Russian air defence system has shot down two combat drones headed for the capital, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said and added that no injuries have been informed, TASS News Agency reported. Sobyanin, on his Telegram channel, said, “Two combat drones have attempted to fly to the city. Both were shot down by air defence systems, one in the Domodedovo area, and another one in the vicinity of Minskoye Highway. No injuries have been reported.” Later on, Russia’s Defence Ministry reported a failed attempt by Ukraine to attack facilities in the Moscow Region by UAV, adding that two drones have been shot down by air defence systems.

“An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Moscow Region was thwarted during the night. Two drones were shot down by air defence systems,” the report said. The attempted terrorist attack did not cause any casualties or damage, the ministry added, according to the TASS News Agency. The tension between Russia and Ukraine started in 2014 but it escalated in 2022 after the former country started its special military operation in the latter country. Earlier, Ukraine had taken down Soviet-era signs from a hilltop monument in Kyiv and replaced the hammer-and-sickle symbol with a trident coat of arms, CNN reported.

Kyiv this week changed the Soviet hammer and sickle sign to a trident, the Ukrainian coat of arms, on the shield of the Motherland Monument, which dominates the skyline of the capital. “We believe that this change will be the beginning of a new stage in the revival of our culture and identity, the final rejection of Soviet and Russian symbols and narratives,” the Ukrainian culture ministry said. The week-long operation to dismantle the Russian insignia was finished on August 6, according to the ministry. This comes in the midst of a conflict when the country has struggled to define its cultural identity in the face of Russian aggression, CNN reported.

The monument, a 102-meter-tall monolith that dominates its surroundings, is made of steel. The woman clutching the sword and the shield bearing the Soviet hammer and sickle was shown in the 1979-built monument.

North Korea has invited delegations from China and Russia to participate in the 70th-anniversary celebrations of the Korean War armistice, Pyongyang State media has reported. This is the first known case of North Korea inviting foreign guests to the country since it closed all borders to contain the pandemic, even though cargo transportation partially resumed between North Korea and China last year, according to a report in Yonhap, a major South Korean news agency.

North Korean state media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday reported that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has been invited by the Ministry of National Defence of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the 70th anniversary of the victory in the great Fatherland Liberation War. “At the invitation of the Ministry of National Defence of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), a military delegation of the Russian Federation led by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will pay a congratulatory visit to the DPRK on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the victory in the great Fatherland Liberation War,” KCNA reported.

“The visit will mark an important occasion in further developing the traditional DPRK-Russia friendly relations in keeping with the demand of the times,” the KCNA further said. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed that the Russian delegation led by Shoigu will visit North Korea on July 25-27 to take part in festive events marking the 70th anniversary of the DPRK’s Victory in the Fatherland Liberation War of 1950-1953, according to TASS.

Strengthening bilateral ties

The Russian news agency cited the country’s defence ministry to state that the visit would contribute to strengthening bilateral military ties and mark an important stage in the development of cooperation between the two countries. North Korea has also invited a Chinese party and government delegation to the armistice celebrations. Yonhap news agency cited KCNA to report that the Central Committee of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party and its government has invited a Chinese delegation led by Li Hongzhong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party to the anniversary celebrations.

North Korea is set to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, signed July 27, 1953, this week. The North refers to the conflict as the Great Fatherland Liberation War and the day of the armistice signing as Victory Day.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised on Sunday to respond against Russian forces after Moscow fired missiles at the ancient port of Odesa, killing one person and damaging an Orthodox cathedral. He said, “Missiles against peaceful cities, against residential buildings, a cathedral. There will definitely be a retaliation against Russian terrorists for Odesa. They will feel this retaliation.”

We cannot allow people around the world to get used to terrorist attacks. The target of all these missiles is not just cities, villages or people. Their target is humanity and the foundations of our entire European culture. Last night, a Russian missile – it was an X-22, an… pic.twitter.com/RItCBNNZE9

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 23, 2023

Russia Cancels Grain Deal with Ukraine

A ground-breaking peacetime agreement that permitted grain to travel from Ukraine to regions in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia where famine is a growing danger and high food prices have forced more people into poverty was suspended by Russia earlier last week.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative will be put on hold, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, until conditions are satisfied for supplying the rest of the globe with Russian grain and fertiliser. He said that the decision was not influenced by a Monday attack on a bridge that connects the Crimean Peninsula to Russia.

Russian agricultural exports have been limited by transportation and insurance constraints, but since last year, the country has transported record amounts of wheat.

As a result of Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, which exacerbated a worldwide food crisis, the U.N. and Turkey reached an agreement last summer to let food exports from the Black Sea region. This agreement has now come to an end with the suspension. The programme is credited with aiding in the decrease of wheat, vegetable oil, and other global food commodity prices that were skyrocketing.

Russia and Ukraine are both significant global producers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil, and other staple foods for developing countries.

Russian forces have tightened their grip on an industrial Ukrainian city as part of their drive to control the eastern Donbas region and targeted rail links used to carry the  weapons from Kyiv’s Western allies as the war approaches its 100th day on Friday.

Russia has accused the United States of adding “fuel to the fire” after President Joe Biden announced a $700 million weapons package for Ukraine that will include an advanced rocket systems with a range of up to 80 km (50 miles).

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a forum in Slovakia on Thursday that Kyiv was thankful for the military help it has received but added: “Weapons supplies should be stepped up … (to) ensure an inflection point in this confrontation.”

“Ukraine needs weapons to liberate Ukrainian territory that Russia has temporarily occupied. We are not fighting on Russian territory, we are interested in our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, shrugging off Moscow’s criticism of the U.S. decision.