War in Ukraine: New Russian drone and missile strikes, an F-16 plane crashed while repelling an attack… the latest on the situation

An American-designed F-16 fighter jet crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack. MAXPPP – Gianluca Vannicelli/ipa-agency

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Thursday, August 29, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

New Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine

Ukraine said Thursday it had shot down two missiles and 60 drones fired by Russia at nine Ukrainian regions last night, amid intensified attacks by Moscow on the country's energy infrastructure in recent days. A total of 74 drones and five missiles were launched by Russian forces, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, which said it had lost track of 14 drones, which likely fell in Ukrainian territory.

About 15 drones targeted Kiev but failed to hit their targets, the city's military governor Serhiy Popko said. It was the third attack in four days targeting the capital. The Ukrainian military also confirmed that it attacked a weapons depot and two fuel depots in Russia on Wednesday.

“Continued support for Ukraine is essential,” Macron and Starmer say

President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met at the Elysee Palace on Thursday, said it was essential to continue supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary to ensure its defense and security. The British head of government arrived in Paris on Wednesday evening to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games. “They agreed that it was essential to continue supporting Ukrainians for as long as necessary to ensure the defense and security of the country and the entire continent”, the Elysee Palace said in a statement after the meeting.

Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer, the Elysée added, discussed the situation in the Middle East, promising to continue their discussions with leaders in the region, to call on all parties to de-escalate. They also reiterated their call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The two leaders also discussed “the prospects for the relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom” while Labour's Keir Starmer, who took office last month, has placed improving relations with the EU at the heart of his efforts to stimulate the country's economic growth.

On Wednesday, he met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and the two agreed to work on an “ambitious” bilateral treaty. to relaunch relations between London and Brussels after Britain left the European Union (EU) in 2020. Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer had already met in July on the sidelines of the NATO and European Political Community (EPC) summits at Blenheim Castle (England), and they spoke by telephone on 9 August.

Russian army claims capture of two towns in eastern Ukraine

The Russian army claimed on Thursday the capture of two new towns in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine, where it continues to advance against outnumbered and fire-lacking Ukrainian troops.

In its daily report, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the capture of Mykolaivka, in the Donetsk region, and Stelmakhivka, in the Lugansk region, which is almost entirely under Moscow's control.

The ministry does not specify exactly where Mykolaivka is located, but according to Ukrainian military expert channels, a town with that name recently came under the control of Russian soldiers.

The latter is located about fifteen kilometers from Pokrovsk, a major logistics hub, which has been targeted for several weeks by Russian troops who are closing in on it, prompting local authorities to order the evacuation of families with children from the town and its surroundings on August 19. surroundings.

The situation is "extremely difficult" for the Ukrainian army near Pokrovsk, President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on Wednesday. "Russia's main efforts and largest forces are concentrated there", he said then.

Despite the surprise offensive launched by kyiv on August 6 in the Russian region of Kursk, Russia continues to steadily gain ground in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, which remains the epicentre of the fighting and which it intends to conquer in its entirety.

On Wednesday, Mr Zelensky nevertheless assured that the offensive in Russia was helping to relieve pressure in the east of his country. “We must understand that all the tension that we have transferred to Russia means that it cannot direct more pressure on our region of Donetsk", he said.

F-16 crashes while repelling Russian missile attack, pilot killed

Ukraine said on Thursday that a U.S.-designed F-16 fighter jet, a valuable piece of military equipment recently delivered by the West, crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack, killing its pilot.

"During the approach (to a target), communication with one of the planes was lost. It later turned out that the plane crashed and the pilot was killed,” the Ukrainian General Staff said on Telegram, without specifying the name of the serviceman or the exact date of the loss of the aircraft.