Overnight reports: Latvia boosts military as Musk's Starship explodes again
It happened at night. Here's what international agencies reported from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. The air defense shot down 112 Ukrainian drones, six of which were heading toward Moscow. The President of Latvia believes that the size of the armed forces needs to increase to over 38,000 soldiers, and the Starship spacecraft experienced another unsuccessful attempt, exploding during its return to Earth.
- Russian air defense destroyed or intercepted 112 Ukrainian drones within three hours.
- Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship spacecraft conducted its ninth test flight on Tuesday, exploding mid-air for the third consecutive time.
- Latvia needs more soldiers, weapons and ammunition. We need to move towards more than 38,000 soldiers instead of the current 31,000, announced President Edgars Rinkēvičs.
A rough night in Russia: A swarm of drones approached
Russian air defenses destroyed or intercepted 112 Ukrainian drones within three hours, most of them over central and southern regions, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense's statement on Wednesday.
Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that six Ukrainian drones were neutralized while flying toward the Russian capital. Rescue teams are examining the fragments on the ground, he added.
Musk's rocket explosion
Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship spacecraft conducted its ninth test flight on Tuesday, exploding mid-air for the third consecutive time. The rocket flew further than during previous attempts but did not complete several other mission objectives.
Starship launched from Starbase in Texas with a slight delay due to technical issues. Once airborne, it flew further than any previous missions but disintegrated over the Indian Ocean during re-entry.
The first-stage booster, Super Heavy, landed as planned in the Gulf of Mexico, but its engines failed when it had to settle gently on the water. Another crucial element that failed was the release of dummy Starlink satellites during the flight; Starship's mechanism did not release them. Additionally, about 20 minutes after the flight began, video connection with the craft was lost. Soon after, it was announced that the rocket experienced a leak, went into an uncontrolled flight, and began spinning around its axis.
During re-entry, contact was lost, and the craft was destroyed. Because of this, SpaceX did not obtain the expected return-to-Earth data.
Latvia arms up
Latvia needs more soldiers, weapons, and ammunition. Instead of the current 31,000 soldiers in various armed forces structures, we need to increase the number to over 38,000 in the long term, announced President Edgars Rinkēvičs.
The President, along with the commander of the armed forces, Gen. Kaspars Pudāns, visited areas by the Daugava River in central Latvia near Jakubowa, where the largest military training ground in the Baltic countries is being built, covering over 61,777 acres. It will be capable of accommodating NATO allied units. It is anticipated that the first military exercises could be conducted there in 2026, or possibly even this year. Ultimately, after infrastructure expansion, about 2,000 soldiers could be stationed in the area.
By the end of the year, the number of professional soldiers should increase by about 500, Rinkēvičs said.
Germany and France threaten
Germany and France have threatened Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić with denying recognition of the election results if any fraud occurs during the process, reported TV Nova on Tuesday.
The announcement of early elections is the latest demand from the massive protests that have been ongoing in the country for over six months.
