Russia Ukraine War Current: Mass Drone Attack by Putin’s Troops As Zelensky says, inviting NATO is the way to end the war

Romania disabled four of its fighter jets on Thursday after an unknown object breached its airspace near the Black Sea, the defense ministry said.

The small object, probably a drone, was discovered around 5 p.m. on Thursday by radar devices moving over the Black Sea towards the NATO country, the ministry said. Romania has previously seen Russian drones invade its airspace as Moscow attacks Ukrainian targets along the Black Sea and Danube.

Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets and two Romanian F-16s were sent to monitor the object, which radar signals showed entered Romanian airspace near the coastal town of Eforie Nord and moved up to 14 km inland.

The fighter jet did not detect the target, which soon disappeared from radar, according to the ministry. The investigation into a possible impact site was scheduled to begin on Friday morning.

US President Joe Biden met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Friday to discuss support for Ukraine and efforts to de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East, the White House said.

Biden’s visit to Berlin to consult with key European allies on critical issues comes as the US election is just two and a half weeks away.

“The President emphasized the strong diplomatic, economic and military ties between the United States and Germany,” the White House statement said.

Britain announced sanctions against a further 18 Russian oil tankers and four liquefied natural gas ships, marking its largest ever series of sanctions against Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”.

The Foreign Office said on Thursday that its “shadow fleet” was carrying out illegal activities to circumvent Western restrictions on Russian oil.

The announcement follows the decision by the United States and Canada to join a “call to action” to address the issue, which has already received support from 44 European nations since it was launched by Britain in July.

The government said it was working with maritime authorities to require Russian ships with suspected dubious insurance to declare their insurance status when transiting the English Channel.

Foreign Minister David Lammy said: “We must combat malign Russian activity at every turn, be it illegal tactics to boost Putin’s war chest, the use of cyberattacks or barbarism on the front line in Ukraine.”

The 18 oil tankers will be banned from UK ports and will not have access to UK maritime services, bringing the total number of sanctioned Russian oil tankers to 43.

The ships included NS Bora, Atlas and Moskovsky Prospect.

Here’s everything we know so far…

US President Joe Biden is making a 24-hour farewell visit to Berlin to speak with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about his country’s support for Ukraine.

A senior White House source told ABC News the visit will focus on strengthening cooperation with key European partners on issues ranging from the Ukraine war to the Middle East conflict, with an emphasis on the former.

“It [Germany] has been the second largest donor of military aid to Ukraine after the United States and has provided a range of high-value capabilities, including tanks and other artillery systems,” the source told reporters.

The unnamed official noted the urgency of Biden’s trip as he wants to ensure Ukraine has everything it needs to defend itself.

The news comes just a day after Donald Trump blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for starting that nation’s war with Russia.

Canada plans to send a 64.8 million Canadian dollar ($47 million) military aid package to Ukraine that will include small arms, ammunition and protective equipment, Defense Minister Bill Blair said in a statement on Friday.

The aid package, which also includes money for training Ukrainian troops, is part of a $500 million military funding pledged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in July.

“The military assistance announced today provides Ukraine with critical resources needed to defend itself against Russian aggression. “Canada will continue to do everything we can to help him win,” Blair said.

Canada, one of Kiev’s strongest supporters internationally, announced last month that it would donate 80,840 surplus small unarmed air-to-surface missiles and 1,300 warheads to Ukraine.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Canada has provided $4.5 billion in military aid.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 80 of 135 Russian drones overnight, the Ukrainian military said this morning.

The Air Force said it lost track of 44 drones that likely crashed into Ukrainian territory after active electronic warfare measures, and two drones went to Belarus. It was determined that up to ten drones were still in Ukrainian airspace.

The Ukrainian Air Force has not disclosed the full extent of the damage caused by the debris that was shot down and destroyed.

In an interview, Donald Trump blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Joe Biden for the war between Russia and Ukraine – but did not mention Vladimir Putin.

Two and a half years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump blamed Zelensky and Biden for the conflict in an interview with podcaster Patrick Bet-David that aired Thursday.

“I think Zelensky is one of the biggest sellers I’ve ever seen,” Trump said, grumbling about how much aid the U.S. has given Ukraine.

“And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help them, because I feel very sorry for these people. But he should never have allowed this war to happen,” the former president added. “This war is a loser.”

Ukraine has already cleared 35,000 square kilometers of landmines since the start of the all-out Russian invasion, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrdenko told journalists at a conference in Switzerland.

The country’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the event that Ukraine’s national mine strategy aims to rid his country – currently the most heavily mined country in the world – of landmines by 2033.

Joe Biden landed in Germany today, where he will seek to consolidate cooperation with key European partners on issues related to the Ukraine war.

In the afternoon, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to fly to Berlin for talks focused on how to end fighting in Ukraine as Moscow’s troops advance in the east gloomy winter with power outages ahead.

“The crucial question is the nature of the security guarantees and we will talk about that tomorrow,” Macron told reporters last night.

With a presidential election due next month, there is a sense of urgency in the US as Trump has indicated he would be significantly more cautious about continuing to support Kyiv.

“It’s a thank you tour, but it’s also a message: ‘Please stay the course on Ukraine no matter what happens,'” said Sudha David-Wilp of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.