Russia seeks to stop arms supplies to Ukraine via the Black Sea and targets bridges in Kiev

The Kremlin said Friday that Russia aims to completely stop the supply of weapons and fuel to the Ukrainian army through the Black Sea. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added: “It is very important for us to completely stop naval supplies to Ukraine of military equipment, ammunition, fuel for the Ukrainian army and the like, which are measures that are currently underway and will continue.” Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of ​​a limited truce in the Black Sea, where since July, both sides have escalated their attacks on ships, ports, and power plants.

Targeting bridges

Meanwhile, traffic was suspended on Friday on a major bridge in Kiev that was subjected to new Russian strikes overnight, while movement was restricted on a number of other bridges, according to what the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said. Mayor Klitschko announced the restriction of traffic on Friday on two other main bridges, the Patton Bridge and the Metro Bridge. There were no reports of any attacks on these two bridges.

In the morning, Agence France-Presse reported that restrictions had been implemented on a fourth bridge, the Darnitsky Bridge, in addition to a major traffic jam throughout Kiev.

This bombing comes in light of Russia's escalation in recent days of its attacks on civilian facilities, especially logistics and communications, in Kiev and its environs. According to the Ukrainian army, Russia launched an attack on the country on Thursday night with more than a hundred drones, including about 50 jet drones that are difficult to shoot down. Kyiv says it has been able to neutralize most of them. The army reported that 11 different sites were damaged, in addition to drone debris falling in five other sites.

These restrictions caused a severe traffic jam that paralyzed many areas of Kiev, which is inhabited by about three million people, and which relies heavily on its eight bridges extending over the Dnieper River, which divides it into two parts. Mayor Vitali Klitschko indicated via the Telegram application that traffic on the southern bridge “has completely stopped.”

On Thursday, the bridge was subjected for the first time to a Russian attack with drones, and it was closed for a period of no less than two hours after it was inspected and it was determined that there was “no serious damage.” On Thursday/Friday night, the bridge was bombed again “several times,” according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This is the first major attack reported by the authorities on a main bridge in the Ukrainian capital since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine had made the resumption of peace talks more difficult by carrying out drone attacks during the Russian Duma elections. Putin added at the Valdai Dialogue Club in Moscow that Russia was ready to resume negotiations on Ukraine on September 21. The day after the Duma elections.

He continued that more than 1,600 drones were launched into Moscow, and noted that polling centers in other regions of Russia were under constant attack. Putin added that Ukraine was wrong in betting on the success of the attacks against Russia. “The enemy expected our society to disintegrate, but anyone can make a mistake,” he said. He explained that Russia remained ready to enter into negotiations and end them as quickly as possible. He added: “But, certainly on terms that are also acceptable to the Russian Federation and the Russian people.” However, Kiev, its Western allies and observers strongly doubt that Moscow is genuinely willing to participate in the talks.

Dangerous scenarios

Putin warned that rounds of escalation in international conflicts could quickly lead to dangerous scenarios. He said that the world was going through a dangerous time, and warned the West against escalating the confrontation over Ukraine by threatening Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave overlooking the Baltic Sea, which Moscow confirmed that it would defend with nuclear weapons if necessary.

In light of the continuation of the Ukraine war, which Putin said Russia had no other choice but to launch to protect its security, the Russian president stressed that his country does not plan to attack any European country, and desires peaceful coexistence. But he stressed that Moscow would resort to using all weapons in its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if its westernmost lands were threatened, meaning Kaliningrad, located between Poland and Lithuania.

Putin said before the Valdai Forum, which includes international experts on Russian affairs in Moscow: “If the matter reaches the point of a direct attack on the Russian Federation, and here we mean Kaliningrad, and perhaps other lands as well, then the issue of the Russian Federation using all weapons available to our country will, of course, inevitably and immediately be raised on the agenda.” “This is inevitable,” he added.

Putin pointed out that Russia realizes that it will face “an enemy (NATO) that is two times larger than us.” He continued: “We will have to exploit our competitive advantages in this conflict. Yes, of course, France and Britain are nuclear powers, and we are fully aware of that, and we are well aware of this. But no one else has the kind of weapons that Russia has today, and that is our competitive advantage.”

Nuclear warning

Putin's statements come after NATO announced that it had received a diplomatic note this week from Russia warning it that it was prepared to resort to nuclear weapons if the alliance tried to isolate the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, located on the Baltic Sea. The Russian warning highlighted Moscow's concerns about what it describes as the growing threat from the Western military bloc to Kaliningrad. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that the alliance responded by emphasizing its defensive nature, and that nuclear threats serve no one.

Relations between the two sides have deteriorated since Putin's decision to send forces to Ukraine in 2022, but they have worsened this year. European governments accuse Moscow of escalating a “hybrid war” on the continent through practices that include sabotage and arson.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas announced on Friday that his country is testing an air surveillance system developed in Ukraine to protect against drone threats. “Aerial threats change rapidly, so we are adapting our solutions accordingly,” Kaunas said in a statement. “Instead of developing everything from scratch, we adapt systems that are already in use in Ukraine.”

As the war enters its fifth year, Ukraine is considered a world leader in drone warfare. The Lithuanian authorities said that the “Heavenly Fortress” system uses artificial intelligence to monitor and track low-flying drones.

Russia denies these Western accusations, and rejects repeated statements by Western politicians indicating that Moscow is preparing to launch a possible military attack on one of the NATO countries.

Russia will not target Western companies

The Russian President added that Russia does not intend to launch strikes on Western arms supplier companies that produce military equipment for Ukraine, but described the situation as a threat that Moscow is monitoring.

Putin explained, during a speech he delivered before the Valdai Dialogue Club in Moscow in the presence of an international audience, that the greatest threat is Western countries providing Ukraine with satellite data to carry out attacks on Russia.

His statements came after Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Security Council, threatened to launch direct strikes on military production facilities in Germany. “We do not threaten anyone, and we do not intend to attack anyone - neither in 2029, nor in 2030, nor in 2050,” Putin said. He repeatedly denied accusations made by Germany and other European Union countries that Russia intends to attack a NATO member state. Before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin also repeatedly stressed that it had no intention of attacking its smaller neighbour. Putin continued: “But if we are exposed to aggression, we will have to respond.” He also touched on a letter sent by the Russian Foreign Ministry to NATO, in which it threatened to use all weapons possessed by Russia. Putin explained that Russia would also use its “competitive advantages,” referring to nuclear weapons.

Diesel weapon

Putin stressed that Moscow would not supply diesel to global energy markets unless the sanctions imposed on it were lifted, and said that Ukraine had “partially achieved its goals” by launching attacks on Russian oil refineries, attacks that he said had cost Russia 1 percent of its gross domestic product. But he pointed out that Russia is now responding in kind.

Last month, the US President said that Ukraine's attacks on Russian production facilities are causing a global shortage of diesel and pushing prices up, calling on Kiev to stop these attacks.

Putin stated that Russia has enough diesel, “but it will not reach global markets due to the embargo and sanctions imposed on our oil and petroleum products.” This week, Russia extended the ban on diesel exports imposed on fuel producers until the end of October, which increased pressure on the global energy market, which is already suffering from turmoil resulting from wars and supply shortages.

Regarding the assets of Western companies that Russia confiscated within its territory, including Auchan, Nestlé, and Le Roy Merlan, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that they could be returned if an agreement was reached with Moscow. In response to a question about returning these assets if a “positive scenario” was achieved with the West, Putin replied: “Yes, they will recover them,” denouncing at the same time what he described as the “plundering” of the assets of Russian companies in Western countries.