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Ukraine has launched a “mass” drone assault on Russian infrastructure and military targets in the Black Sea, Crimea and southern Russia, officials and Kyiv’s military said.
Ukraine’s military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military objects in Russia on Friday morning, as Russian officials reported a “mass” drone attack in Krasnodar and claimed to have shot down 70 drones over the Black Sea and Crimea.
It came as South Korea summoned Russia’s ambassador over the new pact signed by Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin during the latter’s visit to North Korea this week, which the Russian president said included a mutual defence clause.
Departing Pyongyang, Mr Putin claimed that Russia supplying weapons to nuclear-armed North Korea will reflect how the West is arming Ukraine.
But with the move having angered Seoul, Mr Putin simultaneously warned South Korea against making a “big mistake” if it decides to aid Ukraine with arms, threatening a “painful” response.
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Ukraine captures Russian ‘barn’ tank modified against drone threat
The Ukrainians call it a “barn” tank, a bizarre-looking Russian battlefield vehicle captured by Kyiv’s forces that shows how troops are trying to adapt to the constant threat of drone attacks.
The vehicle, built from a ramshackle, rusted T-62 tank, was modified to have a boxy metal shell as its exterior, a cage at its rear and electronic warfare devices attached to it, soldiers told Reuters after it was captured this week.
They say it was used to shuttle around food, ammunition and troops. Its canopy appeared aimed at protecting against drone attacks, particularly cheaply produced FPV (First-Person-View) drones, which are strapped with a munition and flown to their target by a pilot watching on a screen.
“It was created to defend from FPV drones and (drone bomb) drops. It’s an empty taxi for personnel with electronic warfare as its only defence,” Serhiy Misiura, a lieutenant colonel, said on an official Ukrainian army television station.
Nearly 28 months since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, the use of drones by both sides has become ubiquitous on the battlefield, making it difficult to advance or operate safely.
“They clearly didn’t work hard on it. They hastily put it on and sent the tank to the frontline,” said Dmytro, a Ukrainian soldier who spoke to Reuters about the vehicle in the Donetsk region.
They said the vehicle was captured near Klishchiivka, a village gripped by fighting for months on end near the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut.
Dmytro said getting in and out carrying equipment was difficult through its tiny hatch. Visibility was very limited and the stench inside was overwhelming.
Aerial drone footage shot by the Ukrainian military and published on June 17 showed the tank being captured in a wooded area along with a Russian crew. Kyiv’s forces then planted a Ukrainian flag on top of it.
Russian guided bomb kills two in eastern Ukraine, prosecutors say
A Russian guided bomb killed two people and wounded three in a residential area of the eastern Ukrainian town of Selydove on Friday, regional prosecutors said.
Five five-storey buildings and six private homes were damaged by the UMPB D-30 bomb in Selydove, about 14 km (nine miles) from the front line, the Donetsk region prosecutors said on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, has dropped over 10,000 guided bombs since the start of the year, including over 3,200 in May alone, Ukrainian military spokesman Nazar Voloshyn said.
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Ukrainian forces pictured near the frontline city of Chasiv Yar, eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian forces have been pictured firing a 120 mm mortar near the frontline city of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine.
The city has become one of Russia’s main targets over the past few months, with Ukrainian forces holding the east and southeastern outskirts despite extensive deployments of Kremlin troops.
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Ukraine accused of ‘mass’ drone attack in Russia’s Krasnodor region
Ukraine’s military launched a “mass” drone attack on southern Russia’s Krasnodar region, killing one person and targeting an oil refinery, among other sites, local officials said.
A worker in a boiler room was killed when drone debris crashed into it, regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said.
Emergency officials said three municipalities came under attack. Fragments from one drone fell on a guest house in Temriuk district, but its residents were evacuated and there were no injuries.
Emergency crews were working at the sites of the attacks.
Source: independent.co.uk
