The Kremlin does not see an opportunity for peace talks on Ukraine right now
Putin holds a meeting of the "Internal Security Council" after the drone attacks
Putin during his meeting with the Security Council to discuss how to ensure "internal security" for Russia.
Reuters
Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with senior officials of "internal security" in Russia, after the Kremlin said that the recent Ukrainian drone attacks posed a threat to the country, and confirmed that he did not see an opportunity for peace talks on Ukraine now.
Earlier yesterday, authorities said a drone struck near an airport in Russia's Kursk region bordering Ukraine, a day after Moscow blamed Kyiv for drone attacks on two other airports.
The drone attacks on Monday were unusual because both locations are hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Yesterday, the Kremlin said that Putin held a meeting of the Security Council to discuss how to ensure the "internal security" of the state, without further details.
Meanwhile, Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that the authorities are taking "necessary" measures to protect the country from Ukrainian attacks.
"Of course, the policy that the Ukrainian regime openly announced to continue such terrorist acts is a risk factor," he added, in response to a question about the drone strikes.
Responding to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's remarks, Monday, that the conflict in Ukraine will "almost certainly" end through diplomacy and negotiations, adding that a "just and lasting peace" is needed, Peskov said, "concerning that the result should be a just and lasting peace." , we agree with that.
As for opportunities to enter into negotiations of any kind, we do not see any of them at the present time.
He added that Russia would have to achieve the goals of its "special military operation" in Ukraine first before holding talks with any potential partners.
Earlier yesterday, Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit said that as a result of a drone attack near a local airport, an oil tank caught fire.
There were no injuries, and the governor did not specify where the drone came from.
And the Russian Defense Ministry said, on Monday, that Ukraine “attempted to hit” the Diaghilev air base in the Ryazan region and the Engels base in the Saratov region with “Soviet-made drones.”
And "Engels" is a base for strategic aircraft that Kyiv says were used to strike Ukraine.
The Russian ministry said that those strikes killed three soldiers and wounded four others, without providing further details.
Two aircraft also sustained minor damage.
According to local media, a military facility in Baza district was also attacked by drones yesterday.
Videos from the industrial city of Kursk showed a huge fire in the area of the airport, which is used exclusively for military flights.
Meanwhile, the Baza portal reported a drone attack in the Bryansk region, apparently targeting a state holding company with links to national security.
The drone attacks outside Russia's borders come as the Kremlin continues its campaign of destroying civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including energy and transportation.
Russia reiterated its view yesterday that its strikes were militarily justified.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said they were "massive strikes with high-precision and long-range weapons against the military command system, weapons factories and associated objects in order to break Ukraine's military potential."
On the ground, the Kremlin is pressing through the full annexation of the Ukrainian lands under its control, including with regard to changing the local currency to the Russian ruble.
Yesterday, the Russians who control the Ukrainian region of Kherson urged residents to exchange their savings for rubles.
On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited yesterday an area near the front line with Russian forces.
In Sloviansk, Zelensky expressed his "pride" for his country's soldiers.
And 60 of these soldiers returned to Ukraine in exchange for 60 Russian soldiers, according to the prisoner exchange agreement with Moscow, which was announced yesterday.
The head of the Ukrainian President's office in Kyiv, Andriy Yermak, said in a tweet on the social networking site "Twitter", that it was "another successful exchange of prisoners of war."
Yermak tweeted: "Symbolically, this happened on the National Day of the Armed Forces, 60 people are returning to their homes, including army soldiers, national guards and border guards."
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news