Day: May 8, 2023

Ukrainian officials and media reported a series of Russian drone and missile attacks in the early hours of Monday, sparking air raid sirens sounding across the country.

The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down 35 kamikaze drones over Kiev alone. Authorities in the capital said falling debris injured five people and damaged an apartment block along with approximately 20 vehicles. In addition, a diesel tank was punctured, although this did not lead to a fire, officials said.

Citing military sources, Ukrainian media reported that at around midnight local time, Russian Air Force bombers launched eight missiles, at least one of which struck a warehouse in Odessa Region.

The head of the local military command, Yuri Kruk, said Monday morning’s bombardment caused a massive fire, and that one person is unaccounted for.

Commenting on the overnight strikes, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official in Russia's Zaporozhye Region, claimed on his Telegram channel that a missile strike had destroyed an ammunition depot used by the Ukrainian military.

Ukrainian media have also reported explosions in the Chernigov and Dnepropetrovsk Regions, as well as the city of Zaporozhye.

Source: Russia Today

Mass rallies in Belgrade and Novi Sad on Monday demanded the government take take action after 17 people – including eight children – died in two mass shootings last week. Opposition activists used the protest to demand the resignations of more government officials, after the education minister’s exit.

Demonstrators marched through the streets of the capital under the slogan “Serbia against violence.” Activists who claimed to speak on their behalf called for “ending the promotion of violence in the media and in public,” sacking the current media regulatory body, and censoring certain media outlets.

Last Wednesday a 13-year-old student at Belgrade’s Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School fatally shot eight of his classmates and a security guard, while wounding six more students and a teacher. On Thursday evening, eight more people were killed and 14 wounded in the nearby municipality of Mladenovac. The suspected shooter was arrested after an eight-hour manhunt.

Education minister Branko Ruzic resigned on Sunday. The activists also demanded the resignations of police minister Bratislav Gasic and director of the BIA security service Aleksandar Vulin.

President Aleksandar Vucic has already proposed a set of measures, including the confiscation of unregistered guns, tighter controls on firearm licensing, and a crackdown on media and online content that promotes or glorifies violence.

In an interview on Monday evening, Vucic accused opposition parties of hijacking the Serbians’ grief to further their own agenda, calling them “the worst dregs of politics, just like in 2000,” in reference to the US-backed color revolution.

The most outspoken protesters were “openly anti-Serb,” Vucic said on Happy TV – one of the outlets the opposition wants censored.

“Children are on social media, they play odd [video] games,” he said. “We have to find a solution, but I won’t agree to any kind of censorship.” Vucic also doubted that reality shows were the root cause of violence, since their main audience was 55 and older, but added he was willing to look into regulating them more.

Serbian police have announced a month-long amnesty for turning in illegal weapons, which will run through June 8. On the first day of the campaign, citizens turned in 1,500 firearms, almost 50,000 rounds of ammunition, and about 100 hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and other explosive devices, police said in a statement.

Source: Russia Today

Italy’s foreign ministry in Kiev has advised its citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, citing “increasingly heavy missile attacks” from Russia in a message posted to the Viaggiare Sicuri website on Monday.

“Compatriots still in Ukraine are strongly advised to use the means still available, including trains, to leave the country immediately, at times when the curfew is not in force,” the message reads, warning that missile attacks have been recorded both “in Kiev and throughout Ukraine.”

“Extreme caution is advised. All travel to Ukraine, in any capacity, is strongly discouraged,” it added. Viaggiare Sicuri is operated by the Crisis Unit of the Farnesina – Italy’s foreign ministry.

The country recalled its non-essential staff from the Ukrainian embassy last year when Russia began its military operation, pointedly urging Italians to avoid the Donetsk and Lugansk regions and Crimea.

Donetsk and Lugansk have since been incorporated into Russia following referendums, while Crimea voted to become part of the country in 2014.

