Day 662 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Putin Creates Leningrad Military District Due To Finland Joining NATO

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Day 662 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Zelensky praised the Ukrainian air defense
• One person was killed in a Russian airstrike in Odesa region, Governor Oleg Kiper said
• Putin: We are creating the Leningrad Military District because Finland joined NATO
• Putin: Biden's remark about a possible Russian plan to attack NATO is "complete nonsense”
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba praised Scholz's unusual tactics at an EU summit that ended earlier this week
• Ukraine removed Raiffeisen from the blacklist, Austria supported sanctions against Russia

Zelensky praised the Ukrainian air defense

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, praised the work of the Ukrainian air defense in his evening video address, after Russia carried out heavy airstrikes on Ukraine for several days and nights, DPA reported.

In one week, 104 of the 112 Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones were intercepted, Zelensky emphasized. "And the destruction of each one of them means that human lives and infrastructure have been saved," the president added, thanking all servicemen of the Air Defense Forces.

Ballistic missiles from Russia were also shot down this week. The Patriot, NASAMS, Cheetah and other systems provided by Ukraine's partners "are working perfectly," Zelensky noted, but added that it was important for the country to continue improving its air defenses. This topic was discussed in almost all of his contacts with foreign partners.

According to data from the civil authorities, there were dozens of victims and damage last week - including in Kyiv. Ukraine does not comment on strikes on military targets.

Zelensky also stated that he consulted with his closest military leadership yesterday. They have discussed the issue of defense facilities and arms production.

After the failure of the Ukrainian ground offensive in the summer, the army dug in and tried to hold its positions, DPA notes.

At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry announced tonight that Russia's air defense systems had destroyed 33 drones launched by Ukraine while they were over Russian regions. However, they were intercepted or destroyed before reaching their targets over the Lipetsk, Rostov and Volgograd regions, the ministry reported on Telegram, without providing further details, BTA notes.

One person was killed in a Russian airstrike in Odesa region, Governor Oleg Kiper said

One person was killed in a Russian airstrike last night in Ukraine's Odesa region, Governor Oleg Kiper wrote on Telegram, Reuters reported.

Ukraine's air force said it had destroyed a total of 20 drones that Russia had shot down overnight.

Nine Iranian-made drones were destroyed over the city of Odesa alone, added the regional governor. According to Kiper, this is the third Russian airstrike in the region in the last week.

"However, one of the downed drones fell over a residential area in Odesa region and exploded," he said, adding that several houses were affected as a result and the body of the deceased was found in one of them.

Ukraine's air force said that in addition to the drones, its defense systems also destroyed a Russian cruise missile. They said, without giving further details, that Russia had fired an Iskander ballistic missile that "missed" its target.

Russian drones and missiles were shot down last night over Odesa, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Khmelnytskyi regions, the Ukrainian Air Force added.

Reuters was unable to verify these reports with an independent source, nor to specify the total number of drones and missiles Russia had fired overnight.

Putin: We are creating the Leningrad Military District because Finland joined NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia, which had the best relations with Finland, with its entry into NATO, forces the concentration of military units in the Leningrad Military District. This is what Putin said in an interview with Russia-1.

In the interview, Putin drew attention to the good relations between the two countries before, saying that they "had the best, most cordial relations".

"There were no problems. Now there will be, because we will create the Leningrad Military District and concentrate certain military units there," the Russian president emphasized, referring to the consequences of Finland's entry into NATO.

Putin: Biden's remark about a possible Russian plan to attack NATO is "complete nonsense”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that US President Joe Biden's recent statement that Russia would possibly attack a NATO country if it wins in Ukraine is "absolute nonsense". In an interview with Russia-1 television, Putin said that Moscow will not go to war with the NATO military alliance, Reuters reported.

Earlier this month, Biden warned that if Putin were to win Ukraine, then Russia could attack a NATO country. Biden did not provide clear evidence for his remark, the agency noted.

"This is complete nonsense - and I think President Biden understands that," Putin said in the interview, saying it was an attempt by Biden to justify his "wrong policy" toward Russia.

"Russia has no reason, no interest - no geopolitical interest, neither economic, nor political, nor military - to fight with NATO countries," the Russian president stressed.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba praised Scholz's unusual tactics at an EU summit that ended earlier this week

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba praised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unusual tactic at an EU summit that ended earlier this week, a move that enabled talks to begin for Kyiv to join the bloc. DPA reported this, referring to an interview with Kuleba published in today's issue of "Bild am Sonntag".

"What Chancellor Olaf Scholz did at the summit to overcome Hungary's veto threat will go down in history as an act of German leadership in the interests of Europe," Kuleba told the newspaper.

"I can only hope that this also means a broader and irreversible shift in Germany's attitude to leading efforts to solve the most complex issues," he added.

The dispute over the start of Ukraine's EU accession talks was deadlocked until the summit as Hungary blocked the talks. Scholz suggested that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban temporarily leave the meeting to allow other heads of state and government to reach the necessary consensus.

This meant that the Hungarian leader would be able to stick to his position on the talks, which he described as "completely pointless", without blocking them, DPA noted.

For his part, Scholz said after the end of the summit that this diplomatic move was made "by mutual agreement in accordance with our rules".

"This is not something that should always be done," the German chancellor added.

Ukraine removed Raiffeisen from the blacklist, Austria supported sanctions against Russia

Austria has approved the European Union's 12th package of sanctions against Russia after Ukraine removed Raiffeisen Bank International from a blacklist of "international war sponsors", Ukraine's government and an EU diplomat said on Saturday.

Austria had pushed for the bank to be removed from the Ukrainian list, which aims to expose the business decisions and practices of companies that have a market in Russia and thus support the war effort, for example by paying taxes.

The blacklist is not legally binding, but it is not without significance as it increases public pressure on Raiffeisen to leave Russia, something the Austrian bank has said it is willing to do but has yet to do. It could have an impact on the reputation of a given company, and hypothetically on its economic interests, in case of withdrawal and/or boycott of partners, customers or large masses of users.

The list (#InternationalSponsorsOfWar) is monitored daily by the international company LSEG. The listed entities are included in the World-Check database, used worldwide to screen counterparties to protect the financial sector from complicit in Russian war. The ultimate goal is to "reduce Russia's financial and technological ability to kill Ukrainians," according to a description of the list's purpose on the website of Ukraine's National Corruption Prevention Agency.

"Reservations on Austria's sanctions have been removed," an EU diplomat was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"The status has been suspended for the period of bilateral consultations involving representatives of the European Commission," the Ukrainian government's website said regarding Raiffeisen's status as an international war sponsor.

Austria demanded that Raiffeisen be removed from the blacklist in exchange for signing the EU's latest package of sanctions against Russia. Raiffeisen, for its part, said it intended to spin off its Russian business, which provides a payment lifeline for hundreds of companies there, after coming under pressure from international regulators.

Austria, and now officially Hungary, remain the last obstacles to Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area, after the Netherlands gave the green light on Friday evening.

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