Russia and Ukraine enter the war of drones

Moscow, August 3 (EFE). Russia and Ukraine have once again been highlighted in an unsettling drone duel, this time shot down by air defenses from both sides, and Kharkiv’s eastern front, which borders the Donbass, is now focusing on more bloody battles.

Early in the morning, the Kyiv batteries managed to shoot down up to fifteen Russian-made Iranian-made Shahed 136/131 drones without recording injuries or serious damage.

Unmanned aerial vehicles monopolized the leading role for weeks both in the air, whether in Moscow, Kiev or Crimea, and in the Black Sea, which forced Russia to take emergency measures.

COVERING THE SKY OVER Kyiv

The attack was “massive”, and the air raid lasted three hours, according to the military administration of the Ukrainian capital.

The Air Force said the strikes came from Bryansk, a Russian region bordering Ukraine.

On the eve of the morning, Kyiv was already the site of shelling by ten drones, which were shot down, but administrative buildings were damaged by shrapnel.

In addition, Russian artillery shelled the capital of the Kherson region on Thursday, where eight people, including four passengers, were injured when a shell hit a trolleybus.

Another projectile this morning hit the Cathedral of St. Catherine, according to the authorities loyal to the people of Kiev, and the building of the Consulate of Greece, which has not been working for a year and a half.

According to the prosecutor’s office, 10,749 civilians in Ukraine have died since the beginning of the conflict, of which 499 are minors, to which should be added 15,599 wounded.

RUSSIAN AUTO CAPITAL UNDER ATTACK

For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday it had shot down seven drones in the Kaluga region, about 600 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

In a statement by the military, which clarifies that there were no casualties, this action is called “an attempted terrorist attack in Kyiv.”

Known as the country’s automotive capital and home to numerous automotive manufacturing plants, Kaluga is a scapegoat because it borders the Moscow region.

In recent weeks, Kiev has extended its attack range to reach Moscow, where two skyscrapers in Moscow City, the financial center of the Russian capital, were hit last Saturday and Tuesday.

As part of additional measures to ensure the security of civilian infrastructure, the Russian Ministry of Defense has restricted shipping through the Kerch Strait, where the Crimean Bridge is located, linking the annexed peninsula with the Russian mainland.

KUPYANSKAYA BATTLE

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the Russians are claiming they are continuing to advance towards the Ukrainian stronghold of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, the conquest of which would allow Moscow to attempt to envelop enemy positions in the Donbass.

“On the Kupyansk Front, the assault units of the Western Group of Forces carried out offensive operations on a broad front and strengthened their positions,” General Igor Konashenkov, military press secretary, said in a combat summary.

Kiev military officials admit that Russia has deployed some 100,000 troops on this sector of the front, but Ukrainian soldiers who are resisting in the trenches in Kupyansk told EFE today that they have inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and neutralized the bulk of Russian forces. .

THE HUNGER GAMES

Another equally deadly rivalry between Russians and Ukrainians, the grain war, has also escalated after Kiev’s call on Moscow to end the so-called “hunger games,” echoed today by local diplomat Josep Borrell.

“Moscow is fighting for a global catastrophe. In its madness, (Russia) wants the collapse of world food markets, it needs a price crisis and supply disruptions, ”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned in Telegram.

As the Kremlin insists that it will only return to the Black Sea Initiative if its conditions are met, Kiev has asked the UN Security Council to force Moscow to comply with these agreements, since it withdrew from it two weeks ago and attacks on Ukrainian port terminals have already caused prices to rise.

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