4.25pm
Assad to Putin: “support a special operation”
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, during his meeting in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin, confirmed his support for the Russian war in Ukraine. And the Syrian president said, according to what was reported by the RIA Novosti agency, “I want to seize this opportunity, because it is my first visit (since the beginning of the war), and I repeat the Syrian position in support of the special operation.”
4.20pm
Moscow has a plan to rule Moldova by 2030.
Moscow has developed a strategy to destabilize Moldova, bringing it under its political control and isolating it from Western partners by 2030, according to an internal strategy document from Putin’s presidential administration obtained by a consortium of media outlets, including Suddeutsche Zeitung and Yahoo News. The text, which was drafted in 2021, comes from the same “Presidential Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation” that produced a similar strategy on Belarus. The ultimate goal by 2030 is to “create stable pro-Russian influence groups in Moldova’s political and economic elites”.
3:22 p.m
Austin in Moscow: ‘We will not stop flying where it is allowed’
This dangerous episode is part of a pattern of aggressive, risky and unsafe actions by Russian pilots in international airspace. Let me be clear, the United States will continue to fly and operate wherever international law allows. It is up to Russia to use its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner ”: this is the warning issued by Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin at the opening of the 10th meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine, commenting on the collision between a Russian aircraft and an American drone in the Black Sea.
15:02
Moscow: “We will try to recover the American drone”
The Secretary of the National Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, said that Russia will try to recover the remains of the American drone that crashed yesterday in the Black Sea. “I don’t know if we will be able to, but we have to try,” the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Patrushev as saying.
1:21 p.m
The White House: “A US drone may never be recovered”
White House spokesman John Kirby told CNN that the US MQ-9 reconnaissance drone that crashed in the Black Sea has not been recovered and may never be recovered. “It hasn’t been recovered. I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to recover it. It fell into the Black Sea, very deep water. So we’re still evaluating if there is some kind of recovery effort. There may not be,” Kirby said. “We did our best to minimize any intelligence value that could be achieved if someone else got their hands on that drone,” he added.
1:18 p.m
Media: “The American drone shot down by the Russians has left Romania”
The American MQ-9 Reaper drone took off from Romania and was flying at an altitude of about 7,500 meters over the Black Sea when it was intercepted by Russian aircraft. Several media outlets reported on this, including the New York Times and ABC News, which quoted a US Air Force official. Drones of this type usually take off from NATO bases in Cambia Turzi (Romania), Larissa (Greece) and Signonella (Italy).
1:15 p.m
Head of the Russian 007: “We know very well our goals in the Black Sea”
“We are carrying out reconnaissance activity in the Black Sea region, using various technologies. Russia knows very well what intelligence targets we are pursuing in the Black Sea region.” This was stated by the head of Russian intelligence, quoting TASS, after a Russian plane collided with an American drone yesterday.
1:08 p.m
Drone crash, EU: “It’s a bilateral affair between the US and Russia”
The accident that occurred in the Black Sea between an American drone and a Russian plane is a “bilateral issue” between two countries. This was stated by a spokesperson for the European Commission when questioned about the matter. “We stress that this would not have happened if Moscow had not invaded Ukraine and that this is not the first incident involving the Russian army,” he added.
1:07 p.m
Putin: “We will increase economic freedom in response to sanctions”
“We will respond to all the actions of our opponents against Russian companies by expanding economic freedom,” he added. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing the Interfax agency.
1:06 p.m
Putin: “Russia is doing a great job in producing new weapons”
Russia is doing a great deal of work to build new weapons production capabilities. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing TASS.
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