Her government Ukrainian wants to immediately become a member of NATO, that is, not to implement the country’s previous plan for a slow and gradual entry into the organization, which was developed before Russia’s military intervention on February 24, a government official said yesterday.

“Only direct integration” is the option that Kyiv accepts, Olga Stefanishyna, vice-president of the Ukrainian government in charge of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, stressed in Ukrayinska Pravda.

Ukraine has already adopted many military alliance practices, Ms. Stefanyshina said, adding that her country’s armed forces now have military experience, which is not the case with the armed forces of several other North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries.

Russia accused Ukraine of strikes on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

Meanwhile, Russian-appointed authorities in the Ukrainian city of Energodar have again accused Ukrainian troops of shelling the area near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, according to the Russian TASS news agency.

City officials said two shells landed near a nuclear power plant where spent fuel is stored, the agency added.

Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for explosions near the nuclear power plant near the city of Energodar on the Dnieper, raising the risk of a catastrophic accident.

American official: Russian “failures” with UAVs from Iran

Russia has suffered “several setbacks” using Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) it acquired from Tehran this month for use in the war in Ukraine, a US administration official said Monday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained that Washington believes Moscow received the Mohajer-6 and Shahed series aircraft this month. Russia is likely planning to purchase hundreds of such UAVs, he said.

“We estimate that Russia intends to use these Iranian drones, which can conduct air-to-ground attacks, electronic warfare operations and detect targets on the battlefields in Ukraine,” the source added.

In July, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US was informed that Iran was preparing to provide Russia with several hundred unmanned aerial vehicles.

Last month, President Joe Biden’s administration also released satellite photos that it said showed Russian officials visiting Kassan Airport to see Iranian UAVs.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahyan said last month that the Islamic Republic is “cooperating with Russia in various fields, including the defense sector.”

^{Sources: APE-MPE, DPA, REUTERS.}