Ukraine has attacked Moscow with drones for the second consecutive night, as reported on Tuesday by the Russian Ministry of Defense and the mayor of the capital.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated in a release that their air defense units destroyed 17 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one heading towards the capital and 13 over the Kaluga region, which borders Moscow to the northeast.
Moscow Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, mentioned on Telegram that emergency services were dispatched to the location where the drone heading towards the capital fell.
The Kremlin Says Its Troops Will "Destroy" Foreign Fighters Supporting Kiev
On Tuesday, the Kremlin declared that Russian troops constantly hear foreign languages among those fighting for Ukraine on the frontlines and vowed that these fighters will be "destroyed."
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, responded to a question regarding a report from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) stating that France was preparing to deploy a military contingent of 2,000 soldiers and officers to Ukraine.
Russia Unable to Assess Progress of Talks with Ukraine as Kiev Pauses Them
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, stated on Tuesday that Russia cannot evaluate peace negotiations with Ukraine as Kiev has paused them and refuses to respond to Moscow's inquiries.
Russian Drone Attack Damages Gas Facilities in Poltava Region
A Russian drone attack overnight on Tuesday damaged gas facilities in the Ukrainian region of Poltava, as stated by the director of the state energy company Naftogaz, quoted by Interfax-Ukraine.
Russia has targeted the Ukrainian energy sector during previous winters of the war, but this year Moscow has focused its attacks on gas facilities.
Zelensky Seeks European Support for "Two or Three More Years" of Combat with Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine will need European financial support to combat Russian invading forces for "two or three more years."
"I emphasized this point again to all European leaders. I told them that we are not going to fight for decades, but they must show that for a while they can provide stable financial support to Ukraine," Zelensky declared on Tuesday.
"That's why they have in mind this program, two or three years," Zelensky added, referring to the European Commission's proposal to gradually unfreeze Russian assets to fund Ukraine.
Zelensky States Kiev is Ready for Peace Talks but Won't Cede Territory
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, mentioned that Kiev is willing to engage in peace talks anywhere except Russia and Belarus, if those talks lead to an end to the war, but emphasized that their forces "will not take a single step back" on the battlefield to cede territory.
In statements to journalists released on Tuesday, Zelensky also urged U.S. lawmakers to approve harsher sanctions against Russia and stated that Ukraine will require stable funding from its European allies for another two or three years.
Zelensky Claims About 200 Russian Soldiers in Pokrovsk Stronghold
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, asserted that around 200 Russian soldiers are currently in the city of Pokrovsk, an eastern stronghold in Ukraine that the Kremlin's army has been trying to capture for months.
"As soon as (these soldiers) appear or fire from somewhere, they are located and destroyed. Pokrovsk is currently the main target for the Russians," Zelensky stated during a press conference attended by AFP, under embargo until Tuesday morning.
On Sunday night, he had already mentioned that "intense fighting" was taking place in Pokrovsk and its surroundings.
Kazakhstan Evaluates Management of Lukoil's Participation in Local Projects
Kazakhstan authorities are assessing how to manage the participation of the Russian oil producer Lukoil in the country's projects and could make a decision soon, stated the president of the sovereign fund Samruk Kazyna on Tuesday.
Lukoil announced on Monday that it will sell its international assets following Ukraine-related sanctions imposed last week by the United States.
"The sanctions and their impact on companies and the economy still need to be fully evaluated," said the fund's president, Aidar Ryskulov, to reporters in Astana. "I believe we will make a decision in the near future, before the end of this week," he added.
Up to 700 Ukrainian Drones Over Russia Since Budapest Negotiations Broke Down
Ukrainian attacks intensified after last week's cancellation of the Budapest summit between Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and U.S. President, Donald Trump, after which the latter imposed the first sanctions against Moscow in his second term.
According to Russian military command reports in the last six days, the anti-aircraft defenses have shot down almost 700 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over the country's territory.
Good Relations Between Trump and Japan's New Prime Minister Signal a "Golden Era" in Key Security Alliance for Pacific Democracies
Donald Trump and Japan's new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, share a nationalist vision embracing economic protectionism and anti-immigration rhetoric over old multilateral commitments. Both appeal to a conservative base mixing national pride with nostalgia for the past. The Japanese leader has imported some famous slogans from Trump's MAGA movement ("Japan first") and aims to strengthen the traditional security alliance with Washington. However, she also faces the challenging task of dealing with the commercial demands of the U.S. President, who has equally pressed in his trade war against both friends and rivals.
In this scenario of ideological alignment but open fronts in trade relations, Takaichi and Trump held a summit on Tuesday during the second day of the U.S. President's visit to Japan, a key military ally for Washington in the Asian region. Besides sealing various trade agreements, they both signed black caps with an English phrase that could well have come from the Japanese branch of the MAGA movement: "Japan is back."
Putin Says "Everything is Going as Planned" with North Korea
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, told North Korea's Foreign Minister, Choe Son Hui, during a meeting at the Kremlin on Monday, to convey to her country's leader, Kim Jong Un, that everything is "going as planned" in bilateral relations.
Putin and Kim signed a strategic partnership treaty last year, including a mutual defense pact, and North Korea has sent soldiers, artillery ammunition, and missiles to Russia to support Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.
"We discussed in detail in Beijing about our relations and development prospects," Putin told Choe, referring to the talks he had with Kim during the celebrations in the Chinese capital last month for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia.
Russia Tests Second Version of MC-21 Aircraft with National Components
Russia conducted a test flight of a second prototype of its medium-range passenger aircraft MC-21 made with national components, as reported on Tuesday by the Ministry of Industry, at a time when sanctions on foreign parts are halting production and high interest rates are slowing investment.
Despite these challenges, the Russian aviation industry managed to deliver only one of the 15 planned aircraft for this year by August.
The MC-21 took off from the Irkutsk aircraft plant, operated by Yakovlev - a company integrated into the United Aircraft Corp., part of the state conglomerate Rostec - as shown in images released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Industry on the Telegram messaging app.