Russia destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched in the direction of Crimea on Saturday morning, the Ministry of Defense of Moscow reports with reference to Russian news agencies. Anti-aircraft systems on the peninsula shot down 14 drones and 6 were neutralized by means of electronic warfare, Russian officials reported.

Ukrainian soldiers on training in the Donetsk regionPhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

Highlights of the war in Ukraine Day 535 LIVETEXT:

07:34 One expert explains why the West is partly to blame for the slow counteroffensive: The US was spending $1 billion a day in Iraq and Afghanistan. John Spencer noted that he was “tired” of hearing opinions about why Ukraine’s counteroffensive is slow.

01:30VIDEO Zelenskyi: We are doing everything to ensure that Ukraine continues to be a guarantor of food security and has access to world markets

01:07 Russia claims to have killed almost 600 Ukrainian soldiers on Friday

A brief summary of recent events:

  • To what extent Romania wants to increase the transit capacity of grain from Ukraine through our country. At the end of the meeting, which took place on Friday in Galata, with the participation of officials from Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, as well as the USA and the EU, Sorin Grindianu announced that after the measures that will be taken in the next period, the amount of grain from Ukraine in transit will increase to Romania up to 4 million tons.
  • Military analyst: Time for Ukraine to risk a major counteroffensive / They have about two months of summer left.
  • Washington Post: Ukrainian F-16 pilot training faces delays and uncertainty. Ukrainians accuse their partners of procrastination.
  • The United States has pledged to provide financial assistance to Ukraine’s neighbors to purchase vessels such as pilot sloops and to facilitate transshipment and cross-border transit of Ukrainian grain.
  • The European Union has delivered 223,800 shells to Ukraine as part of the first phase of a plan to supply one million artillery shells to help Kiev counter Russia, a spokesman said on Friday.
  • Russia launched advanced Kinzhal missiles at the airfield, also targeting Ukrainian pilots who will soon be training on American F-16 fighter jets.
  • The journalist who predicted Prigozhin’s uprising says that he will be killed or staged a coup within the next six months.
  • Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has announced that he will visit China in October, where he may also meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
  • Ukraine begins consultations with Great Britain regarding security guarantees. “Our goal is to conclude the first such agreements by the end of the year,” Andriy Yermak said.
  • Zelenskyi dismissed the heads of all military commissars of Ukraine. The President made this decision due to fear of corruption.
  • A Russian paratrooper made a video message showing the conditions in which elite military personnel of Moscow are kept awaiting evacuation after being wounded.
  • A Ukrainian soldier who lost a leg in the war says untrained soldiers are being sent to the front and regrets volunteering to fight against the Russian invasion
  • The German government is in talks with arms manufacturer MBDA to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles, a security source told Reuters on Friday.

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  • Friday’s events regarding Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro