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Ukraine has destroyed Russian pontoon bridges with US-made weapons to defend its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, officials said.
Kyiv said US-manufactured HIMARS rocket systems had been used as part of operations to disrupt Russian logistics in the Kursk region, in Ukraine’s first official statement acknowledging its use of the weapon during its incursion.
Yesterday Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow since Vladimir Putin’s invasion began – its latest attempt to bring the war home to Russia as it continues its audacious cross-border incursion in Kursk.
Russia’s defence ministry said its air systems destroyed a total of 45 drones over its territory, including 11 over the Moscow region, 23 over the border region of Bryansk, six over the Belgorod region, three over the Kaluga region and two over the Kursk region.
Meanwhile in Russia, Orthodox priests deployed an icon and blessed fire engines at the scene of a huge fuel depot blaze that has been raging since a Ukrainian drone attack struck the facility on Sunday.
More than 500 firefighters are tackling the Rostov blaze, with at least 41 forced to seek medical care.
Zelensky needles Putin with largest drone attack aimed at Moscow
Ukraine has launched the largest drone attack on Moscow since Vladimir Putin’s invasion – its latest attempt to bring the war to Russia as it continues an audacious cross-border incursion in Kursk.
For months, Ukraine has targeted Russian refineries and airfields with drones but assaults on the capital – some 300 miles from the Ukrainian border – have been rarer.
One Russian dissident told The Independent that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was seeking to land a “serious psychological blow to Russians”.
Russia begins installing concrete shelters in Kursk region
Russian authorities in the western Kursk region have begun installing concrete shelters to help protect civilians amid an ongoing Ukrainian incursion, the acting regional governor said on Thursday.
Governor Alexei Smirnov wrote on Telegram that city officials in Kursk, the regional capital, were installing the shelters in crowded places, including in 60 bus stations. Similar shelters will be placed in two other towns, he said
Russian soldier blows up military base before defecting to Ukraine
A Russian soldier blew up his assault unit’s headquarters before escaping and defecting to Ukraine, Kyiv has revealed.
The soldier, an FPV drone pilot identified only by his call-sign “Silver”, said the operation was meticulously planned with Ukraine’s military intelligence and the Freedom of Russia Legion, a pro-Kyiv Russian partisan group.
Footage showed the moment Silver threw a grenade into a basement where his commander and fellow officers were sleeping, before he disappeared amidst the confusion.
Ukraine halted at Bryansk border, Russia claims
Vladimir Putin’s forces prevented a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance team from piercing the border in the western Bryansk region, about 240 km (150 miles) from Kursk, a Russian official claimed.
Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said troops repelled Kyiv’s attack in the region on Wednesday, with Moscow claiming it had began to push back Ukrainian forces in Kursk.
He said the attempted incursion took place in the Klimovo district which borders Ukraine’s Chernihiv region. The Bryansk region lies northwest of the Kursk region where a Ukrainian incursion has been underway since early August.
Ukraine smashed through the Russian border in the Kursk region on Aug. 6 in an attempt to force Moscow to divert troops from the rest of the front, though Russian forces have continued to advance in eastern Ukraine in recent days.
Putin meets China’s Premier Li in new display of autocrat friendship
Vladimir Putin met with Chinese premier Li Qiang yesterday as he hailed growing trade relations between the two countries, even as Moscow has become increasingly dependent on Beijing for political and economic support.
“Our trade relations are developing, developing successfully… The attention that the governments of the two countries on both sides are paying to trade and economic ties is yielding results,” Mr Putin said at the meeting in the Kremlin.
He also said that Russia and China have developed “large-scale plans” for economic and other projects.
“Chinese-Russian relations are at an unprecedentedly high level,” said Mr Li, who earlier had met with his Russian counterpart, prime minister Mikhail Mishustin.
The meeting took place as Russia struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region now in its third week. And overnight, Moscow experienced one of the largest waves of drone attacks on the Russian capital since the start of the Ukraine conflict.
Russian news reports did not indicate whether Mr Putin discussed Ukraine with Mr Li.
Ukraine attempts to pierce Russian border again near Kursk, says Russia
Russian forces prevented a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance team from piercing the border in the western Bryansk region, about 240km (150 miles) from the site of Ukraine’s incursion into the neighbouring Kursk region, a Russian official said.
Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said that Federal Security Service border guards and Russian military units repelled an attack by a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance team yesterday.
He said the attempted incursion took place in the Klimovo district which borders Ukraine’s Chernihiv region. The Bryansk region lies northwest of the Kursk region where a Ukrainian incursion has been underway since early August.
Ukraine smashed through the Russian border in the Kursk region on 6 August in an attempt to force Moscow to divert troops from the rest of the front, though Russian forces have continued to advance in eastern Ukraine in recent days.
This comes as Russia’s defence ministry said it had shot down 28 drones over Russian territory in the early hours today, including 13 in the Volgograd region, seven in Rostov, four in Belgorod, two in Voronezh and one each in Bryansk and Kursk regions.
German support for Moldova strengthens Ukraine and regional security, country claims
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday that Berlin’s support for her country strengthened neighbouring Ukraine and security in the region.
She also said Moldova was open for investment and invited German businesses to participate in the country’s first tender for renewable energy production.
India’s Modi visits Ukraine this week. Here’s what it could mean
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is set to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky in a historic visit tomorrow to Ukraine, a month and a half after he travelled to Moscow to hold talks with president Vladimir Putin.
Officials in India and Ukraine have said the visit will focus on boosting economic ties and cooperation in defence, science and technology.
Modi’s landmark visit is the first to Ukraine from a prime minister of India since the country established diplomatic relations with Ukraine over 30 years ago. He will arrive in Kyiv after a two-day visit to Poland.
Analysts say the timing of the trip is aimed at controlling fallout from the Indian leader’s 8-9 July trip to Russia.
The visit could also be an attempt to have India strike a more neutral stance after what has been seen as a lean toward Russia, given Modi’s recent Moscow visit, his country’s historic, Cold War-era relationship with Russia and New Delhi’s avoidance of directly criticising Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Britain keeps poking the Russian bear – don’t be surprised if it lashes out
Ukraine strikes Putin’s military facility in Volgograd region
A fire broke out at a military facility in Russia’s southern Volgograd region after a Ukrainian drone crashed into it on Thursday, regional governor Andrei Bocharov said on Telegram.
The Russian official claimed there were no casualties and did not specify what facility had been attacked, but said the attack focused on the area of the Marinovka village, where a military airbase is located.
Source: independent.co.uk
