Air raid alert throughout Ukraine, Swiss parliament votes against arms transfer to Kyiv

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Ukrainian air defenses intercept a Shahed drone in the air during an airstrike on Kyiv (picture taken on May 30)

Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / dpa

What happened in the past few hours

Once again, there were Russian missile strikes in Ukraine during the night. According to official websites, an air alert had been declared for the whole of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities lifted airstrike warnings for most of the country on Friday.

Kyiv was the focus of the night air strikes. Officials in the capital said the defense forces had apparently shot down more than 30 missiles and drones fired by Russia. Authorities in Kiev reported two different waves of attacks. "There are explosions in the city. The air defense works," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in a statement. Minutes later, he added, "More explosions in the city." According to him, there were no calls to the emergency services.

Moscow has carried out around 20 missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities since the beginning of May.

This is what Kiev says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees Russia's defeat in the ongoing war coming closer after the European solidarity summit in Moldova. The meeting with the heads of state and government on Thursday was used to the maximum to mobilize aid for Ukraine and to bring the defeat of the "terrorists" closer. Zelensky said this in his evening video message, which he recorded in Moldova after the summit of the new European Political Community (EPC). The time is near when Russia will be held accountable for its murders, he said.

Zelensky had met several heads of state and government in Moldova, who assured further help to Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia. "We are preparing new decisions for the defense of Ukraine, including anti-aircraft defense, fighter jets and our advance on the ground," he said.

A package of security guarantees on the way to NATO and a peace summit to implement Kiev's proposals for an end to the war are also being prepared. A core demand of Zelensky's peace plan revolves around the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. Russia rejects this.

Zelensky stressed that apart from military aid from abroad, Ukraine itself must also do more for the safety of citizens. He reiterated demands that a sufficient number of bunkers must be accessible everywhere. "The situation, like last night in Kyiv, when people came to the shelter and it was locked, may happen again," he stressed. It is the duty of the municipalities to ensure that the shelters are open around the clock.

In Kiev, Mayor Vitali Klitschko had ordered the opening as well as controls after a breakdown on Thursday. "It hurts to see negligence in these commitments. It hurts to see the dead," Zelenskyy said. Those responsible must be held accountable.

According to the authorities in Kyiv, three people died in new Russian missile attacks, including a nine-year-old child. Zelensky accused Russia of continuing its "terror" on International Children's Day.

This is what Moscow says

Several Ukrainian drones have been shot down near the Russian city of Kursk near the border with Ukraine, according to the regional government. An air defense system shot down the missiles near the city, regional governor Roman Starovoit said on Telegram on Friday night. He called on the inhabitants to remain calm: "The city is under the reliable protection of our army," the governor wrote.

The Russian border region of Kursk has been repeatedly shelled by the Ukrainian army since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.

On Thursday, the Russian army said it had repelled an attempted "invasion" by Ukrainian units in the Belgorod region, south of Kursk. According to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, motorized infantry companies accompanied by tanks had tried to "penetrate" the Belgorod region from Ukraine. The attack was stopped with the use of fighter jets and artillery.

The Belgorod region has long been the target of attacks from Ukraine and has been increasingly attacked in recent days. Last week, armed militias had advanced from Ukraine into the region and launched attacks. In addition to the "Russian Volunteer Corps", the militia "Freedom of Russia", founded by a Russian, had claimed responsibility for the action.

Despite an international arrest warrant, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to a summit of emerging economies in South Africa. All five heads of state of the BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have received an invitation to a planned summit from 22 to 24 August in Johannesburg, South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said at a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers on Thursday in Cape Town.

This year's summit is particularly politically explosive. In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin. South Africa, which is a signatory to the statutes of the ICC, would be obliged to detain the Russian president upon entry into South Africa. So far, South Africa has not made a clear statement on the procedure, should Putin actually arrive.

International reactions

The Swiss parliament has voted against a law that would have allowed third countries to transfer armaments produced in Switzerland to Ukraine. The National Council in Bern voted on Thursday with 98 to 75 votes against the bill known as "Lex Ukraine".

In view of the Russian invasion, a discussion has flared up about Switzerland's traditionally strict neutrality. Despite massive pressure from Kiev and its supporters, Switzerland refuses to allow countries in possession of Swiss-made weapons to export them to Ukraine. Applications from Germany, Spain and Denmark were rejected with reference to the Swiss War Material Act, which prohibits arms deliveries to war zones.

The Swiss Federal Council could only authorise the re-export of Swiss-made weapons in exceptional cases if the UN Security Council has condemned Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. Since Russia has a veto right in the UN Security Council, this scenario is ruled out.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has justified the importance of the large-scale air force exercise "Air Defender" over parts of Germany. It's necessary because we live in a more dangerous world," he told the news portal ZDFheute.de on Thursday.

NATO's task is to prevent the Russian war of aggression from escalating beyond Ukraine. "And that's why it's important that we remove any room for misunderstanding – that we don't allow Moscow to misjudge NATO's willingness to defend every inch of NATO territory," Stoltenberg said.

From June 12 to 23, according to the Air Force, 25 nations with 250 aircraft and 10,000 soldiers are to take part in the "Air Defender 2023" exercise under German leadership. It is the largest deployment exercise of air forces since NATO was founded. During the two-week operation, three airspaces are to be closed to civil aviation with a time delay from Monday to Friday. According to the Air Force, most of the flights could take place over the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

kim/dpa/Reuters/AFP