War in Ukraine: drone attack on Moscow, bridges destroyed in Kursk, Modi in Poland… an update on the situation

| August 21, 2024 | News | No Comments

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Wednesday, August 21, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

Ukraine launches one of the largest drone attacks on Moscow

Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack on Moscow on Wednesday, with at least 11 of them shot down by air defenses, one of the largest such offensives on the Russian capital since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Russian officials said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed a total of 45 drones on Russian territory, including 15 over the Bryansk region in the west of the country. Three drones that were heading toward Moscow were shot down over the city of Podolsk, near the capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram. Podolsk is located less than 40 km south of the Kremlin. "This is one of the largest attempted drone attacks ever launched against Moscow", he said.

According to Sergei Sobyanin, no casualties or damage were reported after the attack. "According to initial information, no casualties or damage were reported in the area where the (drone) debris fell", he said. The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, said on Telegram that the drone attack targeting the region had neither caused any casualties nor any damage.

Drones were also shot down over Russia's Belgorod, Kaluga and Kursk regions, where Russian forces have been fighting Ukrainian troops since August 6, the ministry said. Russia's RIA news agency reported that two drones were shot down over the Tula region, near Moscow.

The governor of Russia's southwestern Rostov region said air defense forces had shot down a missile launched by Ukraine over the region. Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports. Ukraine did not immediately comment.

Indian Prime Minister Modi arrives in Poland, ahead of Ukraine visit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Poland on Wednesday for a two-day visit, ahead of his trip to Ukraine, according to official images posted on his website.

Narendra Modi is due to meet the Polish prime minister and president in Warsaw on Thursday, before heading straight to neighbouring Ukraine for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine destroys bridges in Russia with US rocket launchers

The Ukrainian military confirmed on Wednesday that it had used US-made Himars rocket launchers to destroy pontoon bridges and infrastructure in the Russian region of Kursk.

According to Russian officials, Ukraine has damaged or destroyed at least three bridges across the Seim River since it began its offensive in western Russia on August 6, which allowed it to advance 28 to 35 kilometers into Russian territory. "Where Russian pontoon bridges in Kursk region disappear ? Operators destroy them with precision", Ukrainian special operations forces said on the Telegram messenger.

The army said it had used M142 Himars systems, thus acknowledging for the first time the use of Western weapons to strike Russian territory as part of this offensive. Washington has not commented on these statements but claims Ukraine's right to defend itself against attacks by Russia.

While most Western countries have banned Ukraine from carrying out long-range strikes inside Russia with the weapons they supply, they have authorized their use in border areas since Moscow launched a new offensive in the northern Kharkiv region in the spring. The Kremlin has denounced the use of U.S.-made weapons on its territory as an “escalation”.

A video released by Ukrainian special forces shows strikes on pontoon bridges, including one that appears to have been carried out with cluster munitions. Reuters was unable to independently verify the claims and the video but observed that a pontoon bridge – believed to have been installed between August 14 and 17 between the Russian villages of Zvannoe and Glushkovo after the destruction of solid bridges in that area – was destroyed.

In parallel with the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk, Russia says it is continuing to advance in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry has claimed responsibility in recent days for the capture of several localities, including New York City, about 46 km from the Pokrovsk logistics hub.

The Ukrainian army has not directly commented on these claims, although it has reported heavy fighting in these regions. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry emphasizes that the advance of its troops in the Kursk region has allowed for greater territorial gains than those obtained by Russia in the Donbass since the beginning of the year.

Ukrainian parliament ratifies Rome Treaty, condition for ICC membership

The Ukrainian parliament voted Wednesday to ratify the Rome Treaty, allowing the country to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and taking a step that Ukrainian leaders consider central to Kiev's European aspirations.

Ukraine has previously recognized the ICC's jurisdiction, but the country's full membership is a key step in Ukraine's efforts to eventually join the European Union. Joining the International Criminal Court would also allow authorities to “punish more effectively” Russians accused of war crimes in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko said.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for several senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin and former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for their alleged role in crimes against Ukrainian civilians. Russia has denied targeting civilians.

“Ukraine has already worked effectively with the ICC to ensure that all accountability for Russian atrocities committed as part of the Russian aggression is established,”, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on the social network X. “This work will now be even more effective.”

In an interview with Reuters in June, Iryna Mudra, a presidential adviser, said the ratification process had been slowed by a “disinformation campaign” suggesting that Ukrainian troops would be more vulnerable to prosecution. She also described Ukraine's application to join the ICC as “a long journey fraught with challenges, myths and fears. None of them are true.” MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said that before the vote, parliamentarians had been presented with letters of support from the Ukrainian General Staff and the head of Kiev's military intelligence.

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