DIRECT. War in Ukraine: drone attack “very close” to the Romanian border, another in Odessa

Attacks targeting Ukraine took place “very close” to the border with Romania, the president of this member country of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) said yesterday, the day after the fall of drones Russian explosives on the Danube.

“We had attacks (…) which were recorded 800 m from our border. So very, very close, ”said Klaus Iohannis, during a press conference alongside Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

Since the suspension in July of the agreement which allowed Ukraine to export its cereals via the Black Sea, Russia has increased its bombardments in the south-western region of Ukraine bordering the Romania, where there are ports and other key infrastructure for this trade.

One person was killed by a Russian drone attack on the Odessa region in southern Ukraine, local governor Oleg Kiper announced, adding that port and agricultural infrastructure was damaged. Russian forces “attacked the Izmail district with drones” for “nearly three hours”. “Unfortunately, one person died.” The river port of Izmail, on the Danube, has become one of the main exit routes for Ukrainian agricultural products since Russia ended in July the grain agreement that allowed Ukraine to freely export through the black Sea.

Saint Sophia’s Cathedral and monastic buildings in Kiev are to join the list of world heritage in danger in mid-September, as is the historic center of Lviv (West), due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, announced yesterday the director of the UNESCO World Heritage (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). “These sites are threatened with destruction. There have been attacks in the buffer zones of these sites and it is not known what will happen in the future,” explained Lazare Eloundou.

A civilian was killed yesterday in the bombardment, attributed to Ukrainian forces, of a Russian village bordering Ukraine, announced the governor of the Belgorod region. This region of western Russia has in recent months been the target of artillery fire, drones and armed incursions by pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters. “As a result of a new shelling of the village of Kozinka in the Graivoron district, a civilian died,” the governor said on Telegram.

“Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday visited brigades carrying out offensive actions in the Bakhmout area,” the Ukrainian presidency said in a statement. He listened to the officers’ “reports” on the situation in their areas of responsibility and discussed their “needs”, particularly in terms of ammunition for artillery and anti-aircraft defence.