Russian air defence units intercepted a series of Ukrainian drones in several Russian regions, officials said, many of them in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops launched a major incursion in August.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defences downed 15 drones in Kursk region on the Ukrainian border. It said units downed one drone each in Bryansk region, also on the border, and in Lipetsk region, further north.
The ministry said one drone was downed in central Oryol region.
And the governor of Belgorod region, a frequent target on the Ukrainian border, said a series of attacks had smashed windows in an apartment building and caused other damage, but no casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Wednesday he was “cautiously optimistic” after discussing with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the possibility of conducting deep strikes on Russia.
Kyiv has long been lobbying for Western allies to allow long-range attacks on military targets inside Russia, while also pressing for an invitation to join the NATO alliance.
Allies including the United States have been unwilling to permit long-range attacks for fear of further escalating the conflict, and some are opposed to inviting Ukraine to join NATO.
“We discussed issues of long-range strikes and Euro-Atlantic integration. And here we also are cautiously optimistic,” Sybiha said in televised comments.
His talks with Blinken in Brussels come at a turbulent time, just one week after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. Trump has long criticised the scale of U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine and has vowed to end the war quickly, without explaining how.
Ukraine and its European allies fear this would mean accepting peace on Russia’s terms, which would entail large territorial losses and rule out Ukraine ever joining NATO.
The outgoing Biden administration has pledged to promptly deliver what remains of the promised aid packages before Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Of the weapons transfer authority passed in April, $4.3 billion remains, in addition to $2.8 billion worth of transfers lawmakers approved in previous spending measures and $2 billion in funding for the purchase of new weapons from industry.
In total, that $9 billion in military assistance would be a significant boost to Ukraine’s stores.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
