Kyiv Undergoes First Russian Drone Assault in Over a Week

Following a brief respite, Russia initiated a drone assault on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in the early hours of Sunday, according to official reports. This marked the first such occurrence in the past 12 days.

All the Iranian-manufactured Shahed exploding drones were detected and neutralized, as per Serhii Popko, the leader of the Kyiv city administration. Apart from Kyiv itself, its neighboring areas were also the targets of the attack. Kyiv’s regional Governor, Ruslan Kravchenko, reported one casualty due to falling rubble from a downed drone.

The precise count of drones that besieged the city was not disclosed by the Ukrainian capital officials. However, the Ukrainian air force revealed that nationwide, eight Shahed drones and three Kalibr cruise missiles were deployed by Russia.

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Moving further south, a 13-year-old boy was injured during the nocturnal bombardment of Ukraine’s partially subjugated southern Kherson province, stated Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian administration of the province.

The minor was harmed when the Russian army bombed the Mylove village situated on the Dnieper River banks in the Beryslav district, according to Tolokonnikov.

“The boy is under hospital care, and his life is not in danger,” he stated on national TV.

The Kherson province experienced continued shelling on Sunday morning, injuring four individuals in the region’s capital, also known as Kherson. The regional prosecutor’s office stated that a residential sector of the city was targeted by Russian forces operating from the Russia-controlled part of the Kherson province.

“The attack resulted in at least four citizens injured, with two being the result of a deliberate strike on a tall residential structure,” the office posted on Telegram.

Simultaneously, the Ukrainian military reported that the most severe conflict persisted in Ukraine’s eastern industrial zone, with Bakhmut, Marinka, and Lyman in the Donetsk province being the focal points of the attacks, where 46 combat encounters occurred.

In its Sunday morning update, the General Staff reported that Russia had executed 27 airstrikes, one missile strike, and roughly 80 multiple rocket launcher attacks targeting areas in the north, northeast, east, and south of the country over the past 24 hours.

Russian local officials reported a drone being intercepted over the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine. The adjacent Kursk region also experienced shelling attacks, although no injuries or damages were reported.

Despite the recent turmoil caused by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner group’s rebellion, Russian authorities remain unyielding. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s lower parliamentary house, the State Duma, stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from this situation having amplified his national and global standing.

He added that Russian society demonstrated its maturity after undergoing this trial. According to Volodin, there were no instances of support for the rebellion.

However, it is believed that Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group fighting in Ukraine, was detained days after the rebellion. Surovikin, known to have strong connections with Prigozhin, could be facing charges, but his whereabouts are unknown, illustrating the murky nature of Kremlin politics and the uncertainty post-rebellion.

Volodin wrote on Telegram that the Russian president “took every step to prevent carnage and chaos,” including briefing the Wagner fighters on the actual state of affairs. He encouraged those willing to defend Russia to continue their armed service. “From what I gather, a significant number of them agreed,” said Volodin.

Moreover, the State Duma speaker reflected on the past trials Russia endured, stating that had “someone like Putin” been at the helm in 1917 and 1991, a revolution in Russia and the collapse of the USSR could have been averted.

However, independent observers and analysts argue that Putin may emerge politically weakened after initially threatening severe consequences for Wagner, only to later retract and state that the group’s forces would not face prosecution. Prigozhin was also permitted to exit Russia for Belarus.

Stay updated with AP’s coverage of the war at https://bigbignews.net/russia-ukraine.

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• AP’s coverage of the war
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• Information on drone warfare
• Profile of Vladimir Putin
• Details about Wagner Group
• Insights on Ukraine’s industrial east