Ukraine Fires Cruise Missiles at Russian Shipyard in Crimea, Russia Confirms

Since launching its counter-offensive against Moscow’s forces this summer, kyiv has increased attacks on the peninsula, targeting the Russian Black Sea Fleet. “On November 4, the Ukrainian army launched 15 cruise missiles at the BE Butoma (Zaliv) shipyard in the city of Kerch,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday, according to state media. “Air defense systems shot down 13 of the cruise missiles,” the ministry said, adding “a ship located at the factory was damaged after being hit by an enemy cruise missile.”

In an interview given to the TV channel show NBC News, Volodymyr Zelensky said he was not ready for talks with Russia unless Moscow withdraws its troops from Ukraine. “(The United States) knows that I am not ready to speak with terrorists, because their word is worthless,” he said, adding that “they must leave our territory, and only then can the world start diplomacy.

He also asked Washington to provide him with more weapons and financial support to counter Russia. According to him, the US military may be forced to intervene in a conflict with Russia if the level of aid to Ukraine does not increase. “If Russia kills us all, it will attack NATO countries and then you will have to send your sons and daughters [pour combattre]”, said the Ukrainian president.

He also calls on former US President Donald Trump to come to Ukraine to see for himself the situation on the ground. “If he can come here, I would need (…) twenty-four minutes to explain to President Trump that he cannot manage this war,” he explained. “He cannot bring peace, because of Putin.”

Kiev announced this Sunday the opening of an investigation into the death of a group of soldiers possibly killed Friday by a Russian missile attack during a decorations ceremony. More than 20 Ukrainian soldiers from an assault brigade died Friday in the attack, which took place in the southern Zaporizhia region, the online newspaper reports Ukrainska Pravda.

While Agence France-Presse was not immediately able to verify the circumstances of the attack, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov called the incident a “tragedy” and ordered a thorough investigation. “We must do everything possible to protect our people and give honest answers to the families and friends of fallen soldiers,” he added Saturday evening.

During a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday disputed that the war between his country and Russia was at a “stalemate”. Comments which come after statements by the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Valery Zalouzhn to the newspaper “The Economist” this week, who declared that there would “probably not be a magnificent and profound breakthrough”, and asserted that the two Russian and Ukrainian armies were trapped in a war of attrition and positions, and therefore, in a “dead end”.

The Ukrainian president also rejected the idea of ​​pressure from Western countries on kyiv to begin negotiations with Russia. “No one among our partners is putting pressure on us to sit down with Russia, talk to them and give them something,” he said.

Ursula von der Leyen, visiting Ukraine to discuss the issue of enlargement of the European Union, highlighted the progress made by Kiev, officially a candidate to join the EU since June 2022. “You have taken many steps” , declared the President of the European Commission to Volodymyr Zelensky. “You have reformed your justice system. You have reduced the power of the oligarchs. You have tackled money laundering and many other things,” she noted.

“We must never forget that you are waging an existential war while profoundly reforming your country”, also underlined Ursula von der Leyen, saying she was “confident” that Ukraine would progress in the accession process when these reforms were implemented. implemented.

Moscow announced on Sunday that it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, from a 4th generation nuclear submarine. The launch of this Bulava missile, the first in about a year, comes shortly after Russia revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

With a range of 8,000 kilometers and 12 meters long, the Boulava (SS-NX-30 in the NATO classification) can be equipped with ten nuclear warheads. The Emperor Alexander III submarine, from which the test was carried out, is equipped with 16 Boulava missiles, according to the Russian army.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has blown hot and cold about the use of nuclear weapons, deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, the closest ally, in the summer of 2023. from Moscow.