logo
Russia claims 120 Ukrainian drones downed overnight near border regions

Russia claims 120 Ukrainian drones downed overnight near border regions

Express Tribune2 days ago
Servicemen of the 15th Separate Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine prepare a Shark drone for launching in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, October 30, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS
Listen to article
Russia's anti-aircraft systems downed 120 Ukrainian drones overnight, mostly in regions bordering Ukraine, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday, reporting no damage.
More than three years into the war, Ukraine has increasingly been using drones to attack targets deep inside Russia.
Read More: Untangling the Spider's Web of Ukraine
The Defence Ministry said the drones that were intercepted overnight included 30 over the western Bryansk region, 29 in the Kursk region and 17 in Belgorod - all of which share a border with Ukraine.
Another 18 drones were downed over the Oryol region, which borders Kursk and has been hit by previous Ukrainian drone attacks targeting oil facilities.
Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, said it had lifted restrictions that were introduced overnight to ensure safety due to the drones at airports in St. Petersburg, Kaluga, Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump criticizes Putin after approving more weapons for Ukraine
Trump criticizes Putin after approving more weapons for Ukraine

Business Recorder

time35 minutes ago

  • Business Recorder

Trump criticizes Putin after approving more weapons for Ukraine

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had approved sending U.S. defensive weapons to Ukraine and was considering additional sanctions on Moscow, underscoring his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the growing death toll in Russia's war with Ukraine. Trump, who pledged as a presidential candidate to end the war within a day, has not been able to follow through on that promise and efforts by his administration to broker peace have come up short. Trump directed his ire at Putin on Tuesday during a meeting with cabinet officials at the White House. 'I'm not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now,' Trump said, noting that Russian and Ukrainian soldiers were dying in the thousands. 'We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin … He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,' Trump said Trump says Ukraine will need Patriot missiles for its defense, chides Putin Trump said he was considering whether to support a bill in the Senate that would impose steep sanctions on Russia over the war. 'I'm looking at it very strongly,' he said. The bill, whose lead sponsors are Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, would also punish other countries that trade with Moscow, imposing 500% tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. Defensive weapons against russian advances Trump said on Monday that the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine, primarily defensive ones, to help it defend itself against Russian advances. On Tuesday he said he had approved such a move. 'We're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I've approved that,' he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he had ordered an expansion of contacts with the United States to ensure critical deliveries of military supplies, primarily air defence. 'We currently have all the necessary political statements and decisions and we must implement them as quickly as possible to protect our people and positions,' he said. Europe must 'step up' as US halts some arms to Ukraine: EU chief 'These are critical deliveries that mean saving lives and protecting Ukrainian cities and villages. I expect results from these contacts very soon. And this week, we are preparing formats for meetings of our military and political teams.' Zelenskiy has repeatedly urged Ukraine's Western allies to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow to force the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire as a step towards reaching an end to the war, now 40 months old. A decision by the Pentagon to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv last week that the move would weaken its ability to defend against Russia's intensifying airstrikes and battlefield advances. Trump, who was seated next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was asked on Tuesday who had ordered that pause. 'I don't know. Why don't you tell me?' Trump responded.

Trump says US will send more weapons to Ukraine
Trump says US will send more weapons to Ukraine

Business Recorder

time14 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Trump says US will send more weapons to Ukraine

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine, primarily defensive ones, to help the war-torn country defend itself against intensifying Russian advances. Washington's decision to halt some weapons shipments to Kyiv prompted it to warn the move would crimp its ability to fend off Russia's air strikes and battlefield advances, while drawing criticism from Democrats and some of Trump's fellow Republicans. 'We're going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves,' Trump told reporters at the White House at the start of a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 'They're getting hit very hard now,' he added. Trump says 'probably 12' tariff letters being sent out Monday 'We're going to have to send more weapons, defensive weapons, primarily.' In a statement the US Defense Department later said it would send additional defensive weapons to Ukraine at Trump's direction, to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while efforts continue to secure a lasting peace. The Pentagon said its initiative to evaluate military shipments around the world stayed in effect. On Friday, Trump had told reporters Ukraine would need Patriot missiles to defend itself, but he did not mention them again specifically on Monday. The Pentagon statement gave no details on the weapons to be shipped to Ukraine. After a telephone call with Trump on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had agreed to work on increasing Kyiv's capability to 'defend the sky' as Russian attacks escalated. The leaders had discussed joint defense production, purchases and investments, he added. Ukraine has been asking Washington to sell it more Patriot missiles and systems that it sees as key to defending its cities from intensifying Russian air strikes. Germany said it was in talks on buying Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine to bridge the gap.

