Ukraine War: Counterattack Gains, Largest Drone Attack on Russia, 2 Killed in Kiev
All the latest developments from the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine says its advances in the south open the way to Crimea
Ukraine said it had cleared the way for its offensive into the Russian-occupied south, after this week’s capture of the “strategic” town of Ropotyn, and described the victory as a major achievement.
advertisement“By stationing on the sides of Ropotyn, we open the way to (southern cities) Tokmak, and then finally to Melitopol and the (administrative) borders of Crimea,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told French diplomats in Paris on Tuesday. And that in a speech delivered on Wednesday.
The Russian military has yet to announce its withdrawal from Robotyn, but has reported heavy fighting in the area and on the outskirts of the nearby town of Verbov.
“The gray area of Robotyn-Verbov will become a mass grave for the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the head of the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhia region, Yevgeny Paletsky, announced on the Telegram application.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive that began in June in the east and south proved very difficult, with advances limited to two kilometers.
In particular, it had to deal with solid Russian defences, consisting of trenches, anti-tank traps and minefields extending for hundreds of kilometres, especially to the south.
The largest drone attack on Russia since the fighting began
Moscow has accused Ukraine of staging one of the largest drone attacks on Russian soil since its invasion 18 months ago.
The governor of the Pskov region and local media reported that drones struck an airport in the Pskov region of western Russia near the borders with Estonia and Latvia, starting a massive fire.
More drones were shot down over Oryol, Bryansk, Ryazan, Kaluga and the Moscow region surrounding the Russian capital, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
All flights to and from Pskov Airport were canceled on Wednesday so that the impact of a single strike, involving between 10 and 20 drones, could be assessed in broad daylight.
Russia’s state news agency Tass, citing emergency officials, reported that four Il-76 transport planes were damaged.
Footage and pictures posted on social media showed smoke rising over the city of Pskov and a large fire.
advertisementRegional governor Mikhail Vedernikov said there were no casualties and the fire was contained. He added that this was the largest drone strike on Russian soil since the fighting began in February 2022.
Two people were killed in a drone strike in Kiev
On Wednesday morning, two people were killed in Russia’s largest raid on Kiev “since spring,” according to military authorities in the Ukrainian capital.
The head of the local military department, Sergei Popko, wrote on Telegram that falling debris killed two men and injured another after Russia launched a “massive joint offensive” on the Ukrainian capital using drones and missiles.
Explosions have also been reported in Ukraine in the southern city of Odessa and the Cherkassy region.
In May, Ukraine said it had responded to the “largest drone attack” on Kiev “since the beginning of the Russian invasion”. At least 59 drones were launched into the Ukrainian capital, killing two.
advertisementRussia says Ukrainian speedboats destroyed
Moscow announced that it had destroyed Ukrainian military boats carrying special forces off the coast of Crimea, which it annexed.
And the Russian Defense Ministry said, at around midnight on Wednesday, that a Russian aircraft in the Black Sea “destroyed four military speedboats (carrying) landing groups of Ukrainian special forces numbering up to 50 people.”
No further information was provided.
A Ukrainian drone attack on occupied Crimea has also been reported, but local Russian governor Mikhail said the situation was “under control”.
But he did not say how many drones were destroyed.
advertisementUkraine congratulated itself today, Thursday, for carrying out a rare commando operation in Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
On August 22, Russia also claimed to have “destroyed” a boat carrying Ukrainian soldiers in the Black Sea, after claiming on the same day that it had destroyed a reconnaissance ship.
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