Putin attends scaled-down Navy Day after drone attack
St Petersburg usually holds a large-scale, televise parade on Navy Day, which features a flotilla of warships and military vessels sailing down the Neva River but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed this year's parade had been cancelled.
Putin arrived at the city's historic naval headquarters on Sunday by patrol speed boat, from where he followed drills involving more than 150 vessels and 15,000 military personnel in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and Baltic and Caspian Seas.
"Today we are marking this holiday in a working setting, we are inspecting the combat readiness of the fleet," Putin said in a video address.
The Russian Defence Ministry said air defence units downed a total of 291 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones on Sunday, below a record 524 drones downed in attacks on May 7, ahead of Russia's Victory Day parade on May 9.
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region surrounding St Petersburg, said more than ten drones were downed over the area, and falling debris injured a woman.
St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport was closed during the attack, with 57 flights delayed and 22 diverted to other airports, according to a statement. Pulkovo resumed operations later on Sunday.
Russian blogger Alexander Yunashev, part of an official group of reporters travelling with Peskov, said Peskov had told him their flight from Moscow to St Petersburg had been delayed by the drone attack for two hours on Sunday.
Russia continued to batter Ukraine with drone and missile strikes Sunday.
In Sumy in Ukraine's northeast, a drone attack damaged civil infrastructure objects, an administrative building and non-residential premises, leaving three people wounded. Elsewhere in the region, two men died after being blown up by a landmine and another woman was injured from a drone attack on another community in the region, the regional military administration said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Sunday via social media for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to uphold independent anti-corruption bodies.
Von der Leyen also said in a post on X, made after a call with Zelenskiy, that support would continue for Ukraine on its path to EU membership.
with AP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AU Financial Review
an hour ago
- AU Financial Review
US, China negotiators meet in Stockholm to extend trade truce
Beijing | US and Chinese officials are meeting on Monday to extend their tariff détente beyond a mid-August deadline, and haggle over other ways to further defuse trade tensions. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will lead the delegations for two days Stockholm — their third meeting in less than three months. The agenda includes discussions about how long the current tariff truce can be extended, as well as US levies tied to fentanyl trafficking and Chinese purchases of sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Thailand, Cambodia to hold talks to end deadly clashes
The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will attend mediation talks over their deadly border conflict in Malaysia, even as both sides accused each other of launching fresh artillery strikes across contested areas. Talks are scheduled to begin at 5pm AEST, with acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai leading the Thai negotiating team, the government announced in a statement. Malaysia, which chairs the ASEAN regional co-operation forum, has informed the Thai government that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet would also be attending the talks, the statement said. Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have intensified since the late-May killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief border skirmish. Border troops on both sides were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. Hostilities resumed on Thursday and, within just four days, escalated into the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in more than a decade. The death toll has risen above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia, while authorities report that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from border areas. Monday's talks come after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last week proposed a ceasefire and US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the two leaders had agreed to work on a ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said State Department officials were in Malaysia to assist peace efforts. "We want this conflict to end as soon as possible," he said. Bangkok and Phnom Penh have each accused the other side of sparking last week's hostilities. Cambodia's Defence Ministry said Thailand had shelled and launched ground assaults on Sunday morning at a number of points along the border. The ministry's spokesperson said heavy artillery was fired at historic temple complexes. The Thai army said Cambodian forces had fired shots into several areas, including near civilian homes, on Sunday, and were mobilising long-range rocket launchers. "The situation remains tense and Cambodian troops may be preparing intensified military operations to inflict maximum damage in the final stages before negotiations," the army said in an update. In the Thai province of Sisaket, Reuters reporters heard shelling throughout Sunday and said it was unclear which side of the border it was on. A government health clinic about 10km from the border had shattered windows, collapsed walls and exposed wiring. Local media reported it was hit by artillery on Saturday, two days after the building and surrounding neighbourhood was evacuated. Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated points along their 817km land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but the situation worsened in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Skirmishes over several years brought at least a dozen deaths. Cambodia said in June it had asked the International Court of Justice to resolve its disputes with Thailand. Bangkok says it has never recognised the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Thailand, Cambodia to hold talks to end deadly clashes
The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will attend mediation talks over their deadly border conflict in Malaysia, even as both sides accused each other of launching fresh artillery strikes across contested areas. Talks are scheduled to begin at 5pm AEST, with acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai leading the Thai negotiating team, the government announced in a statement. Malaysia, which chairs the ASEAN regional co-operation forum, has informed the Thai government that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet would also be attending the talks, the statement said. Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have intensified since the late-May killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief border skirmish. Border troops on both sides were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. Hostilities resumed on Thursday and, within just four days, escalated into the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in more than a decade. The death toll has risen above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia, while authorities report that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from border areas. Monday's talks come after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last week proposed a ceasefire and US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the two leaders had agreed to work on a ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said State Department officials were in Malaysia to assist peace efforts. "We want this conflict to end as soon as possible," he said. Bangkok and Phnom Penh have each accused the other side of sparking last week's hostilities. Cambodia's Defence Ministry said Thailand had shelled and launched ground assaults on Sunday morning at a number of points along the border. The ministry's spokesperson said heavy artillery was fired at historic temple complexes. The Thai army said Cambodian forces had fired shots into several areas, including near civilian homes, on Sunday, and were mobilising long-range rocket launchers. "The situation remains tense and Cambodian troops may be preparing intensified military operations to inflict maximum damage in the final stages before negotiations," the army said in an update. In the Thai province of Sisaket, Reuters reporters heard shelling throughout Sunday and said it was unclear which side of the border it was on. A government health clinic about 10km from the border had shattered windows, collapsed walls and exposed wiring. Local media reported it was hit by artillery on Saturday, two days after the building and surrounding neighbourhood was evacuated. Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated points along their 817km land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but the situation worsened in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Skirmishes over several years brought at least a dozen deaths. Cambodia said in June it had asked the International Court of Justice to resolve its disputes with Thailand. Bangkok says it has never recognised the court's jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach.
