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2 in NATO: Russia Drones Violated Space09/09 06:15
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Two NATO members said Sunday that Russian drones
violated their airspace, as one reportedly flew into Romania during nighttime
attacks on neighboring Ukraine while another crashed in eastern Latvia the
previous day.
A drone entered Romanian territory early Sunday as Moscow struck "civilian
targets and port infrastructure" across the Danube in Ukraine, Romania's
Ministry of National Defense reported. It added that Bucharest had deployed
F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace and issued text alerts to residents of
two eastern regions.
It also said investigations were underway of a potential "impact zone" in an
uninhabited area along the Romanian-Ukrainian border. There were no immediate
reports of casualties or damage.
Later on Sunday, Latvia's Defense Minister Andris Sprds said a Russian
drone fell the day before near the town of Rezekne, and had likely strayed into
Latvia from neighboring Belarus.
Rezekne, home to over 25,000 people, lies some 55 kilometers (34 miles) west
of Russia and around 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Belarus, the Kremlin's close
and dependent ally.
While the incursion into Latvian airspace appeared to be a rare incident,
Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions
since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, as recently as July this year.
Mircea Geoan, NATO's outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romania's
former top diplomat, said Sunday morning that the military alliance condemned
Russia's violation of Romanian airspace. "While we have no information
indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are
irresponsible and potentially dangerous," he wrote on the social media platform
X.
Latvia's military on Sunday similarly said there were no indications that
Moscow or Minsk purposely sent a drone into the country. In a public statement,
the military said it had identified the crash site, and that a probe was
ongoing.
Sprds, the Latvian defense minister, sought to downplay the significance
of the drone incursion.
"I can confirm that there are no victims here and also no property is
infringed in any way," Defense Minister Andris Sprds told the Latvian Radio
on Sunday, adding that any risks in the event were immediately eliminated: "Of
course, it is a serious incident, as it is once again a reminder of what kind
of neighboring countries we live next to."
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the incursions "a reminder
(that) the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation go beyond Ukraine's
borders."
"The collective response of the Allies should be maximum support for Ukraine
now, to put an end to (Russian aggression), protect lives and preserve peace in
Europe," Sybiha said in a post on X.
Civilians reported killed in Ukraine
In Ukraine, two civilians died and four more suffered wounds in a nighttime
Russian airstrike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military
administration reported. Two children were among those wounded, the
administration said. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed later on Sunday that
its forces struck foreign pro-Kyiv fighters in a village on Sumy's northern
outskirts. It was not immediately clear whether this was a reference to the
same attack.
Also on Sunday, Ukraine's General Staff said that Russian troops continued
to pound Sumy and the surrounding regions with airstrikes, and had lobbed at
least 16 devastating "glide bombs" at the province by mid-afternoon. Russian
forces shelled the city again during the day Sunday, wounding a teenager and a
civilian man, the regional prosecutor's office reported.
Three more women died Sunday after Russian forces shelled a village in the
eastern Donetsk region, Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported on the Telegram messaging
app. Separately, Russian shelling killed a woman on the outskirts of Kharkiv,
Ukraine's second city in the northeast, local authorities said.
Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 58 from the massive Russian missile strike
that on Tuesday blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in the eastern
city of Poltava, regional Gov. Filip Pronin reported. More than 320 others were
wounded.
Since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the
Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to smash civilian targets,
sometimes killing scores of people in a single attack.
Russian forces continued their monthlong grinding push toward the city of
Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove farther south,
Ukraine's General Staff reported.
Russia's Defense Ministry said Sunday its troops had taken Novohrodivka, a
small town some 19 kilometers (11 miles) southeast of Pokrovsk. An update
published Saturday evening by DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site,
said Russian forces had "advanced" in Novohrodivka and captured Nevelske, a
village in the southeast of the Pokrovsk district.
Pokrovsk, which had a prewar population of about 60,000, is one of Ukraine's
main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its
capture would compromise Ukraine's defense and supply routes, and would bring
Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region.
Berlin raises prospect of peace talks with Russia
Also on Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he and Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agree that Moscow should be included in a future
peace conference aimed at ending its invasion of Ukraine.
"There will certainly be a further peace conference, and the president
(Zelenskyy) and I agree that it must be one with Russia present," Scholz told
Germany's ZDF public television.
A previous peace conference June 15-16 in Switzerland ended with 78
countries expressing support for Ukraine's "territorial integrity" but
otherwise left the path forward unclear. Russia did not participate.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy did not immediately comment on Scholz's remarks, but
said in a video address Sunday that he had held "important negotiations" with
the German leader and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He did not give
details.
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