Breaking down the drone ‘revolution' driven by Russia's war on Ukraine
NewsFeed Breaking down the drone 'revolution' driven by Russia's war on Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine are waging a remotely controlled battle in the air and at sea that the world's militaries are closely watching for insights. Al Jazeera's Alex Gatopoulos explains.
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Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,256
Here is how things stand on Sunday, August 3: Fighting Kyiv's military administration warned residents of the Ukrainian capital to take shelter on Saturday night due to the takeoff of a Russian MiG-31K, the carrier of the Russian Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, in a post on Telegram. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that its team heard explosions and saw smoke coming from an 'auxiliary facility' located 1,200 metres from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The Russian-installed administration of the plant said that a civilian was killed by Ukrainian shelling. A fire that broke out near the plant was brought under control, the administrators added in a post on Telegram. An elderly man was killed inside a house that caught fire due to falling Ukrainian drone debris in Russia's Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev posted on Telegram. A Ukrainian drone attack killed a guard at an industrial facility and caused a fire in Russia's Rostov region, acting Governor Yury Slyusar said. 'The military repelled a massive air attack during the night', destroying drones over seven districts, Slyusar wrote on Telegram. Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said that an explosion killed five soldiers from the Russian-backed Akhmat unit on a minibus near Russian-occupied Melitopol on Saturday. A Russian drone attack killed a 12-year-old boy and left a 13-year-old hospitalised with shrapnel wounds in the village of Sveska in Ukraine's Sumy region, Governor Oleh Hryhorov said. Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency said that Ukrainian drones hit Russia's Primorsko-Akhtarsk military airfield, which has been used to launch waves of long-range drones at Ukraine. The SBU claimed it also hit a factory in Penza, which it said supplies Russia's military with electronics. Ukrainian forces hit an oil refinery in Ryazan, about 180 km (110 miles) southeast of Moscow, causing a fire on its premises, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said on Telegram. Residents of the Korabel neighbourhood in Ukraine's southern port city of Kherson were urged to evacuate by the head of the region's military administration after Russian forces damaged a bridge that connected the neighbourhood with the rest of the city. Russia's Ministry of Defence said that Russian forces had captured the village of Oleksandro-Kalynove in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on Saturday. The Defence Ministry in Moscow said in its daily report that its defence units downed a total of 338 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday morning. It did not say how many Ukrainian drones were launched. Ukraine's air force said it had downed 45 of 53 Russian drones launched towards its territory overnight into Saturday morning. Russia launched 6,129 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine in July 2025, the Kyiv Independent reported, 14 times more than the 423 drones it launched during the same month last year. Politics and diplomacy The New York Times reported that two unnamed Indian officials said their country would keep buying Russian oil, even after United States President Donald Trump recently imposed an unspecified penalty for the country's purchase of Russian oil and military equipment. Armenia's Ministry of Defence said that its peacekeeping brigade would undertake joint drills with the US military from August 12 to 20, Interfax reported. Ahead of a previous joint drill with the US in September 2023, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Russia's war in Ukraine meant it was unable to meet Armenia's security needs. Ukrainian authorities detained several officials over a 'large-scale corruption scheme' in the defence sector, just days after lawmakers restored the independence of the country's two main investigative bodies.