The age of AI and its new currency
The age of AI and its new currency

Business Recorder

time15 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

The age of AI and its new currency

In the twentieth century, oil and its accessibility were one of the greatest geopolitical advantages a nation could have. Oil dictated wars, alliances, and the global balance of power. Nations rose or fell, fought or allied, all for a resource buried beneath desert sands and ocean floors. The world today, however, has drastically changed. A critical new resource is subtly redefining international relations—minerals, specifically rare earths, lithium, cobalt, and nickel. These minerals are the driving force behind technologies powering electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and advanced weaponry, making them indispensable to the new global order. Thus, a consequential shift has emerged: critical minerals now dictate global realignments, with nickel, cobalt, lithium, and rare earths forming the new geopolitical currency. China wisely anticipated this transition decades ago. Beijing now processes almost 90 percent of the world's rare-earth elements (REE), controlling nearly three-quarters of global cobalt refining. China also leads global lithium production chains. Securing strategic agreements from Latin America's 'Lithium Triangle' to cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, China has positioned itself securely ahead in a geopolitical race reminiscent of OPEC's dominance over oil markets. The US, in an effort to counterbalance this strategic deficit, seeks to reverse China's dominant position. Trump issued new executive orders to ramp up US domestic production immediately after taking oath, explicitly to limit dependency on Chinese imports; he also aimed to augment economic diplomacy to secure vital minerals abroad. Under President Trump's revived administration, America comes with a renewed international relations doctrine—it is demanding mineral access openly, using executive orders and bilateral agreements to push transactional diplomacy; a stark departure from his predecessors' approach. On 30 April 2025, the US and Ukraine formally signed their anticipated deal centered around minerals. In this minerals-for-investment agreement, the US gained priority access to Ukraine's critical minerals in exchange for capital and reconstruction support. Despite Kyiv's initial demand for security guarantees, the finalized pact provided none. The Ukrainian parliament unanimously ratified the deal, wishfully thinking higher US commercial stakes would bolster lasting peace and deter Russian aggression; none of that has happened so far. The deal, nevertheless, symbolizes a broader shift in US foreign policy under Trump: strategic support framed as commercial engagement, with direct diplomacy toward adversaries like Russia substituting for traditional alliance obligations. Since then, Ukraine has approved bidding for its major Dobra lithium field, involving US-backed firms such as TechMet and Ronald Lauder. Yet Ukraine's requests for Patriot air defence systems remain unanswered, with Trump indicating these may be sold rather than donated. At their NATO summit meeting on June 25, Zelensky proposed drone co-production with American companies, but Trump offered no concrete assurances, citing limited Patriot supplies allocated to Israel. Following Ukraine, Trump has also begun to look eastward, while countries quietly rework their strategies. Some countries are deepening ties with Washington to hedge against China's dominance yet remain skeptical of Trump's reluctance to offer security guarantees. Others are revamping their supply chains to prepare for the AI age. The Philippines, for example, is emerging as the next frontier for Trump's minerals-first foreign policy. Manila is pursuing approval of a sectoral FTA focused on critical minerals, particularly nickel. Currently, over 90% of its nickel exports go to China. Japan is deepening its role in the global EV supply chain through domestic investments — such as a US$143 million lithium-sulfide battery facility — and new extraction plans for seabed cobalt and nickel near Minami-Torishima. South Korea, meanwhile, is institutionalizing its mineral diplomacy by backing joint ventures in Africa, including a US$40 million graphite project in Tanzania under the Minerals Security Partnership. Both countries remain vital to US supply chain goals, yet neither is deemed critical enough to warrant formal US security guarantees—revealing a strategic asymmetry. Taiwan, the backbone of the global semiconductor supply chain, now faces dual pressure under Trump's second term. Washington is pushing for deeper TSMC-Intel partnerships to relocate chip production to US soil; TSMC has pledged over $100 billion for its Arizona 'Fab 21' facility to avoid tariffs, with Trump hailing it as proof of his reshoring doctrine. Prior to the latest U.S.