Drones shot down on both sides, children dead in an attack on Donetsk, the next
“decisive”
months in the war in Ukraine.
Le Figaro
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Russia and Ukraine claim to have shot down several drones
Russia and Ukraine said Friday they had shot down several enemy drones.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that it had destroyed five Ukrainian drones and nine missiles in total over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.
Two other drones were neutralized over the Lipetsk region, located about 400 km south of Moscow, according to regional governor Igor Artamonov.
Ukraine has increased its attacks on Russia in the run-up to the presidential election, striking further and further into Russian territory to respond to Moscow's attacks.
On Friday, the Ukrainian air forces accused Russia, in a statement on social networks, of having launched 27 drones and eight missiles against Ukraine overnight.
All 27 drones
“were destroyed”
, according to the same source.
Three children killed in strike in Donetsk, says pro-Russian mayor
Three children were killed in a strike in Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian forces, its pro-Russian mayor Alexei Koulemzin said on Friday.
“As a result of a barbaric nighttime strike in the Petrovsky district of our city by Ukrainian Nazis
,” a house was targeted and caught fire, Alexei Kulemzin wrote on Telegram.
“Three children were killed
,” he said.
This incident comes as Russia began voting on Friday for the presidential election which lasts three days, until Sunday, and which must renew Vladimir Putin for a new six-year term in the absence of any opposition.
The vote is also being organized in four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia in 2022 and which it only partially controls - Zaporizhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Lugansk.
Ukrainian diplomacy, however, called for rejecting the result of this vote, which it describes as a
“farce”
.
Borrell assures that the coming months will be
“decisive”
in the war in Ukraine
The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell warned Thursday that the outcome of the war in Ukraine could be decided in the coming months, urging Western allies to step up their aid to kyiv during a visit to Washington.
“The next few months will be decisive
,” he assured, adding that
“many observers expect a Russian offensive this summer, and Ukraine cannot wait until the result of the next American elections
. ”
“Everything that needs to be done must be done quickly
,” he urged from the American capital, where he went after an appearance before the UN Security Council in New York.
In Washington, Josep Borrell spoke in particular with the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken, and insisted on the tragic consequences of a potential victory for Russia.
If Vladimir Putin
“wins this war and conquers Ukraine and sets up a puppet regime in Kiev, like the one we already see in Belarus, it will not stop there
,” he warned.
“This will have enormous repercussions for the United States and for the alliance systems built around the United States and Europe
,” he also said.
The head of European diplomacy also spoke with Don Bacon, a Republican elected to the House of Representatives, said a senior European official.
In particular, he asked him to imagine
“Russian tanks in Kiev”
and to transmit his message to a seminar of Republican elected officials underway in West Virginia.
“This is not a game without consequences.
In a few months, Ukraine could find itself in an untenable situation
,” the American official stressed.
“Republicans should think about it
. ”