Germany buys missile systems, Zelensky fires head bodyguards | War in Ukraine

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced the purchase on Thursday. He unveiled the plan after talks with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon.

The German defense minister said that the idea arose during the long wait for 61 billion dollars (more than 56 billion euros) in American aid for Ukraine. Congress approved the aid in April as part of a national security package.

“Time was of the essence,” Pistorius told reporters. “So we proposed to acquire, pay for and deliver three systems from U.S. Army stockpiles.” The HIMARS missile system, made by Lockheed Martin, has proven effective against Russian supply routes and ammunition depots far behind the front lines.

In Washington, Pistorius tried to convey the message that Germany wants to take on greater military responsibilities, including in the defense industry. According to the minister, Germany will spend the most money on defense this year since the creation of the German armed forces after the Second World War.

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Ukrainian President Zelensky has fired the head of his bodyguards. Earlier this week, two bodyguards were arrested for allegedly playing a role in a foiled assassination attempt.

The two are said to have passed on information to the Russian intelligence service FSB. And one of them is said to have supplied drones with which a spy was to assassinate Zelensky.

Sergiy Rud had headed Zelensky’s security since 2019. The official reason for his dismissal has not been disclosed.

Zelensky has been a target of attacks since the Russian invasion of February 2022. He was aware of “five or six” foiled attacks last year.

Russian shelling in the past 24 hours has left at least two dead and fifteen injured, authorities in Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Donetsk report. A house was hit in the attack on Kharkiv.

Russia, in turn, reports that air defenses south of Moscow have intercepted a drone. There were no injuries and no damage from falling debris, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Friday. According to Sobyanin, the drone was on its way to Moscow and was shot down in the Podolsk district.

Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on oil refineries in several Russian regions since the beginning of the year. As a result, 15 percent of capacity has been affected, a NATO official estimated last month. Such an attack hit a major oil refinery in Bashkiria on Thursday. The drone covered a record distance of 1,500 kilometers.

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