Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 19 drones in an overnight attack on Ukraine. The war torn country’s military said earlier today. Kyiv’s air force shot down 18 Russian drones, and the remaining one returned to Russian territory.
Russian drones and missiles attacked the southern region of Odesa, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement.
Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said the Russian drones attacked the city of Chornomorsk caused fires on three floors of an apartment building but there were no casualties.
It also set off a fire, now extinguished, at an administrative and production building in Odesa district, he added, while one Russian drone fell in an open area without detonating.
A Russian missile also hit a Palau-flagged vessel in Odesa port on Monday, killing a Ukrainian national and injuring five crew members in the second such attack in as many days, officials said.
Russian shelling killed one person and wounded six others in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, a town near the front line of the 2-1/2-year-old war that Russia’s military hopes to capture.
Vadym Filashkin, governor of Donetsk region, that the shelling damaged six multi-storey apartment buildings, an administrative building and a business site. Pictures posted online showed dwellings with shattered windows and damage to facades.
Filashkin said two children were among the injured, including a 2-year-old.
Russian forces have been advancing slowly through Donetsk region in recent weeks. The heaviest fighting gripping areas near the town of Pokrovsk, further south.
After failing to advance on Kyiv in the early days of the war, Moscow’s troops have focused on seizing the Donbas, comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine’s east.
The U.S. Congress has passed USD 60 billion supplemental funding for Ukraine earlier this year. Ukraine is in urgent need as its ammunition reserves, especially those of artillery and air-defence, have been dwindling. Ukraine would receive ammunition for Patriot air defence system, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), Stinger anti-aircraft missiles from the United States. The need for air defence weapons is urgent as Russian missile and glide bomb strikes are having a serious effect on Ukrainian infrastructure.
The U.S. will reprioritise planned deliveries of foreign military sales of Patriot and other missiles to go to Ukraine, which is in “desperate need” of more air defense capabilities amid its ongoing war with Russia. The Ukrainian forces will also get Additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and ammunition, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) and Javelin ATGMs besides AT-4 anti-armour rockets.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
