Long live Ukraine. Russia: “Repels naval drone attacks on the Crimean bridge” | outside

a vote across the independent The Levada Center in Russia shows that there may be…Little to no dissatisfaction Exists in the community” around the Wagner Group and Death of Wagner’s boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. the The real cause of the plane crash Prigozhin’s death will also have little impact on the way the Russians view the Wagner Group and the future of the mercenary army.

on Equal proportions Of the Russians think that Prigozhin’s death in blame It was an accident, that the Russian authorities were behind his death, that Prigozhin was still alive, and that it was difficult to determine the cause of the Wagner boss’s death.

Polls conducted on July 23 and August 23 show this About the same number of Russians Approval and disapproval of Prigozhin’s activities.

“the Public opinion about the death of Prigozhin (Most likely an assassination ordered by the Kremlin) It would not have an impact on the decision-making process of the Kremlin or the Ministry of Defense unless popular opposition was much greater. The Kremlin is likely to benefit from this Constant disagreement About the Circumstances of Prigozhin’s death In Russian society“, analyzes the American research center “Institute for the Study of War.”

The Russian authorities are holding local elections in the Ukrainian territories occupied by the Russians. Russia seized parts of the Cherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the war, and last year illegally annexed areas that Ukraine wants back.

The Kremlin has put forward pro-Russian candidates for the position of governor of the four “new regions”. According to Ukrainian officials, these elections have almost no opponents and are illegal sham elections on Ukrainian territory, proving that it is impossible to negotiate with Russia.

Russian authorities also organized referendums in the occupied territories last year to ask citizens whether they wanted their province to join Russia. According to Moscow, the overwhelming majority voted in favor of annexation, but even then Ukraine and Western countries spoke of deception. Three-quarters of UN countries condemned the “illegal annexation attempt.”

Voting became possible in Kherson and Luhansk as of Thursday, and people can also cast their votes as of Saturday in Zaporizhia and Donetsk. Polls close on September 10, when the rest of Russia also holds local elections.

Russia said it repelled three naval drone attacks on the Crimean bridge. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday evening that Ukrainian Navy drones were detected and destroyed in a timely manner in the Black Sea.

According to the ministry, the first attack occurred late Friday evening. She added that this was followed by two additional attacks on Saturday evening. Information from Moscow cannot be independently verified.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine about a year and a half ago, annexed Crimea in 2014. The Ukrainian peninsula is connected to the Russian mainland via the Crimean Bridge over the Kerch Strait. The bridge is of great strategic importance for Moscow to supply Crimea and Russian forces in southern Ukraine.

Kiev has attacked the Crimean Bridge several times since the Russian invasion.

Read also: Smoke machines and sunken ships: this is how Russia tries to protect the vital Crimean bridge

Denmark wants to expel ten Russian diplomats. By the end of this month, only five diplomats and twenty employees will be allowed to work at the Russian embassy in Copenhagen, the same number as the Danish embassy in Moscow. This was announced by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, today, Friday.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark and Russia have been negotiating additional visas for employees of the Danish embassy in Russia for some time. These talks have not led to anything so far, because Moscow, according to Copenhagen, has repeatedly tried to include Danish visas for Russian intelligence agents in the deal.

There is criticism of this measure from Russia. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that this was “a new expression of the hostile attitude towards our country.” Moscow will now “draw the necessary conclusions.”

The Polish army denies that a helicopter violated Belarusian airspace today. Belarus previously reported that a low-flying Polish attack helicopter flew more than a kilometer into Belarusian airspace. Polish army spokesman Jatsek Goriszewski said: “Such a border crossing could not have happened and did not happen. Our radar systems are unambiguous.”

At the beginning of this month, two Belarusian attack helicopters flew into Polish airspace. In response, Poland sent additional forces to the border with Belarus. The events show growing tension along the Polish-Belarusian border. This tension is also reflected on the ground: Poland accuses Belarus of deliberately allowing thousands of migrants to cross the border with Poland.

This is a proven method for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The European Union imposed sanctions on Belarus in 2021 due to the unfair presidential elections. In the months that followed, Lukashenko brought tens of thousands of migrants from Middle Eastern and African countries to Belarus, then brought them to the borders with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

Western countries are preparing to start large-scale military exercises in the Baltic Sea. About thirty ships and more than three thousand soldiers will participate in the maneuvers. They will train for the first time on scenarios in which Russia attacks the region. This was announced by the Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, on Friday.

“We are sending a clear message of vigilance to Russia: not if it is up to us,” Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kack said.

British news agency Reuters reported that the maneuvers, which begin on September 9, are expected to continue for two weeks. Participants are NATO forces from the Baltic states, who will train with soldiers from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the United States. Sweden, which will soon become a member of the coalition, is also participating.

Western countries are concerned about the security of trade routes on the Baltic Sea, so they want to practice securing those routes if Russia decides to cut two railway lines in the region in the event of a conflict. The important port city of Kaliningrad is located in a Russian coastal region.

For Germany, this will be the first time the new naval headquarters in Rostock will be used. The United States is now sending the Mesa Verde, a 200-meter-long transport ship that can land 800 Marines in any conflict.