-Taiwan Defence Industry Forum—led by former Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and contractors like Lockheed Martin—the Pentagon had notably declined to comment after Taiwan publicly affirmed US defence cooperation. The forum instead emphasized drone co-production, unmanned systems, and calls for Taiwan to increase its own defense spending. This reflects a growing Trump-era pattern: strategic economic integration without military guarantees, and a Ukraine-style push for allied rearmament absent alliance commitments. Pakistan also finds itself pressed into this uneasy environment; possessing mineral reserves estimated at over $3 billion in Gilgit-Baltistan alone. This figure, however, is just a glimpse of what lies beneath; the country has flaunted its much larger potential—nearly $6 trillion in mineral resources—at international investment forums aimed at attracting global capital. Weeks before recent Indian escalations along the northern border, Trump's administration explicitly expressed direct interest in Pakistan's minerals, notably in Gilgit-Baltistan and the Reko Diq copper-gold project. Canadian giant Barrick Gold, with significant US financing, recently finalized a US$440 million deal with Japanese manufacturer Komatsu to deliver mining equipment beginning in 2026—marking Komatsu's first major placement in the region and accompanied by a US$100 million service and maintenance hub in Karachi. Although Pakistan has yet to sign a formal bilateral mineral agreement with Washington, Trump's approach departs sharply from previous White House administrations. This divergence became pronounced on June 19, when Trump hosted Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, for an unprecedented White House lunch. Trump publicly praised Pakistan's role in defusing tensions with India and for capturing the Abbey Gate bombing suspect, yet stopped short of offering any explicit security guarantees or alliance framework. Privately, critical minerals, crypto initiatives, and tariff incentives reportedly dominated the discussion. Just days later, both countries agreed to finalize a bilateral trade framework that includes preferential access for Pakistani exports and U.S. participation in mining projects such as Reko Diq — reportedly backed by Ex-Im Bank financing of up to US$1 billion. Previous American administrations leveraged such overtures into broader security arrangements—deterring India through quiet diplomatic assurances—while Trump is currently seeking economic deals alone. His team continues to advance a Saudi minerals strategy as well. In May, California-based MP Materials signed a joint venture with Saudi Arabia's Maaden to establish a vertically integrated rare-earth magnet supply chain. Saudi Arabia—eager to diversify away from oil—offers the US a low-regulation environment and refining expertise. Meanwhile, India seizes the opportunity created by American ambiguity. Beyond traditional military aggression, India has weaponized water infrastructure upstream, strategically choking Pakistan's critical rivers. In this environment, Pakistan urgently needs more than transactional diplomacy — it needs credible partners willing to balance economic access with strategic reliability. Pakistan must strategically leverage its minerals in this new world without optical delusions. Islamabad must realize America under Trump seeks profitable clients rather than strategic allies. Pakistan's foreign policy should maturely recognize this distinction. Selling mineral rights or permitting investment offers short-term economic gains, but Pakistan must rely on more than economic transactions alone for security guarantees against aggressive neighbors. Pakistan faces two strategic choices. It can engage cautiously with Trump's transactional America — accepting investments, securing market access, and hedging against security risks. Alternatively, Islamabad's stance could revolve around deeper multilateral integration, drawing Pakistan closer to Western-led initiatives involving governance reforms, transparency standards, and broader strategic commitments, thus balancing existing ties with China. Both paths carry risks, yet indecision carries the greatest peril. Minerals have become the oil of the 21st century, and Pakistan, by virtue of its strategic location, sits squarely in the middle of this race. Its reaffirmation of CPEC, recent coordination with Beijing ahead of the SCO summit, and outreach to both Washington and Riyadh all reflect an uneasy calculus: how to remain indispensable without becoming dispensable. Pakistan's strategic ambiguity may have worked in an era of oil diplomacy, but today's mineral politics demand decisive clarity. Islamabad must understand this new game clearly—transactional diplomacy without security guarantees leaves nations susceptible. A resource-rich country can quickly find itself isolated, economically exploited, and strategically stranded. In a world increasingly shaped by minerals rather than oil, Pakistan's path forward must be defined by wise alignments, carefully chosen partners, and clear-eyed realism. The future demands no less. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store