Russia conducts first drone strike on Kyiv in 12 days, but all attempts thwarted

After a period of relative calm, Russia launched a drone attack on the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, early on Sunday, according to officials. This marked the first drone strike in the war after a 12-day hiatus.

All the Shahed exploding drones, which were of Iranian origin, were successfully detected and shot down, as confirmed by Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv city administration. The attack not only targeted the city itself but also the surrounding Kyiv region. Ruslan Kravchenko, the governor of the Kyiv region, reported that one person sustained injuries from falling debris caused by a destroyed drone.

Officials in Kyiv did not disclose the exact number of drones used in the attack on the city. However, the Ukrainian air force revealed that a total of eight Shaheds and three Kalibr cruise missiles were launched by the Russian forces across the country.

In other news, the ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine resulted in the loss of three lives and injuries to 17 individuals. Spain emphasized the European support extended to Kyiv amidst the crisis. The head of the UN atomic watchdog paid a visit to a Ukrainian nuclear plant that faced a threat due to the war with Russia. Additionally, Ukraine experienced flooding, leaving hundreds stranded and thousands without access to drinking water due to a dam break. Furthermore, inspections conducted in Ukraine revealed that nearly a quarter of the air-raid shelters were locked or unusable.

Further south, a 13-year-old boy sustained injuries from shelling in Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Kherson province. Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian administration of the province, stated that the child was wounded when the Russian army shelled the village of Mylove along the banks of the Dnieper River in the Beryslav district. The injured child was promptly hospitalized, and his life is not in danger, as confirmed by Tolokonnikov on state TV.

The shelling of Kherson province persisted on Sunday morning, causing injuries to four individuals in the regional capital, also named Kherson. The regional prosecutor’s office reported that the residential area of the city was targeted by Russian troops operating in the Russia-occupied part of Kherson province.

Meanwhile, the most intense fighting continued in Ukraine’s industrial east, with Bakhmut, Marinka, and Lyman in the Donetsk province witnessing 46 combat clashes. Serhii Cherevaty, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Eastern Group of Forces, stated that Ukrainian forces were making advances amid a “massive offensive” on the southern and northern flanks of the ravaged city of Bakhmut. However, Cherevaty did not disclose the extent of progress made, as the situation is still being analyzed and positions are being consolidated.

According to the General Staff’s regular update on Sunday morning, Russia conducted 27 airstrikes, one missile strike, and approximately 80 attacks from multiple rocket launchers within the previous 24 hours. The attacks targeted regions in the north, northeast, east, and south of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Black Sea port city of Odesa on Sunday, coinciding with the country’s navy commemoration day. During his visit, Zelenskyy received a report from the navy commander, discussed prospects for developing a naval drone and missile program, and presented awards to service members.

In Russia, local officials reported that air defense systems successfully shot down a drone over the Belgorod region, which shares a border with Ukraine. The neighboring Kursk region also experienced shelling attacks, but no casualties or damage were reported.

Despite the recent rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military company, Russian authorities remained defiant. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s State Duma, stated on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from the situation with strengthened positions both domestically and internationally. Volodin praised Russian society for its maturity and claimed there was no support for the rebellion.

However, there were reports of the detainment of General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, a few days after the mutiny. It remains unclear whether Surovikin, who has longstanding connections to Prigozhin, is facing charges or where he is being held.

Volodin, writing on Telegram, emphasized that Putin took measures to prevent bloodshed and confusion by explaining the reality to Wagner fighters. He stated that Putin suggested those who wished to defend Russia continue their service with weapons in their hands, and many of them agreed to this proposal.

Additionally, Volodin claimed that if a leader like Putin had been in charge in 1917 and 1991, there would not have been a revolution in Russia, and the USSR would not have collapsed. However, independent observers and analysts believe that Putin’s handling of the situation, initially promising severe repercussions for Wagner and later allowing them to go unpunished, may weaken his political standing. Prigozhin himself was permitted to leave Russia for Belarus.

In response to the relocation of Wagner fighters to Belarus, the Polish Interior Minister, Mariusz Kaminski, announced that Poland would deploy 500 police officers to join the 5,000 border guards and 2,000 soldiers already stationed on the country’s border with Belarus, reinforcing their defenses.

For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit https://bigbignews.net/russia-ukraine.

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More about Ukraine-Russia conflict

• Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Latest News and Updates
• Iranian-made Shahed Drones
• Wagner Private Military Company
• Ukraine-Russia Relations: Timeline of Events
• Poland’s Border Security Measures