The war in Ukraine has been raging for 504 days. The Russian army attacked Kyiv using drones for the second night in a row. The US Institute for the Study of War speculates that the series of attacks could be a response to the NATO Summit that is currently taking place in Vilnius. Germany informed the UN about its discovery of traces of subsea explosives in connection with the Nord Stream explosion case. Russia and Belarus plan to begin creating a joint media holding in 2023. Russian citizens withdrew 100 bln rubles in cash from banks amidst the PMC Wagner rebellion.
This is what happened in the early hours of 12 July — Novaya-Europe reports on the main news of the night.
Kyiv attacked by drones second night in row
Kyiv and the Kyiv region were subjected to an air attack with the use of drones in the early hours of 12 July, as per the city authorities.
An air raid alarm continued to sound for over two hours. It was reported that Shahed UAVs had been detected. All the enemy targets in the Kyiv region airspace were detected and destroyed by air defence, the Kyiv region military administration statement reads.
During the night, the Ukrainian territory was attacked by 15 Shahed drones, Ukraine’s Air Force command reports. Eleven of them were shot down. The drones were launched from the direction of Russia’s Kursk, according to the command.
In the Cherkasy region, a drone hit an uninhabited infrastructure facility, the head of the regional military administration Ihor Taburets said. A fire erupted, it was liquidated. Two burn victims were hospitalised.
The US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in its daily bulletin that the day before the Russian forces had carried out a series of Shahed drone attacks on Ukraine, likely as a way to respond to the 2023 NATO Summit taking place in Vilnius and to threaten the grain deal.
Yesterday, 11 July, Ukraine’s General Staff declared that the Ukrainian troops had shot down 26 out of 28 Russian drones launched from the Krasnodar region. Ukraine’s Operational Command South reported that the Russian forces had tried to target the grain terminal in the Odesa region: two drones hit the administration building with the purpose of undermining the grain deal.
Nord Stream explosions: Germany reports to UN about finding traces of subsea explosives in samples
Germany said to have found traces of subsea explosives in the samples from the yacht that was allegedly used to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Reuters reports.
After a series of explosions rocked the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden began conducting separate investigations. They have now shared the gathered information ahead of the UN Security Council meeting, convened by representatives of Russia who had lamented not being kept up to date with the investigations.
Germany, Denmark, and Sweden noted that none of the investigations have been concluded yet, and it’s impossible to say at the moment when they will be. Germany said to be investigating the suspicious charter of the yacht that had been rented in a way to “hide the identity of the real charterer”.
Germany suspects that the sailing yacht could have been used for transport of explosives used to blow up the Nord Stream pipelines. As per experts’ estimates, “trained divers could have attached explosives at the points where damage occurred to the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which are laid on the seabed at a depth of approx. 70 to 80 metres.”
Photo: Gazprom
Russia and Belarus to begin creating Union State media holding in 2023
Russia and Belarus plan to lay down the foundation of the Union State media holding in 2023, Russia’s state news agency TASS reports, citing the Russian Ministry of Digital Development. However, the ministry clarified that a decision by the Higher State Council of the Union State would be required to solve a series of issues in regards to the creation of the holding. The meeting of the council will take place in 2024.
The plan for the media holding creation has already been agreed upon by the relevant ministries. The Digital Development Ministry notes that consultations with other state bodies will need to occur, too.
Yesterday, 11 July, Belarusian Minister of Information Vladimir Pertsov said that the joint media company would unite all resources of the Union State.
Vladimir Putin and Alyaksandar Lukashenka
Russians withdraw 100 bln rubles in cash amidst Prigozhin’s rebellion
The Russian Central Bank analytical report has shown the growth of demand on cash in Russia in June: 100 billion rubles (€1 billion) were withdrawn during the days of rebellion attempted by PMC Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
According to the report, 0.1 trillion rubles were taken out in cash during 23-25 June.
The report states that it did not significantly impact the current monetary policy of the Russian Bank. Still, the regulator noted that it was the most noticeable surge in demand on cash since the mobilisation announcement last September.
