US suspects Ukraine behind drone incident in Moscow

Kyiv, Moscow Air raid alarms were triggered again in numerous areas of Ukraine on Thursday night. According to the authorities, the air defense was also active in the vicinity of the capital Kiev. In particular, the population was warned of drone attacks and asked to remain in protective facilities until the all-clear. Ukrainian media reported explosions in Kiev and western regions of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has high hopes for the prospect of US F-16 fighter jets. They would not only strengthen the country’s defenses, but would also send a strong signal that Russia’s aggression would fail, Zelensky said in his evening speech on Wednesday.

On the fringes of the G7 summit of leading democratic economic powers last week, US President Joe Biden basically cleared the way for a coalition of allies to deliver F-16 jets to Ukraine. Ukrainian fighter pilots are to be trained to fly the machines.

Zelensky appeals to Iran: No drone deliveries to Russia

Zelensky also appealed to the people of Iran not to support the delivery of Iranian kamikaze drones to Russia. Although Ukraine has learned to stop most attacks with the Shahed attack drones, there are still hits.

The drone attacks on civilians are carried out by Russia, “but with their weapons,” he told the Iranians. According to Zelensky, around 900 of the approximately 1,160 Shahed drones sent by the Russian military were shot down. The flying robots, most of which are equipped with explosive charges, are designed to fall on their targets in a manner similar to rockets.

Fire at Russian Ministry of Defense denied

The Russian civil protection rejected a report of a fire at the Ministry of Defense building in Moscow on Thursday night. The fire crews had not discovered a fire, a spokesman for civil protection told the Tass news agency.

The state agency had reported a fire on a balcony of the building shortly before, citing a representative of the emergency services. Smoke could be seen on the building in a video posted online. There was also talk of a pungent odor in the area in posts on online platforms.

Earlier this month, according to Russian sources, two drones were shot down over the Kremlin – the official residence of President Vladimir Putin. Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for this.

Report: US suspects Ukraine behind drone incident in Moscow

According to a report, the United States suspects that a military or secret service special unit in Ukraine was probably responsible for the drone incident on the Kremlin premises.

US intelligence agencies did not know which unit carried out the attack, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed US government sources. It is also unclear whether the Ukrainian President or his top officials were aware of the action.

This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war:

According to the newspaper report, the US secret services came to their preliminary assessment through intercepted messages, among other things. However, there is only a “low” degree of certainty. In early May, Russia announced that two drones had crashed as they approached the Kremlin site.

Stoltenberg: Differences in NATO over Ukraine’s desire to join

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged differences between the allies over possible steps to include Ukraine in the defense alliance. “I admit that there are different views in the alliance on this matter,” said Stoltenberg on Wednesday at an event of the US foundation German Marshall Fund (GMF) in Brussels.

He also reminded that decisions in the defense alliance are made according to the consensus principle. This means that steps towards Ukraine’s admission can only be taken if no one objects. President Selenski had recently called on the alliance states to clear the way for his country’s admission to the western military alliance at the next NATO summit in July.

Bundeswehr receives 18 new Leopard 2 tanks

As compensation for tank deliveries to Ukraine, the Bundeswehr will receive 18 new Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks. According to participants, the budget committee of the Bundestag released around 525 million euros on Wednesday.

At the end of March, Ukraine received 18 modern Leopard 2A6 tanks from Germany. The Leopard 2 is considered the main weapon of the German armored forces. It has been in series production since 1978 and is constantly being modernized.

That will be important on Thursday

The situation in the contested areas of Ukraine and the Russian airstrikes are likely to continue to be the focus. The international contact group for the coordination of military assistance to Ukraine holds a virtual meeting. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chief of Staff Mark Milley hold a press conference in the United States.

More: Current news on the development of the Ukraine war can be found in our news blog