{"id":11415,"date":"2026-08-20T16:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/11415\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:49:14","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-latest-nato-jets-blow-up-suspected-russian-drone-near-gas-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/11415\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war latest: Nato jets blow up suspected Russian drone near gas facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Russia says it hit two cargo vessels in Ukraine’s Chornomorsk<\/p>\n

Russia’s Defence \u2060Ministry said on Thursday that \u2060its \u200bforces \u2060had \u2060struck two \u200bvessels \u2060carrying ammunition \u200cand military equipment \u200cin the \u200cUkrainian Black \u2060Sea port of Chornomorsk.<\/p>\n

Reuters could not independently verify \u200cthe \u200bministry’s \u200cclaim, it said. <\/p>\n

Dan Haygarth20 August 2026 17:45<\/p>\n

<\/a>Russia has lost almost 1.5 million troops in Ukraine, says Kyiv <\/p>\n

Moscow has lost around 1,472,640 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv\u2019s armed forces have reported. <\/p>\n

The figure includes the 1,480 casualties Russian forces have suffered over the past 24-hour period.<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s military has not revealed its own losses during the full-scale invasion, citing operational secrecy.<\/p>\n

Suha Kidwai20 August 2026 17:15<\/p>\n

<\/a>Russian drone in Romania is ‘hybrid warfare’, says European Commission<\/p>\n

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has also condemned the presence of a Russian drone that was detected hovering near the Neptun Deep natural gas project in Romania\u2019s Black Sea. <\/p>\n

In a post on X, she said: “An escalating campaign of threats is underway, unsettling our citizens and seeking to divide our Union. This is hybrid warfare.”<\/p>\n

The Romanian military have since destroyed the suspected drone, Romanian defence minister, Radu Miruta confirmed on Thursday. <\/p>\n

Whilst Miruta did not directly blame Russia for the intrusion, Romanian President Nicusor Dan has since explicitly blamed Russia.<\/p>\n

Suha Kidwai20 August 2026 16:45<\/p>\n

<\/a>Russia welcomes Trump’s decision to cut back military drills with South Korea<\/p>\n

Moscow has celebrated the U.S. president\u2019s decision to scale back their military activity with South Korea.<\/p>\n

Russian \u2060foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria \u2060Zakharova, said that \u2060the country “can only welcome” \u200cthe decision.<\/p>\n

\"NorthNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un pictured with Russian president Vladimir Putin (Reuters)<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump had said the US will “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un earlier this week.<\/p>\n

Suha Kidwai20 August 2026 16:15<\/p>\n

<\/a>In pictures: Russian attacks on Odesa and Slovyansk\"AftermathAftermath of Russian attack on Odesa region in Ukraine (DSNS Ukraine)\"MultipleMultiple fires are reported to have broken out amid the barrage of Russian strikes (DSNS Ukraine)\"EmergencyEmergency services work to put out flames after attacks in Slovyansk (DSNS Ukraine)\"AA car was set ablaze after Russian strikes targeted Slovyansk (DSNS Ukraine)<\/p>\n

Suha Kidwai20 August 2026 15:45<\/p>\n

<\/a>UN relief chief meets with Kyiv officials to plan for winter of war<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, is reported to have met with UN relief chief Tom Fletcher. <\/p>\n

The leaders are understood to have discussed humanitarian support for vulnerable communities, particularly in the frontline regions, over the coming winter. <\/p>\n

In a post on X, Sybiha said that the UN official has \u201cagreed to remain in close contact and focus on practical results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the outbreak of the conflict in 2022, the UN has mobilised more than $12 billion in humanitarian assistance for people affected by the Russian war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Suha Kidwai20 August 2026 15:15<\/p>\n

<\/a>Latest attack on Kyiv is ‘one of the most cynical’ yet, says Zelensky <\/p>\n

The Ukrainian president has issued a statement describing the devastation of Russia\u2019s overnight strikes on Kyiv. <\/p>\n

In a post on X, Zelensky said: \u201cThis Russian strike was one of the most cynical, calculated, and large-scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

The leader also stressed the need for further international assistance, adding \u201cIt is important that Ukraine\u2019s partners do not remain silent about this and other similar strikes and truly help protect our people.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot simply watch silently and indifferently, doing nothing as the Russians destroy lives with ballistic missiles.\u201d <\/p>\n

Suha Kidwai20 August 2026 14:45<\/p>\n

<\/a>Why are Patriot defence systems in such short supply? <\/p>\n

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked allies for additional supplies, saying Kyiv needs around 300 interceptors by winter to strengthen its defences.<\/p>\n

Patriot systems are advanced US-made air-defence systems designed to detect and intercept incoming aircraft, drones and missiles.<\/p>\n

\"AA Patriot missile system in Taiwan (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Patriot systems are in unusually high demand as wars across the Middle East have consumed large numbers of interceptors, while the US and its allies are also trying to replenish their own depleted stocks, creating fierce competition for limited supplies.<\/p>\n

The problem is particularly acute for advanced PAC-3 interceptors, which are expensive and technically complex to manufacture.<\/p>\n

For Ukraine, the shortage is being felt, where recent Russian attacks have exposed gaps in its ability to intercept ballistic missiles. <\/p>\n

Suha Kidwai20 August 2026 14:15<\/p>\n

<\/a>In pictures: Kyiv grapples with aftermath of Russian strikes\"ResidentsResidents walk through debris in a courtyard following a Russian missile strike on Thursday (Getty)\"LocalsLocals gather outside a damaged apartment building in Kyiv (Getty)\"AA Ukrainian man surveys the damage after Russian strikes hit residential areas overnight (AFP\/Getty)\"EmergencyEmergency services console the relative of a victim hit by Russian strikes (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Suha Kidwai20 August 2026 13:45<\/p>\n

<\/a>Death toll in Ukraine rises to 16, says Kyiv<\/p>\n

Emergency services in Ukraine have now said that 15 people have been killed in the capital, with another fatality in the wider Kyiv region after Russian missiles pounded the city on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

Kyiv was the primary target, but hits were recorded at 28 locations across the country, according to the air force. <\/p>\n

About 40 more people have been wounded.<\/p>\n

The attack has come after Ukraine\u2019s attempt to shift the war onto Russian soil through long-range drone strikes on oil facilities and other infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Suha Kidwai20 August 2026 13:15<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russia says it hit two cargo vessels in Ukraine’s Chornomorsk Russia’s Defence \u2060Ministry said on Thursday that \u2060its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[962,961,6810,6809,6807,63,358,968,5565,6811,71,1307,6808],"class_list":["post-11415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-color-image","tag-conflict","tag-courtyard","tag-damaged","tag-destruction","tag-horizontal","tag-kyiv","tag-photography","tag-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022-2026","tag-shelling-attack","tag-ukraine","tag-violence","tag-walking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}