Turkey urges Russia, Ukraine to halt Black Sea strikes
Turkey's foreign minister on Saturday called for a "moratorium" on attacks by Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea after a series of attacks on civilian ships there.
Hakan Fidan called for "the setting up of a mechanism allowing a moratorium to be declared" in an interview with Turkey's state news agency Anadolu.
Bulgaria summons Ukrainian ambassador over crashed drone
Bulgaria's foreign minister on Saturday has summoned the Ukrainian ambassador following the crash of an explosives-laden drone in her country close to a strategic pipeline, her office told AFP.
Their meeting will take place on Monday, aides said. Earlier, Bulgaria's defence ministry said the drone that came down near a gas pipeline close to the border with Romania was of a type "widely used" by Ukraine's military.
Ukraine says did not 'intentionally' target Bulgaria after drone crash
Ukraine insisted on Saturday it had not targeted Bulgaria after a drone of a type used by Kyiv's army crashed in the country, promising to explain the circumstances of the incident.
"We are in close contact with the Bulgarian side to clarify the circumstances. We can say with certainty that the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not intentionally direct any assets toward Bulgaria," foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi said.
Drone that exploded in Bulgaria 'widely used' by Ukraine's military, ministry says
An explosives-laden drone that crashed in Bulgaria on Saturday near a strategic gas pipeline was of a type "widely used by the Ukrainian military", Bulgaria's defence ministry said.
"Currently, nothing suggests that this was a deliberate incident," the ministry said in a statement issued after preliminary analysis of the debris from the drone, which was found near Bulgaria's border with Romania.
Russian strikes kill several in Ukraine
At least four people, including a child, were killed in Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv and surrounding regions early Saturday. Moscow has been carrying out near-daily attacks, exploiting Ukraine’s strained air defences.
Meanwhile, Ukraine struck another oil refinery in Russia, as Kyiv continues its campaign of long-range attacks on Russian energy facilities in an effort to fuel a growing fuel crisis. FRANCE 24 correspondent Emmanuelle Chaze tells us more.
Ukraine has 'virtually no intact thermal power plants' ahead of winter due to Russia strikes, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that his war-torn country was left "with virtually no intact thermal power plants" because of Russian strikes as it braced itself for another winter of the invasion.
"We also spoke about the challenges Ukraine faces this winter, when we are left with virtually no intact thermal power plants because of Russian strikes, when Russian missiles are aimed precisely at making the lives of Ukrainians unbearable," Zelensky told reporters in Belgrade speaking alongside Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.
Bulgaria's PM says drone explodes near gas pipeline close to Romanian border
A drone entered Bulgarian airspace on Saturday morning and exploded close to an international gas pipeline shortly after crossing the border from Romania.
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the drone exploded just after 5am about 100 meters (330 feet) inside Bulgarian territory. It was not detected or identified while flying through either Romanian or Bulgarian airspace.
“There are no casualties or damage to buildings. The area has been cordoned off. We continue to monitor the situation,” Radev said following a government emergency meeting.
Radev said the unmanned aerial vehicle exploded around 200 meters from a Romanian compressor station, and about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from Bulgaria’s compressor station on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and strengthen surveillance. Following this incident, we will also redeploy border police anti-drone detection and countermeasure capabilities from the border with Turkey to the border with Romania,” Radev said.
It was unclear where the drone had originated or whether it was linked to Russia or Ukraine.
The drone appeared to have carried a significant amount of explosives given the strength of the blast and the column of black smoke, Stoyanov said, adding that such drones are difficult to detect because of their small size and low flight altitude.
Bulgaria and Romania are both NATO and EU members.
Fire at Russia's Ilsky oil refinery put out after Ukrainian drone attack
A fire at the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region has been extinguished, said local authorities, adding that it had been caused by debris from a Ukrainian drone.
Ukraine's general staff said Ukrainian military hit both the Ilsky and Syzran oil refineries overnight, causing fires at both. The Syzran refinery is in the Samara region further north.
The Samara region's governor, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, said drones targeted an industrial facility there, without identifying the enterprise.
The attacks are part of Ukrainian strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure in what Kyiv says is an effort to deprive Russia of resources to fund its military.
Russia says it struck vessel with weapons for Ukraine east of Odesa, Interfax reports
A Russian military drone struck a cargo ship carrying weapons for the Ukrainian armed forces in the Black Sea east of Odesa on August 7, the Interfax news agency reported on Saturday, citing Russia's Defence Ministry.
It did not give details of any damage. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
- Russian strikes kill four, including a child, in Kyiv region
- Zelensky makes landmark visit to Serbia
- Ukraine hits two Russian oil refineries, Kyiv says
- Bulgaria's PM says drone explodes near gas pipeline close to Romanian border
- Ukraine has 'virtually no intact thermal power plants' ahead of winter due to Russia strikes, Zelensky says
Ukrainians ‘struggling to survive’ Russian overnight strikes
Russia has been targeting Ukrainian civilian targets, making daily life difficult for residents in several towns and cities, says FRANCE 24’s Emmanuelle Chaze reporting from the eastern city of Kharkiv.
“At night people are simply struggling to survive such strikes because Ukrainian air defence struggles to stop Russian missile,” explains Chaze. “Ukraine has a very good record at stopping Russian drones, but the situation hasn’t improved when it comes to stopping Russian missiles.”
Ukraine hits two Russian oil refineries, Kyiv says
Ukrainian military hit Russia's Ilsky and Syzran oil refineries during overnight attacks, causing fires at both, said the Ukrainian general staff.
Ukraine has been hitting Russian oil facilities for months in an attempt to reduce Moscow's economic ability to finance its war.
Zelensky makes landmark visit to Serbia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is holding bilateral talks in Belgrade during his first official visit to Serbia -- a rare European country still closely aligned with Moscow.
The landmark visit comes as Ukraine seeks to bolster international support in the face of intensifying Russian strikes.
Zelensky holds talks with his counterpart Alexander Vucic at the presidential palace today.
Serbia is historically close to Russia and Vucic has refused to sanction Moscow, a move that has irked the EU and slowed Belgrade's path to joining the bloc.
The Ukrainian president arrived in Belgrade Friday and had dinner with Vucic, who repeated this week that he will not change his mind on sanctions, ahead of the talks.
Russian strikes kill four, including a child, in Kyiv region
Russian strikes killed four people including a child in a district northeast of Ukraine's capital, according to regional authorities, as Kyiv warned of incoming ballistic missiles.
Moscow has significantly upped its attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months, typically firing salvos of hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles in short blitzes that rock buildings and send booms echoing across the city.
Three people including a child were killed and three others were wounded in strikes in Brovary district northeast of Kyiv, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration, wrote on Telegram.
Falling debris from the attacks damaged houses and vehicles and caused a fire in a non-residential building, he said.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
