Ukraine’s Military Says It Shot Down 18 Russian Drones Overnight

A view shows semi-trucks destroyed during a Russian drone strike near Ukraine-Romania border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine October 2, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows semi-trucks destroyed during a Russian drone strike near Ukraine-Romania border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine October 2, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukraine’s Military Says It Shot Down 18 Russian Drones Overnight

A view shows semi-trucks destroyed during a Russian drone strike near Ukraine-Romania border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine October 2, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows semi-trucks destroyed during a Russian drone strike near Ukraine-Romania border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine October 2, 2024. (Reuters)

Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 19 drones in an overnight attack, Ukraine's military said on Tuesday, but the air force shot down 18 drones, and the last returned to Russian territory.

Russian forces used drones and missiles in the attack on the southern region of Odesa, the air force said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said the drone attack on the city of Chornomorsk caused fires on three floors of an apartment building but there were no casualties.

It also set off a fire, now extinguished, at an administrative and production building in Odesa district, he added, while one drone fell in an open area without detonating.

A Russian missile also hit a Palau-flagged vessel in Odesa port on Monday, killing a Ukrainian national and injuring five crew members in the second such attack in as many days, officials said.



NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he considered the sometimes harsh criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be unjustified, news wire DPA reported.
Although Germany has been a vital ally of Ukraine, its hesitation in providing long-range Taurus cruise missiles has been a source of frustration in Kyiv, which is battling a foe armed with a powerful array of long-range weaponry, Reuters reported.
"I have often told Zelenskiy that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz, because I think it is unfair," DPA quoted Rutte on Monday as saying in an interview.
Rutte also said that he, unlike Scholz, would supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and would not set limits on their use.
"In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine," Rutte said, adding that it was not up to him to decide what allies should deliver.
After a November telephone call by Scholz with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in November, Zelenskiy said it had opened a Pandora's box that undermined efforts to isolate the Russian leader and end the war in Ukraine with a "fair peace".