The military administration of the Kiev region said late on Saturday that Russia launched a drone attack during the night over the capital region, while Russia announced the downing of 3 Ukrainian drones in the Crimean Peninsula.
Reuters quoted witnesses as saying that at least five explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, after the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that air defense systems were confronting a Russian air attack.
Klitschko wrote – via the Telegram application – that “drones are still heading towards Kiev.”
On the other hand, the head of the Crimean Peninsula Administration – who was appointed by Russia – Sergei Aksyonov said on Telegram on Saturday that Russian air defenses shot down 3 Ukrainian drones; One to the northwest and two to the west of the peninsula.
Separately, the Russian TASS news agency said that the country’s Ministry of Defense informed journalists that air defenses thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack that attempted to strike targets on the territory of the Russian Federation at approximately 7:30 p.m. local time.
Targeting military industries
In turn, Ukraine confirmed – through the head of its military intelligence, General Kirilo Budanov – that its strikes on Russian territory primarily target military industries.
Budanov said – during his participation in a conference in Kiev – that among the targets was a factory for electronic chips used in the manufacture of “Iskander” missiles, which Russia used extensively to bomb Ukrainian territory.
In recent months, the frequency of Russian territory being exposed to attacks – whether in border areas or far from them, up to Moscow – has increased, most of them using drones. Ukraine is now openly claiming more of these attacks.
Meanwhile, the new Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umarov asked Western countries to provide his country with “more heavy weapons” to support the counteroffensive launched by his forces to reclaim territory controlled by Russia.
Last June, Kiev began a counterattack to restore territory controlled by Russian forces in eastern and southern Ukraine, but the attack – to which Western countries provided support with military equipment – has not yet achieved the desired results.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on Friday that Russian air superiority “stops” the counterattack, expressing his regret at the “slowness” of Western military aid, and demanding long-range weapons and tightening sanctions on Moscow.
420 thousand soldiers
According to Ukrainian military intelligence estimates, Russia deploys 420,000 soldiers in the areas it occupies in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Vadim Skibitsky, deputy head of intelligence at the Ministry of Defense, said that this number “does not include the Russian National Guard and other special formations charged with maintaining occupation authority in our territories.”
He confirmed that Russia has been using the Crimean Peninsula for a month to “attack port infrastructure” in southern Ukraine.
He explained that “drones deployed in Crimea are being used against the ports of Ismail and Reni,” which were transporting Ukrainian grain shipments across the Black Sea until Moscow’s withdrawal from an international agreement in this framework last July.
