Day 549 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Kyiv attacked Russian Base in Crimea with Drones

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Day 549 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Ukraine attacked Russian base in Crimea with drones
• Turkey sees no alternative to the grain export agreement from Ukraine
• After the Prigozhin accident: Russia conducts genetic tests on victims
• Two people were killed in Russian shelling of a village in Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast
• Ukraine's ambassador in Berlin: Indecisive support from Western partners hinders the counteroffensive
• Six people were injured during Ukrainian shelling of the village of Urazovo in the Belgorod region
• Ukraine received artillery shells produced jointly with European partners

Ukraine attacked Russian base in Crimea with drones

The mayor of the Russian capital, Sergey Sobyanin, announced that the air defense destroyed a drone over the Istrinsky District. The attack led to the temporary suspension of flights at the main Moscow airports "Vnukovo", "Domodedovo" and "Sheremetyevo". There were no injuries.

According to Ukrainian military intelligence, a Ukrainian drone struck a Russian military base deep in the annexed Crimean peninsula.

Russian sources report on 42 UAVs that were destroyed over Crimea at night. They claim 9 were destroyed and 33 were suppressed by electronic warfare. Several explosions were heard.

Shaykovka airbase which hosts Tu-22 bombers was reportedly attacked by drones. Also a S-200… pic.twitter.com/IEv2vpT81w

— NOELREPORTS ???????? ???????? (@NOELreports) August 25, 2023

Moscow reported on Friday one of the most massive coordinated airstrikes ever carried out by the Ukrainian military against Russian-controlled territory. Russia's defense ministry says 42 drones that attacked Crimea have been shot down, with none reaching their target. The Ukrainian side reports explosions and casualties at the base of the Russian coastal defense brigade in the village of Perevalnoe - the southern part of the Crimean peninsula.

Russia has responded to reports of a request from the United States to Iran to stop selling it drones. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that the joint work of Moscow and Tehran was not affected by hostile attempts by Washington and its satellites. Iran claims it has not sent drones to Russia since the start of the war against Ukraine.

Turkey sees no alternative to the grain export agreement from Ukraine

Turkey sees "no alternative" to the original grain export agreement that Ukraine concluded with Russia. This was stated by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during his visit to Kyiv. He rejected the possibility of alternative routes because, he said, “they carry risks”.

"More than 33 million tons of food grains and food products reached the international markets. We know that alternative routes for the export of grain are currently being sought. But we also see that they cannot be an alternative to the original initiative and they carry risks. Therefore, we will continue to conduct a dialogue with all countries at all levels," said the Turkish foreign minister at a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

Fidan also said that reviving the original deal with Russia is a priority for Turkey.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also spoke with the Turkish foreign minister, described the meeting as important.

"We also talked about the situation that arose due to Russia's vile attacks on grain exports in the Black Sea region. Obviously, these are attacks on global security. They are specifically aimed at provoking crises in different regions of the world. And together with Turkey, we can restore security step by step, as we have repeatedly proven," the Ukrainian president said in his evening video address.

Earlier, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygol said that he expects all procedures for the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement to be finalized as soon as possible.

After the Prigozhin accident: Russia conducts genetic tests on victims

Russia is doing genetic testing on bodies from Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane. Although the Kremlin has already expressed condolences over the death of the Wagner mercenary leader, Putin's spokesman yesterday refused to confirm to reporters whether Prigozhin was on board the crashed plane.

The two "black boxes" have already been discovered. It is not clear whether the practice of involving the aircraft manufacturer in their research will be implemented. In this case, it is the Brazilian "Embraer".

Two people were killed in Russian shelling of a village in Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast

Two people were also killed on Saturday in Russian shelling of a cafe in the village of Podoli in the Kharkiv Oblast, the governor of the Oblast, Oleg Sinegubov, said, as quoted by Reuters.

"The enemy hit a civilian object - a cafe where local residents were during the day," Sinegubov wrote on Telegram.

Podoli was occupied shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. However, the village was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in a counteroffensive in September last year, Reuters recalls.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have been trying to advance along the front line in the Kharkiv Oblast. The Ukrainian army has admitted that fighting there has become more difficult, but says it is holding the front.

Ukraine's ambassador in Berlin: Indecisive support from Western partners hinders the counteroffensive

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, said today that the indecisive military support from the Western partners is one of the reasons for the difficulties in Ukraine's counteroffensive, DPA reported.

"Russia had time to barricade itself," Makeiev said in an interview with German media outlet Deutschlandfunk, which will be published tomorrow, but which DPA has obtained access to. The interview was held on Thursday.

“It took a long time to prepare and equip the Ukrainian assault brigades”, Makeiev said.

These brigades, the Ukrainian ambassador added, are now fully equipped with Western weapons and ammunition. He also drew attention to the debates in Germany about the supply of infantry fighting vehicles and anti-aircraft systems.

Ukraine has no control over the skies over its territory, Makeiev noted. That is why the delivery of F-16 fighters is so important, Makeiev said.

So far, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have pledged to provide F-16s.

As for the German Taurus cruise missiles, Makeiev said that "very pragmatic and substantial negotiations" are underway with the German government, as Ukraine has been seeking such missiles from Berlin for some time. However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far expressed restraint on the matter, as there are concerns that the missiles could reach Russian territory.

When asked about possible peace negotiations with Russia, Makeiev replied: "It is about destruction, and Russia and, unfortunately, the Russian people do not want Ukraine at all, and in this sense one does not enter into negotiations with a willingness to compromise."

"Many partners have already understood this and are not putting pressure on us to start negotiations with Russia now," he added.

At the same time, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiи Reznikov said he was sure Germany would provide Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.

"I am very optimistic and I am sure that in the future we will receive from Germany and Taurus," said Reznikov in an interview published in today's editions of the German newspapers "Bild" and "Welt" and the American publication "Politico".

Six people were injured during Ukrainian shelling of the village of Urazovo in the Belgorod region

Kyiv made another attempt to attack Russian settlements with a drone, and the aircraft was destroyed by Russia's air defense systems over the Belgorod region, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced today, as quoted by TASS.

The agency specified that around 9:00 a.m. Moscow time, an attack attempt with an unmanned aircraft was thwarted, which was destroyed by the on-duty air defense equipment over the territory of the Shebekinsky district in the Belgorod region.

“Ukrainian armed forces subjected the village of Urazovo in the Valuysk city district to shelling with ‘Grad’ shells. The cluster munitions hit private residential buildings and an agricultural shop.

According to specified data, six people were injured”, Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel. He specified that one of the injured is in an extremely serious condition and has damaged internal organs.

Earlier, Gladkov announced that four people were injured - three men and one woman.

Ukraine received artillery shells produced jointly with European partners

The first few thousand 122 mm high-explosive artillery shells with a full charge, produced in partnership with one of the ammunition holdings in Eastern Europe, have been delivered to Ukraine, Ukrinform reported.

They are intended for the D-30 and 2C1 "Gvozdika" artillery systems and effectively hit enemy positions, defense lines and armored vehicles, the company "Ukrainian Armor" announced on Facebook. It noted that "supplying the gunners with such shells is the key to the success of the counteroffensive."

"After reestablishing cooperation ties and uniting component manufacturers from several European countries, we will continue to supply thousands of projectiles of this type to Ukrainian defenders," “Ukrainian Armor” emphasized.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov posted a photo of a Ukrainian-made self-propelled howitzer "Bogdana" used at the front and promised that more such howitzers will be available soon.

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