Ukraine reported several Russian drone and missile attacks early Monday morning, claiming it shot down 35 kamikaze drones over Kiev, while Russian Air Force bombers reportedly launched eight missiles in the direction of Odessa Region. Explosions in Chernigov and Dnepropetrovsk Regions – as well as the city of Zaporozhye – have also been reported.

While Ukraine prepares to launch a much-touted counteroffensive, its allies are reportedly concerned about Russian retaliation for attacks on Crimea, with some Western politicians reportedly suggesting Kiev leave the peninsula alone. Ukrainian drones have reportedly struck several targets there in the last week.

Source: Russia Today

Russia is using bombs fitted with wings to bypass Ukraine’s air defenses and pummel forces assembling for the much-heralded spring offensive, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. Kiev is citing this new development to once again demand F-16 fighters from the West.

“Russia’s newest weapon is changing the course of Ukraine war,” the Telegraph headline proclaimed, referring to glide bombs such as the FAB-500. Kiev officials have estimated that the Russian Air Force is using at least 20 such bombs per day.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat said the weapon has been used “intensely” for the past month, and described it as a “serious threat.”

According to Ignat, the use of glide bombs means Moscow is “running low” on cruise missiles after “failing to take control of the skies over Ukraine.” The Telegraph explained that the bombs outrange Ukrainian tactical air defenses, which have been moved to the frontline to support the much-anticipated offensive.

Ignat told reporters last week that Kiev was powerless to stop the bombs and pleaded for the US and its allies to send F-16 fighters. He repeated that plea to The Telegraph on Sunday.

“Just one or two would be enough to deter them, because the Russians would see that a couple of these things are in the air and they would avoid approaching,” he said.

For several days in a row now, Russia has used cruise missiles and drones in waves of strikes on Ukrainian railheads, fuel and ammunition depots, and troop concentration areas for several days. Tactical drones have also been reported picking off Ukrainian air defenses along the frontline. Several US military experts have also noted the increased use of glide bombs recently, predicting increased Russian aerial superiority as Ukraine’s air defenses continue to deteriorate.

This poses a challenge to Kiev’s plans for a spring offensive, according to Justin Crump of the British intelligence consultancy company Sibylline. The troops and tanks brought up to the front line for the anticipated attack need to be scattered to avoid damage from the airstrikes, but would have to assemble very quickly once it is time to advance.

“Dispersion and rapid concentration of force is vital in this environment,” Crump told the Telegraph.

According to Western officials, Ukraine has put together at least nine NATO-trained brigades and several hundred armored vehicles provided by the US, UK, Germany and France, in preparation for a massive attack, speculated to be aimed at Crimea. Kiev has repeatedly postponed the offensive, however, citing weather concerns and equipment shortages, while Western governments have sought to manage expectations in case of its failure.

Source: Russia Today

Qatar said that its position on normalizing relations with the Syrian regime remains 'unchanged.' On Sunday, the Cairo-based Arab League decided to reinstate Syria's membership after 12 years of suspension. 'The official position of the State of Qatar on normalization with the Syrian regime is a decision linked primarily to progress in the political solution that fulfills the aspirations of the Syrian people,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed bin Mohammad al-Ansari said in statements carried by state news agency QNA. 'Qatar always seeks to support achieving Arab consensus and will not be an obstacle to that,' he added. Qatar has been a vocal critic of the Bashar al-Assad regime since the outbreak of the country's civil war in 2011. Last month, Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that his country's boycott of the Syrian regime remains in place. Qatar aspires to 'work with the Arab brothers to achieve the aspirations of the Syrian people for dignity, peace, development and prosperity,' al-Ansari said. Qatar is hopeful of 'this consensus to be a motive for the Syrian regime to address the roots of the crisis that led to its boycott and take positive steps towards addressing the issues of the Syrian people,' he added. The decision to reinstate Syria's membership in the Arab League comes ahead of the annual Arab summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19. Syria was suspended from the 22-state body in 2011 over the regime's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, which led to a civil war. The Syrian regime, however, began to exchange official visits and contacts with several Arab countries in recent months. *Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara

