition to the necessary military support for Ukraine against the aggressor Russia, the question of how to get out of the war situation should also be explored.

Like the Ukrainian leadership, he wants another peace conference in which Russia should also participate, said the SPD politician. “Of course that won’t work if the person who is supposed to sit there says at the same time ‘but I keep attacking’,” added Scholz, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin even said that he would then like to have more of the Ukrainian territory if there was a prospect of peace. “I think that in this situation we need what is always important in politics: clarity, firmness and character. That is what it is all about if you want to ensure peace and security in Europe,” stressed the Chancellor.

The Dutch government has allowed Ukraine to use delivered weapons on Russian territory. The Kremlin has reacted cautiously to Scholz’s peace initiative.