The United States intends to set up logistics centers in Black Sea countries to to speed up arms deliveries to Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia failed in their attempts to initiate consultations with Ukraine with the mediation of the European Commission to restore oil supplies from the Russian company "Lukoil", BNR reported.
According to Nikolai Patrushev, adviser to the Russian president, the United States intends to create logistics centers in the Black Sea countries and deploy modern long-range weapons there. In his words, Russia has thwarted the plans of the "US-led alliance" NATO to deploy its naval base in the Sea of Azov, but did not specify what period of time he was talking about.
Meanwhile, Russia has signaled it is open to talks with Ukraine, even though it considers President Volodymyr Zelensky illegitimate after his term expired in March. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Moscow was open to achieving its goals through negotiations that Vladimir Putin outlined in June: Ukraine's withdrawal from NATO and the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow unilaterally claimed as its own.
After Ukraine imposed sanctions on the Russian group "Lukoil", the company's supplies to Hungary and Slovakia stopped. Both countries have declared that their energy security is threatened by Kiev's actions. It is a question of supplies transiting through Ukraine via the "Druzhba" oil pipeline, which is the last main operational route for Russian oil to Europe. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó asked the EC to mediate the dispute and gave three days before Budapest could take the case to court. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said Brussels needed more time to gather evidence and assess the legal situation.
Ukraine's security service said it had thwarted Russian plans to arson shopping centers and other facilities in Poland, the three Baltic states, and Ukraine. A group of 19 people were detained in operations in four Ukrainian regions, with fake passports and driver's licenses seized. The planned attacks, including on gas stations, pharmacies and markets, were to be carried out by Ukrainian citizens on Moscow's orders to discredit Ukraine and undermine support for Kiev among Western allies.