Russia downs more than 100 Ukrainian drones in one of the war’s biggest skirmishes – National
More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down in Russia on Sunday, officials said, sparking a wildfire and bursting a bridge in one of the biggest brushstrokes seen in Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that it shot down 125 drones overnight in seven regions. The region south-west of Volgograd came under heavy fire, as 67 Ukrainian drones were reportedly shot down by Russian air defenses.
17 drones were also spotted in the Russian region of Voronezh, where falling debris destroyed an apartment and a home, said Gov. Aleksandr Gusev. Pictures on social media showed flames rising from the windows on the top floor of the high-rise building. No injuries were reported.
In this photo provided by the Emergency Services of Ukraine, a damaged apartment building is seen after Russia bombed the city overnight in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.
Emergency Service of Ukraine via AP
Another 18 drones were reported in the Rostov region of Russia, where falling debris caused a wildfire, said Gov. Vasily Golubev.
He said the fire was not a danger to residential areas, but the emergency services are fighting to put out the fire that has burned 20 hectares (49.4 acres) of forest.
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Russia’s world attack warnings
Elsewhere, 16 civilians were injured in overnight violence in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia after Ukrainian military leaders warned that Moscow might be preparing a new military offensive in the country’s south.
The city was targeted by Russian guided bombs in 10 separate attacks that damaged a high-rise building and several residential buildings, Gov. Regional Ivan Fedorov wrote on his official Telegram channel. Many people are still trapped under the rubble, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that the attack on Zaporizhzhia had damaged the city’s transport links. “Today, Russia hit Zaporizhzhia with aerial bombs. Common residential buildings were destroyed and the door of one building was destroyed. The infrastructure of the city and the railways were also destroyed,” said Zelenskyy in the song X.
The Ukrainian leader appeared on Sunday at a memorial service to mark the 83rd anniversary of World War II casualties.
Babyn Yar, a gorge in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, is where nearly 34,000 Jews were killed in 48 hours in 1941 during the Nazi occupation of the city.
“Babyn Yar is a clear proof of the atrocities that regimes are capable of when led by leaders who rely on intimidation and violence. At any time they are not different,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “But the world’s response must be different. This is a lesson the world should have learned. We must protect humanity, health and justice.”
The Ukrainian military warned on Saturday that Russian forces may be preparing offensive operations in the wider Zaporizhzhia region. Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for the southern Ukrainian military, said that Russia was recruiting personnel in this way.
The Ukrainian Air Force also reported that 22 Russian drones were launched into the country overnight. It said 15 were shot down in the Ukrainian regions of Sumy, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv, and Odesa, and five were destroyed using self-defense equipment. The fate of the remaining two drones is unclear.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
