Kyiv drones ‘hit ammunition warehouse in Russia’; Germany, Hungary clash over Orbán’s meeting with Putin

Hungary abruptly told Germany’s foreign minister that she wasn’t welcome after her boss, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, excoriated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over his unannounced trip to Moscow.

Orbán met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday as part of a self-styled “peace mission” to gauge the chances for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, triggering condemnation from Scholz and other European Union leaders who said Orbán had no mandate to represent the bloc.

Ukraine ‘hits large ammunition cache in southwest Russia’

Ukraine’s Security Service, known as SBU, struck “a large warehouse of ammunition” in the Voronezh region of southwest Russia overnight, said a person familiar with the matter.

SBU drones targeted a stockpile of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles; artillery, shells for tanks and firearms were also among the weaponry stored at the site, said the person, who wasn’t authorised to speak publicly.

Voronezh Governor Alexandr Gusev said on Telegram that the detonation of explosive objects began after a Ukrainian drone attack ignited a fire in one of the warehouses. About 50 residents from three nearby communities were evacuated due to explosions, he said.

Images on social media showed a huge cloud of smoke rising from the area, which is about 300km from the border.

Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force said it downed all 13 Russian Shahed-type drones launched from Russian territory into the Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Sumy and Poltava regions overnight.

Two “Iskander” ballistic missiles weren’t intercepted, Ukraine’s air defence commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram. He didn’t elaborate on what was struck or on any damage sustained.

The drone activity comes at a time when Russian ground forces continue to press in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine and have also picked up their rate of incursions in the Kharkiv region not far from the nations’ border.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who’s expected to attend the Nato summit in Washington this week, said on Saturday that Ukraine was working on a new maritime strategy for the Black Sea region.

“We are solidifying our interests, taking into account Ukraine’s new technological capabilities and our new relationships with partners,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address that was posted on X.

Germany and Hungary clash over Orbán’s meeting with Putin

Hungary abruptly told Germany’s foreign minister that she wasn’t welcome after her boss, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, excoriated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over his unannounced trip to Moscow.

Orbán met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday as part of a self-styled “peace mission” to gauge the chances for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, triggering condemnation from Scholz and other European Union leaders who said Orbán had no mandate to represent the bloc.

Orbán, who visited Kyiv a day after he took over the EU’s six-month rotating presidency on 1 July, said before the meeting that he had no intention of representing the 27-member bloc.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was scheduled to meet her Hungarian counterpart in Budapest on Monday for talks, but the Hungarian government cancelled the session on Friday evening on short notice to the surprise of the German government, according to an official in Berlin.

In light of Orbán’s freelance trip to Russia, a serious and honest discussion between the two foreign ministers would have been very important, the official added.

Scholz told reporters earlier on Friday that Orbán had given him no advance notice about his travel plans. “The European Council is represented by Charles Michel in terms of foreign policy — and not Hungary,” Scholz said, referring to the European Council president.

Ukraine could rely on Europe’s support and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must not succeed, the chancellor added.

In a meeting in Kyiv on Tuesday, Orbán urged Zelensky to consider a ceasefire. Zelensky has repeatedly dismissed demands for a ceasefire with Moscow, insisting that Russian forces withdraw from Ukrainian territory. DM