All the latest developments from the war in Ukraine.
Muscovites are adapting to drone attacks
Muscovites told reporters they faced Ukrainian drone attacks almost daily “quietly and safely,” and some showed a detachment from the war.
advertisementIn recent weeks, the Russian capital has been targeted by more drones than ever before. So far, these attacks have caused no casualties and only limited damage, but there is a constant escalation as the attacks are now occurring at night.
For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, it is “absolutely true” that the conflict has reached Russian soil.
“I’m not afraid,” Tigran, a 40-year-old architect, told an AFP correspondent outside a café. “I feel very calm and safe in general.”
Other Muscovites share his sentiments, and feel that their lives continue in a state of complete normality.
Judge Konstantin, a 70-year-old retiree, said that “there are enough forces and equipment” to thwart the attacks.
The pro-Kremlin military expert Alexander Khramchikhin explained that the scale of the strikes is too low to have an effect and “worry the population”.
However, some details leave Muscovites in awe: How could drones taking off in Ukraine evade anti-aircraft defenses for hundreds of kilometres? Can it be launched from Russian territory?
“There are people who betray their country,” the 50-year-old insisted, advancing the theory that Russian “nationals” were helping Ukraine attack Moscow.
“It’s sabotage,” she says.
But Venera admits a sentiment that Muscovites may deep down share: “I think everyone is afraid and … wants peace, so that the war is over.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense: thwarting new attacks by Ukrainian drones
The Russian Defense Ministry said on the Telegram application that Russian forces had thwarted new night attacks by Ukrainian drones in the western regions of Tula and Belgorod.
advertisementThe ministry did not give details of possible injuries or damage.
Against the background of the counterattack launched by Ukraine, drone strikes against the Russian territories and the Crimean peninsula that it annexed have become almost daily in recent weeks, targeting the Russian capital in particular.
Zelensky warned in July that “war is coming to Russian soil.”
Kyiv faces new corruption charges
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov denied on Monday new accusations of corruption related to army supplies, while the media denounced military uniforms bought at inflated prices.
Several Ukrainian media outlets reported that in late 2022 the Ministry of Defense signed a contract with a Turkish company for the supply of winter uniforms, the price of which then tripled.
advertisementUkrainian journalists have determined that such equipment can be purchased in Turkey at prices much lower than those paid by the Ministry.
Allegedly, one of the owners of the Turkish company is Oleksandr Kasai, nephew of Gennady Kasai, a member of Zelensky’s political party.
On Monday, Defense Minister Reznikov responded to these false accusations, claiming that the prices corresponded to what was offered by the manufacturers in Turkey.
“I urge everyone to deal with the information more critically and responsibly because it misleads society,” he said in a press conference. “Worse, it misleads our partners because from the outside it looks like a disaster.”
“Everything was done according to the law,” Reznikov emphasized.
advertisementThis is the second alleged corruption scandal over army supplies to rock Kiev since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
At the end of January, a number of senior Ukrainian officials were expelled after journalists signed contracts to provide food to front-line troops at grossly inflated prices.
Since the beginning of 2022, other high-profile cases have come to light in Ukraine, a country where corruption has long been an endemic evil.
