Sweden to send 4.6bn krona military package to Kyiv; Iranian diplomat summoned over missile reports

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Monday it had summoned a senior Iranian diplomat to warn of "devastating and irreparable consequences" for bilateral relations if reports that Tehran had supplied Russia with ballistic missiles were correct.

Since the war began in Ukraine in February 2022, tens of thousands of Russians fleeing conflict, conscription or the politics of President Vladimir Putin, have established a vibrant community in Serbia.

Sweden announces 4.6 billion krona support package for Ukraine

Sweden would send its 17th aid package to Ukraine with further military support totalling 4.6 billion krona (R7.9 -billion), said Defence Minister Pal Jonson on Monday.

The new package will include ammunition for infantry fighting vehicles already donated by Sweden, as well as purchases that would facilitate a transfer of Gripen fighter jets in the future, though no such transfer has been decided on yet.

“We want to have the ability to donate Gripens to Ukraine at a possible later stage,” Jonson told a press conference.

Jonson said support included additional combat boats, missiles and camouflage gear as well as funding to support defence procurements for Ukraine. The measures were decided in close collaboration with Kyiv.

About half of the value of the package consisted of parts needed in Sweden’s production of the latest model Gripen E fighters for its own air force. This would mean Sweden would not as previously planned need to cannibalise its existing C/D models as part of the upgrade, allowing the older jets to be transferred to Ukraine at a possible future date.

“At present, it is not on the cards to transfer JAS Gripens to Ukraine as this would disturb the introduction of F-16s,” the government said in a statement.

Ukraine summons Iranian diplomat as Tehran denies missile reports

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Monday it had summoned a senior Iranian diplomat to warn of “devastating and irreparable consequences” for bilateral relations if reports that Tehran had supplied Russia with ballistic missiles were correct.

A senior Iranian official denied the reports earlier on Monday, describing them as “psychological warfare”. A European Union spokesperson described the information as “credible”.

CNN and The Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unidentified sources, that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, as Moscow continues to wage war in Ukraine more than 2½ years after its 2022 invasion.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry said on Telegram it had summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires, Shahriar Amouzegar, and warned him in “harsh form” about the consequences for relations if delivery of the missiles was confirmed.

Earlier, Brigadier Fazlollah Nozari, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander, was quoted by the Iranian Labour News Agency as saying: “No missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare. Iran does not support any of the parties to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.”

Western and Ukrainian officials have dismissed such denials in the past, saying there is overwhelming evidence that Iran has supplied items such as Shahed drones to Russia.

EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said in an email: “We are aware of the credible information provided by allies on the delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.”

He said that if confirmed, “this delivery would represent a substantive material escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine”.

EU leaders had previously made clear they would “respond swiftly and in coordination with international partners, including with new and significant restrictive measures against Iran” to such a step, said Stano.

Another European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US had shared information on the reported transfer with allies and was likely to make it public soon.

A mini Russia emerges in Serbia after thousands flee war

On a sweltering summer morning in Serbia’s capital Belgrade, Vadim Morus, a professional ice skater from Russia, glides across an outdoor rink. Morus is 1,600km from his native Moscow, but is beginning to feel at home.

He fled Russia with his fiancee in 2022, part of a wave of tens of thousands who came to Serbia after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s a long way to come, but many chose Belgrade for its ancient cultural and religious ties to Moscow.

“There are few ice skaters in Serbia who can train others, so I have plenty of Serbian students,” said Morus (24).

Since the war began in Ukraine in February 2022, Russians fleeing conflict, conscription or the politics of President Vladimir Putin, have established a vibrant community in Serbia, according to interviews with two dozen immigrants and local officials.

While the actual number of Russians in Serbia is smaller than those who have fled to countries such as Germany, their presence is acutely felt in Belgrade, a city of less than two million people.

Russian-owned clubs, kindergartens, and medical practices have sprung up. Russians buy food in Russian shops. Russian bands, singers and comedians are performing in Russian clubs, and Russian artists showcase their work in Russian-owned galleries.

Between February 2022 and mid-2023, more than 30,000 Russians registered for temporary residence in Serbia, the latest interior ministry data show. Officials did not provide data for the comparative period before this, but said that the numbers represented a sharp increase.

During this influx, Russians established 11,081 businesses across various sectors, from internet-based services to hospitality and sports schools, according to Serbia’s business registry.

Russian drone that crashed in Latvia carried explosives 

A Russian military drone which crashed in Latvia on Saturday carried explosives that were likely to have been intended for Ukraine when it strayed into its air space, Latvian officials said on Monday.

Romania and Latvia, both Nato members and supporters of Ukraine in its 2½-year-old war with Russia, said on Sunday they were investigating instances of Russian drones that crashed after breaching their airspace.

The drone that landed in Latvia was of the Iranian-designed Shahed type, National Armed Forces Commander Lieutenant General Leonids Kalnins told a press conference, according to Latvia’s Delfi news website.

The drone’s explosives, which were probably meant for Ukraine, were deactivated following its discovery in Latvia, Kalnins told reporters.

The drone fell in the region of the village of Gaigalava some 90km from the border with Belarus, from where it entered, according to a Latvian Defence Ministry statement on Monday.

Nato Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana on Sunday denounced the incidents as “irresponsible and potentially dangerous”, while saying there was no indication of a deliberate attack on alliance member-states.

Putin ‘not currently interested in Western media interviews’

Putin is not currently interested in granting an interview to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was freed from Russian prison last month, nor with any other Western media outlets, said the Kremlin on Monday.

Gershkovich, who was convicted in Russia of espionage charges which he, his newspaper, and Washington strongly denied, asked the Kremlin leader for an interview as he was being released in a major East-West prisoner swap on 1 August, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Asked on Monday if there was an answer to Gershkovich’s request, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “So far, we are not interested in such an interview.

“In order for there to be an interview with foreign media, and a specific one at that, we need to have an occasion. So far we don’t see such an occasion.”

In February, Putin gave a rare interview to US journalist Tucker Carlson, in which he said Moscow was prepared to fight for its interests “to the end” but had no interest in a wider war. DM