2023-08-30 15:11:02
August 30, 2023 Today at 07:33
Updated at 30 August 2023 17:11
Ukraine says its advance in the south opens the way to occupied Crimea, while drone attacks increase on both sides.
Ukraine considers that it has taken a step forward in its counter-offensive towards the south occupied by the Russian army, thanks to the seizure this week of the “strategic” locality of Robotyne. It thus presents this victory as an important step forward, while the operation carried out for more than three months by the Ukrainian forces is proving very difficult, with reduced progress.
The Russian military has so far not announced its retirement from Robotyne, on the other hand, reporting heavy fighting in the area and around the neighboring town of Verbove.
Attacks on both sides
At the same time, in the Ukrainian capital, two people died this Wednesday morning followinga “massive” attack of drones and missiles. It is the largest attack on kyiv “since the spring”according to the military authorities.
Early Wednesday, Russia also claimed to have destroyed four speedboats in the Black Sea which transported a total of up to 50 special forces personnel of Ukraine which, according to Russian authorities, led a multitude of nighttime drone attacks on Russian territory.
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“Kiev has not seen such a strong attack since the spring. The enemy launched a massive attack,” said Sergei Popko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration, explaining that Russia first targeted kyiv with several groups of drones from different directionsthen that “missiles” were launched towards the capital from Tu-95MS bombers.
“In total, more than 20 enemy targets were destroyed” by the Ukrainian air defense, communicated Mr. Popko.
Full screen view A flash from a missile explosion illuminates the city during a Russian missile strike, part of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kiev on August 30, 2023. ©REUTERS
Ukrainian boats destroyed, according to Moscow
On the side of the Black Sea, Moscow claimed to have destroyed Ukrainian military boats carrying special forces personnel and repelled a drone attack off the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Air defense has also worked on repel “enemy drone attacks (coming) from the sea” at the level of the bay of Sevastopol, headquarters of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea established in Crimea, informed the Russian governor Mikhail Razvojayev, before explaining that the situation was “under control”.
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A targeted Russian airport
According to Moscow, kyiv ruled overnight a multitude of drones against Russian territory to Pskovaround the Estonian border, some 830 km from the Ukrainian capital, where an airport was targeted.
“A drone attack was repelled at Pskov airport, thank God (there are) no casualties,” regional governor Mikhail Vedernikov said on Telegram, after sharing a video earlier where the you could see a vast fire and hear explosions and the wail of sirens.
“The war is moving ever closer to Russia, and it can’t be stopped.”
Mykhailo Podoliak
Advisor to the Ukrainian Presidency
According to the official TASS news agency, citing the rescue services, four Il-76 heavy cargo planes were damaged. The RIA Novosti agency reported two Il-76s having caught fire, relying on the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
All flights from Pskov airport on Wednesday have been canceled pending assessment of any damage to the runway, Vedernikov said.
If the border regions of Ukraine and Moscow are targeted almost daily by droness, such attacks in northwestern Russia are rare, raising the question of the permeability of the Russian defenses and the place from which the devices are launched. “The war is moving ever closer to Russia, and it can’t be stopped”commented on X (ex-Twitter) Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.
Multitude of drone attacks
In the rest of the Russian territory, other Ukrainian drones were shot down according to Moscow during the nightmanaging in particular to reach the region of the capital, without causing damage or injuries, according to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, as well as the bordering regions of Kalouga and Ryazan.
Once again, air traffic was briefly suspended at Moscow’s Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo international airports, according to TASS.
Moscow also said it had shot down drones in the regions of Briansk (border with Ukraine) and Orel (west).
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Drone attacks against Russian territory and the annexed Crimean peninsula have become almost daily in recent weeks, targeting the Russian capital in particular, against the backdrop of a Kiev counter-offensive that began in early June.
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