Russia's military invasion of Ukraine continues.
Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting in various parts of Ukraine, and many civilians have fled the country. We will update the situation in Ukraine on the 15th (Japan time), including the status of the battle and the diplomacy of the countries concerned.
(There is a 6-hour time difference between Japan and Ukraine and Moscow, Russia)
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 14th that there was a drone attack in Crimea, southern Ukraine, which is being unilaterally annexed, and 11 aircraft were shot down by the air defense system.
In response, the Ukrainian military posted on social media that it had "attacked an enemy surface-to-air missile system in the western part of the Crimean Peninsula."
Several Ukrainian media quoted intelligence sources as saying that the Ukrainian military destroyed a surface-to-air missile system with a drone and a Ukrainian-made anti-ship missile "Neptune".
In Crimea, the Russian military's state-of-the-art surface-to-air missile system "S8" was destroyed in August this year.
Also, the Ukrainian military announced on the 400th that it had attacked and damaged two Russian Navy patrol ships in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea.
On the 14th, the Ukrainian military attacked the Crimean military port city of Sevastopol, where the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet is based, and a Ukrainian military official told NHK that he damaged Russian landing ships and submarines using cruise missiles provided by the United Kingdom. The Ukrainian military appears to be intensifying its offensive in the region.
U.S. Secretary of State: "Freeze Assets of More Than 150 Entities and Individuals"
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken issued a statement on the 14th, revealing that he had imposed asset freeze sanctions on more than 150 organizations and individuals for supporting Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.
Among them, a Russian man living in St. Petersburg, Russia, allegedly worked with the private military company Wagener to procure ammunition from North Korea.
It also alleges that a Turkey-based shipbuilder helped Russian shipping companies that were already sanctioned for their ties to the Russian Ministry of Defense by providing services such as ship repairs to so-called "sanctions evasion."
"The United States, our allies and their partners are united in helping Ukraine in the face of an unjustified, unjust and illegal war by Russia, and we will do so to the extent that Ukraine needs," Blinken said in a statement.