Ukrainian air defenses went into action before dawn on Tuesday to repel a new "complex" drone and missile attack on Kiev, a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky's announced return to the capital after his tour of Europe.
To discover
- Follow the news about the war in Ukraine with the application of Le Figaro
«
The enemy launched a complex attack from several directions and simultaneously, using drones, cruise missiles and probably ballistic missiles," Kiev's military authority said in a statement posted on its Telegram account. "It was exceptional in its density, a maximum number of missiles in a very tight period of time. According to initial information, the vast majority of enemy targets in the skies over Kiev have been detected and destroyed!" the statement added.
'New and powerful weapons'
Earlier, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported on his Telegram account that the city's air defenses were at work and reported the wreckage of a drone and the debris of a missile in the Darnytskyi district in the south of the city. "Three people were injured in Solomyansky district," he added. This new night attack comes the day after the announced return to Kiev of Volodymyr Zelensky after his European tour that took him to Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
«
Back home with (...) new and powerful weapons for the front," Zelensky said in a video message to his fellow citizens, after finishing his three-day tour of the United Kingdom, where he obtained anti-aircraft missiles and said he was optimistic about future deliveries of fighter jets.
" READ ALSO Thanks to the Storm Shadow missiles, Ukraine hopes to win the long-range war
After Rome, Berlin and Paris, the British leg of Volodymyr Zelensky's European tour came as the Ukrainian army claimed "the first success" of its assault on the flanks of Bakhmut, a city in the east epicenter of fighting for several months and now largely controlled by the Russians. But the time for a massive counter-offensive has not yet come, had tempered in the day Volodymyr Zelensky, repeating that Kiev "needed more time", while he was received by Rishi Sunak near London.
The British government has promised the delivery to Kiev, "in the coming months", of "hundreds" of anti-aircraft missiles and long-range attack drones (200 kilometers). These will be in addition to the Storm Shadow cruise missiles promised last week by London, a first for this type of weaponry that Ukraine has been demanding for months to achieve targets far behind the front line. The Russian military claimed to have already shot down one of these devices. The increase in British aid will cause "even more destruction" but will have "no significant impact on the unfolding" of the conflict, assured the spokesman of the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov.
Fighter jets
But British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed that British aid was long-term, and that London would play a "key role" in the "coalition" that Kiev wants to succeed in forming to deliver fighter jets. "I think it will happen very soon, you will be informed of decisions that I think are very important," Zelensky said Monday, saying he was "very optimistic."
No European country has so far stepped forward to provide such aircraft to Kiev, but the United Kingdom will already train Ukrainian pilots this summer. Emmanuel Macron himself announced Monday night to have "opened the door to train pilots" Ukrainian "right now" and "with several other European countries that are ready," during an interview on the TF1 channel. He refused, however, to mention the delivery of fighter jets to Kiev other than "a theoretical debate" at this stage.
" READ ALSO War in Ukraine: Yevgeny Prigogine suspected of having betrayed the Kremlin
On the diplomatic front, the 46 member states of the Council of Europe are meeting Tuesday afternoon at a summit in Iceland to show their unity against Moscow. The summit, only the fourth of the pan-European organization in nearly 75 years of existence, aims to multiply the means to hold Russia criminally responsible for the destruction and crimes caused by its invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, head of state of a member country, is invited but it is unclear if he will make the trip to Reykjavik, in the wake of his European tour.
Chinese envoy Li Hui, the special representative for Eurasian affairs in charge of discussing the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, is scheduled to visit Kiev on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a senior Ukrainian government official. China has never publicly condemned Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine, unlike the majority of the world's major powers.
Iranian-Russian military cooperation
The United States on Monday warned Iran and Russia that "are expanding their unprecedented military cooperation," according to John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council. He cited in particular Moscow's willingness to acquire more sophisticated Iranian drones than those so far supplied. He added that the United States would announce new sanctions "in the coming days" against entities or individuals involved in these transactions.
South Africa, accused by the United States of having delivered weapons to Russia, has sent its commander of the ground forces Lawrence Mbatha to Moscow for "a goodwill visit".
