War in Ukraine: US anti-aircraft missiles, application to NATO, arms supplied by South Korea… update on the situation

Two Russian fuel depots caught fire after Ukrainian drone strike

Two Russian fuel depots were engulfed in flames Thursday after suspected drone strikes, according to local officials, as Ukraine continues to target the Russian oil sector.

Maxim Yegorov, governor of the Tambov region southeast of Moscow, said firefighters were trying to put out the fire at the Platonovskaya fuel depot. Earlier on Thursday, an official in the Adygea region of the Caucasus also reported a fire at a fuel depot.

On Tuesday, drones struck a depot in the city of Azov, near Rostov-on-Don, and the fire was still burning on Wednesday. According to intelligence sources in Kyiv, all these attacks were carried out by the SBU, the Ukrainian secret service.

Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian fuel depots after curtailing its operations targeting refineries that have a major impact on global oil markets and prices. Russia has about 30 large refineries and hundreds of fuel depots.

Zelensky called for solar panels to be installed in all hospitals ‘as soon as possible’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the installation of solar panels on Thursday “In every school and every hospital as soon as possible”Ukraine is experiencing growing electricity shortages due to Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure.

“Solar panels, smart meters and energy storage units should be installed in every school and hospital as soon as possible, with regional military administrations overseeing these activities at the local level.The President said in a statement on social media.

Ukraine will now receive US anti-aircraft missiles “on priority”.

America “We have taken a difficult but necessary decision” A White House spokesman said Thursday that Ukraine should now be given priority over other allies in supplying anti-aircraft missiles.

Therefore, especially the Patriot and NASAMS missiles will be exported to other countries “late”National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

New Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy grid

Russian missiles and drones damaged energy infrastructure in several Ukrainian regions on Thursday, as Moscow continued its campaign to systematically destroy the country’s power grid, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said.

The ministry said three employees were injured during the attack, which cut off power in some areas. Private Ukrainian company DTEK said one of its thermal power plants was severely damaged. According to kyiv, Russia’s massive drone and missile strikes since this winter, taking advantage of delays in Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, have knocked out half of the country’s electricity generation capacity.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down five of nine missiles fired by Russia on Thursday and 27 drones. He noted that ten regions were targeted, particularly in Dnipropetrovsk where three employees were injured. According to Serhii Babkov, head of Kiev’s military administration, all projectiles aimed at the capital were intercepted and no damage was reported.

Putin warns that S. Korea supplying arms to Ukraine is a ‘mistake’

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that South Korea would send live weapons to Ukraine. “Grievous Mistake”A decision to this effect threatens Seoul with retaliatory measures.

“It is a very serious mistake to supply dangerous weapons to the war zone in Ukraine. I hope this will not happen. If it does, we will have to make the right decision, which the South Korean leaders will not like.”Putin said during his visit to Vietnam.

The Romanian president withdrew his candidacy, leaving Rutte alone in the race for the NATO presidency

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday that he has dropped his bid for the post of NATO secretary general, indicating that Bucharest will instead support the candidacy of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rudd.

Mark Rutte, now running alone, is certain to have the support of NATO’s 32 members. A staunch ally of Ukraine, he has pledged F-16 fighter jets to fight against Russia, and the Dutch leader will succeed Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg, who has been in office for a decade.

At the same time as his departure, Klaus Iohannis announced that Romania’s Supreme Security Council, which he chairs, had decided to give Ukraine one of the country’s two operational patriot systems to bolster Kiev’s anti-aircraft defenses. Responding to the announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Bucharest. “Help us better protect our people and our critical infrastructure”.

Mark Rutte, head of the Atlantic alliance, must plan to continue military support for Ukraine in an environment of strong uncertainty caused by elections in France, the United Kingdom and the United States.