Source: Anadolu Agency

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Sunday boycotted a weekly Cabinet meeting in protest of government policies. Ben-Gvir, along with two ministers of his hardline Jewish Strength Party, said he will not attend Cabinet meetings to protest a decision by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to return the bodies of three Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks against Israeli forces, according to Yedioth Ahronoth daily. The far-right official also rejected a decision by the Israeli government to release Jordanian lawmaker Imad Adwan, who was arrested last month for allegedly attempting to smuggle weapons by his car into the West Bank. "This government is a right-wing government and the public did not give us a mandate to return the bodies of terrorists or to refrain from bombing Gaza. It is not too late to lead a powerful and offensive security policy," Ben-Gvir said. Ben-Gvir's absence from the government meeting was the latest development of the crisis between the far-right minister and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Thursday, Ben-Gvir announced that his party, which has six lawmakers in the 120-member Knesset, will not vote on the government decisions as a sign of protest against the Cabinet policies. Ben-Gvir was particularly angry with what he considered a weak response by the Israeli army to rocket fire from Gaza following the death of a Palestinian hunger striker in an Israeli prison last week. *Writing by Ahmed Asmar Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Trkiye's Istanbul Airport has been ranked the busiest in Europe with an average of 1,446 daily flights, the European Air Navigation Safety Organization (EUROCONTROL) said in its latest Air Traffic Operations Report covering the April 26-May 2 period. It was followed by Amsterdam with 1,314 daily flights, London Heathrow with 1,272 flights, Paris-Charles de Gaulle with 1,245 flights and Frankfurt with 1,194 flights. While 28,204 flights were carried out daily across Europe, this figure corresponded to 92% of the 2019 level before the COVID-19 outbreak. Istanbul Airport and Palma de Mallorca Airport, which serves Majorca, Spain's largest island, were the two airports that passed the 2019 levels among the top 10 in 2023. Istanbul Airport ranked first, increasing the number of daily flights by 21% compared to 2019 and 24% compared to 2022. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines ranked third among the airlines with the most daly flights in Europe with 1,521. *Writing by Gokhan Ergocun

Source: Anadolu Agency

Voting has ended in most European countries, as well as in the US and Canada, for Trkiye's upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. Polling stations at Turkish diplomatic missions in many European countries, and the US and Canada closed as of 9 p.m. local time on Sunday, while it will continue in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, and Luxembourg on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time. Voting closed in Albania, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. Around 127,000 voters registered in the UK cast their votes at the ballot boxes set up in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Leicester on April 29-May 7. As many as seven polling stations were set up in the US for April 29-May 7 at diplomatic missions, including the Turkish Embassy in Washington, and consulates in New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, and Los Angeles. Also, some 1,392 registered voters in South Africa cast their votes at the ballot boxes in Pretoria and Cape Town on May 6-7. As of Sunday, over 1.6 million Turkish citizens living abroad had cast their votes to elect the country's new president and parliamentary representatives, according to the Supreme Election Board. Voting in Trkiye itself will take place on May 14. Voters will choose between four presidential hopefuls: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking reelection, main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, along with Muharrem Ince and Sinan Ogan. Meanwhile, 24 political parties and 151 independent candidates are vying for seats in the 600-member Turkish parliament.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Celtic on Sunday won the 2023 Scottish Premiership title with four matches to spare. The Glasgow club beat Hearts 2-0 with second-half goals scored by Kyogo Furuhashi and Oh Hyeon-gyu to be the back-to-back Scottish champions, and Celtic won it for the 53rd time in history. Hearts were down to 10 men after Alex Cochrane was shown a red card in the 45th minute. Winners Celtic have 95 points in 34 matches to go 13 points clear of Rangers. Celtic's archrivals Rangers are the record holders, winning 55 Scottish titles. In the next fixture, Celtic will visit Rangers at Ibrox Stadium on May 13, but next weekend's derby will be irrelevant for this season's Scottish champions.

Source: Anadolu Agency