what to remember from Saturday September 30

The war in Ukraine, above all a drone war? Saturday September 30, as often since the start of the conflict, in February 2022, two pieces of information linked to these devices marked the day: the possible violation of Romanian airspace and the destruction of Ukrainian drones in Russia. On the diplomatic level, kyiv wants to attract international defense industrialists, while Paris says it is in favor of Russians and Belarusians competing in the next Olympic and Paralympic Games under a neutral banner. Franceinfo looks back at the highlights of the day on the front of the war in Ukraine.

Romania denounces a possible violation of its airspace

Was Romania’s airspace violated? Bucharest claimed on Saturday to have detected drones in its sky during nighttime attacks launched by Russia on infrastructure in the Danube region, in neighboring Ukraine. “After the detection of groups of drones heading towards Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border”, residents of the towns of Tulcea and Galati were alerted, said the Romanian Ministry of Defense. He added that so far no objects appear to have fallen into Romanian territory.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promises more conquests in Ukraine

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has vowed that Russia will capture more territory in Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022. “The special military operation [en Ukraine] will continue until the complete destruction of the Nazi regime in kyiv and the liberation of originally Russian territories from the hands of the enemy”wrote on Telegram the one who was president from 2008 to 2012. “Victory will be ours. And more new regions will join Russia”continued the current number two of the Russian Security Council and zealous supporter of the attack on the Kremlin in Ukraine.

Russia and Belarus under neutral banner in Paris 2024? A “solution”, according to the French government

The participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral banner at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is a “solution”, said the French Minister of Sports on Saturday, the day after a decision to this effect from the Paralympic Committee. For Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, it is up to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to decide the question. “I think that the international sports movement is gradually moving towards this solution”declared the minister to the press before the kick-off of the Fiji-Georgia Rugby World Cup match in Bordeaux.

A dozen Ukrainian drones shot down in Russia

“Eleven Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense systems (…) including one over the territory of the Kaluga region and ten over the Kursk region” in Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram on Friday. The governor of Kursk previously said that the border region with eastern Ukraine had been “massively attacked” by Ukrainian drones.