Ukrainian army chief meets secretly with NATO officials, Britain warns of Russian attacks | news

Today, Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had foiled a second Ukrainian attempt to launch a drone attack in Belgorod province, while NATO leaders discussed with the Ukrainian military chief the military strategy of Kiev and restoring support for its counteroffensive. .

It comes as Ukraine confirmed it had successfully penetrated key Russian defense lines in the Zaporizhia province, while the British Ministry of Defense said it may intensify attacks in northeastern Ukraine.

Earlier today, Saturday, Russia announced that it had destroyed a drone in the Astra region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, while the provincial governor reported that civilians had been injured by cluster bombs.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defense forces shot down a drone in the Istra region on the outskirts of the capital early Saturday.

Russian media reported that Moscow’s airports had resumed navigation after restricting flights for an hour, amid the abandonment of the parade in Moscow’s suburbs.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported that it destroyed two Iranian “Shahid” drones in Kharkiv province in the northeast of the country.

Two people were killed and another wounded when Russia bombed the village of Podoli near the city of Kopiensk (northeast), the region’s governor, Oleg Tsinigubov, announced today, Saturday.

“The enemy hit a civilian target, a cafe, where locals were spending their day,” he added.

And a few days ago, the Russian military announced that it was advancing near the territory it recaptured from Ukrainian forces last year, but now it has come under a new attack.

Army meeting

In a related context, the British Guardian newspaper quoted military sources as saying that some senior NATO officials went to a secret location on the Polish-Ukrainian border a few days ago to meet with Ukrainian army chief Valery Zalogny.

According to these sources, the purpose of the 5-hour meeting was to help Ukraine reset its military strategy, advance its counteroffensive and discuss war plans for the coming winter.

The Guardian cited these sources as saying that the outcome of the meeting led to a change in strategy by Ukrainian forces in their counteroffensive.

The meeting on the Polish border comes after an unannounced meeting in Kiev that brought together British Admiral Tony Ratkin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to better understand Ukraine’s strategy.

The evolution of the counterattack

On the ground, a Ukrainian military commander told Reuters — Ukrainian forces believe they have penetrated the toughest lines of Russian defenses in Zaporizhia (in the south) and can now advance quickly.

The commander – who uses the nickname “Skala” – made it clear that Ukrainian forces have now entered areas occupied only by “Russian logistics” groups, and that he does not expect it to be difficult to penetrate Russian defenses.

Ukraine launched a counteroffensive last June, but heavily prepared Russian defense lines, backed by mines, slowed Ukrainian forces’ advance south toward the Sea of ​​Azov.

For its part, Russia said it could intensify its attacks east of the cities of Kobyansk and Lyman (northeastern Ukraine), advance west toward the Oskil River and create a buffer zone around Luhansk.

In his daily intelligence update on the war in Ukraine – he added that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had put Russian forces under pressure in Baghmut and southern Ukraine.

And he continued, “Nevertheless, the Russian western forces continued small-scale attacks to the northeast in the Kobiansk and Liman sector, and made limited local progress.”

Waiting for the F-16s

In a parallel context, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies to quickly deliver F-16 fighter jets to help counter Russian forces.

Zelensky said – in a video clip posted on social media on Friday evening – “Our goal is to get closer to the time when the F-16 will help us eliminate Russian terrorists as soon as possible.”

Denmark and the Netherlands – earlier this week – agreed to supply fighter jets to Ukraine, following two visits by Zelensky to the two countries and Norway becoming the third country to pledge the planes to Kiev after Prime Minister Jonas Carr visited the Ukrainian capital. Last Thursday.

A total of dozens of aircraft have been promised to Ukraine, but no exact delivery date has been set.

On the other hand, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that European countries’ plans to provide Kiev with F-16 fighter jets and Mi-24 helicopters confirm that these countries are adopting a hostile approach towards Russia, and its involvement in the conflict is increasing. Ukraine, as she said.

Grain Agreement

As for the grain deal, a cargo ship left the Ukrainian port of Odessa after Ukrainian authorities opened a humanitarian corridor to allow stranded ships to leave the port.

Navigation data shows the Liberian-flagged cargo ship Primus departed for the Bulgarian port of Varna, where it is expected to arrive tomorrow.

Yesterday, Friday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that his country and Turkey are making joint efforts to renew the agreement on the transportation of grain across the Black Sea.

Kuleba added at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Kiev that reviving the grain deal was at the forefront of the issues he discussed with his Turkish counterpart.

For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said renewing the Trans-Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement was a priority for his country, explaining that President Erdogan was making regular efforts in this regard.