Ukraine says drones destroyed Russia’s helicopters, air defences in Crimea

Ukraine’s Security Service said it deployed peculiar drones to onslaught the Russian Kirovske subject airfield successful Crimea.

Ukraine said it carried retired an overnight drone onslaught connected the Kirovske airfield successful Crimea and claimed that aggregate Russian helicopters and an aerial defence strategy were destroyed successful the strike.

According to a Ukraine Security Service (SBU) statement, the drones targeted areas wherever Russian aviation units, aerial defence assets, ammunition depots and unmanned aerial vehicles were located. The bureau claimed that Mi-8, Mi-26, and Mi-28 helicopters, arsenic good arsenic a Pantsir-S1 rocket and weapon strategy were destroyed.

“Secondary detonations continued passim the nighttime astatine the airfield,” the SBU said, calling the onslaught portion of broader efforts to disrupt Russian aerial operations. “The force indispensable recognize that costly subject instrumentality and ammunition are not harmless anyplace – not connected the enactment of contact, not successful Crimea, and not heavy successful the rear.”

The Russian defence ministry said much than 40 Ukrainian drones were changeable down overnight and Saturday greeting implicit Crimea.

[Al Jazeera]

At the aforesaid time, Ukrainian officials said 2 radical were killed and 14 others were wounded during a Russian drone onslaught connected the larboard metropolis of Odesa.

Odesa Governor Oleg Kiper said connected Telegram that those who were killed were owed to a drone onslaught connected a “residential building”. Among the 14 injured, “three of them children”, Kiper added.

The politician of the confederate Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said that 1 idiosyncratic was killed and 3 others were wounded successful Russian strikes during the past day.

“Russian troops targeted captious and societal infrastructure and residential areas successful the region,” Prokudin added.

Territorial gains

Amid the latest attacks, Russia’s defence ministry said it had taken power of the colony of Chervona Zirka successful the eastbound Donetsk region, which Moscow has claimed is portion of Russia since an amerciable predetermination successful precocious 2022.

After nonstop talks betwixt Russia and Ukraine successful Turkiye this period to extremity the war, which began successful 2022, some sides were incapable to travel to a communal understanding.

Moscow has said immoderate territory taken during the warfare indispensable beryllium retained. Kyiv has staunchly rejected immoderate bid connection that calls for it to springiness up onshore to Russia.

On Friday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said that the 2 countries’ demands were “absolutely contradictory”.

“That’s wherefore negotiations are being organised and conducted, successful bid to find a way to bringing them person together,” Putin said astatine a property league successful Minsk, Belarus. He added that the 2 sides would “continue further contact” aft captive exchanges agreed astatine the Istanbul talks had been completed.

Russia and Ukraine person conducted respective prisoner-of-war swaps since agreeing to escaped much than 1,000 captured soldiers.