Al Jazeera
7 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine says defence sector corruption scheme uncovered
Ukrainian authorities have detained several officials over a 'large-scale corruption scheme' in the defence sector, just days after lawmakers restored the independence of the country's two main investigative bodies. The National Anti-Corruption Agency (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) said in a joint statement on Saturday that they made four arrests in connection with the scheme, which involved the procurement of military drones and signal jamming systems. 'The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices,' they said, adding that the suspects had received kickbacks of up to 30 percent of the contract amounts. NABU and SAPO said they had caught a sitting lawmaker, two local officials and an unspecified number of National Guard personnel taking bribes. The suspects were not identified in Saturday's statement. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also said it had suspended the suspected National Guard members. The announcement comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came under criticism last month for trying to take away the anticorruption agencies' independence and place them under the control of his prosecutor-general. The agencies regained their autonomy after Zelenskyy's move sparked the first antigovernment demonstrations in Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022. Zelenskyy, who enjoys far-reaching wartime powers, initially said he needed to bring the agencies under his control because they were inefficient and under 'Russian influence'. But he then said he had heard people's anger and submitted a bill restoring the agencies' independence, which was passed by lawmakers on Thursday. 'It is important that anticorruption institutions operate independently, and the law passed on Thursday guarantees them all the tools necessary for a real fight against corruption,' Zelenskyy said. Ukraine's European allies praised the about-face, having voiced concerns about the original defanging of the agencies. Top officials had told Zelenskyy that Ukraine was jeopardising its bid for European Union membership by curbing the powers of its antigraft authorities. In a statement about Saturday's arrests, Zelenskyy said he was 'grateful to the anti-corruption agencies for their work'.
Al Jazeera
13 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Why is Trump moving nuclear submarines after spat with Medvedev?
Donald Trump has ordered the repositioning of two United States nuclear submarines to 'appropriate regions' relative to Russia, as the US president grows frustrated over stalling peace talks aimed at bringing an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. On Friday, Trump exchanged heated words with Dmitry Medvedev, Moscow's military leader and former president. The day before, Trump had issued an ultimatum to Russia: If it does not agree to a ceasefire by next Friday, August 8, he will impose a package of economic sanctions. The next day, Medvedev posted on social media, describing Trump's threat as 'a step towards war'. He wrote that Trump was 'playing the ultimatum game with Russia'. In a post on Truth Social, Trump responded: 'Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.' What has Trump done? On Friday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he had ordered two US 'Nuclear Submarines' to be repositioned to 'appropriate regions'. Trump cited what he regarded as threatening comments made by former Russian President Medvedev, now deputy chair of Russia's Security Council. He called Medvedev's statements 'highly provocative', adding that his actions were a precaution. 'I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,' Trump wrote. In the run-up to his presidential campaign, Trump promised to end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours; however, several discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin have since not yielded any results. What do we know about the submarines Trump says he will reposition? Not much – and we do not know which submarines Trump is referring to. Trump did not say if he had ordered the repositioning of submarines with nuclear engines or submarines carrying nuclear missiles. Trump did not reveal the location of the submarines, either, as mandated by US military protocol. However, Trump's statement is so far being viewed as a rhetorical threat, rather than a military one, as security analysts noted that the US already has nuclear-powered submarines that are deployed and capable of striking Russia as a deterrent. What prompted Trump's submarine move? Mostly, his frustration over the lack of progress of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. But, in this case, the social media spat with Medvedev seems to have tipped him over into action. Trump and the Russian military leader have been engaged in mud-slinging on social media platforms for some time. Earlier, responding to Trump's new deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Medvedev wrote in a post on X that Trump was playing an 'ultimatum game' with Russia. 'Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!' Medvedev had said. Earlier in the week, while announcing trade tariffs for India – along with an extra penalty for buying Russian oil – Trump stated that he did not care if India and Russia 'take their dead economies down together'. In a Telegram post on Thursday, Medvedev wrote that Trump should 'revisit his favourite movies about the living dead and recall just how dangerous the mythical 'Dead Hand' can be'. Russia's 'Dead Hand system' is a Cold War-era automatic nuclear retaliation mechanism designed to launch a counterstrike even if the Russian leadership is wiped out in a first strike. Trump replied: 'Tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words. He's entering very dangerous territory!' Speaking to reporters after his post about the nuclear submarines, Trump said on Friday: 'We just have to be careful. And a threat was made and we didn't think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful. 'A threat was made by a former president of Russia, and we're going to protect our people.' Who has more nuclear power: Russia or the US? Combined, the US and Russia account for nearly 87 percent of the world's total nuclear arsenal. The geopolitical rivals control about 83 percent of the nuclear warheads actually deployed or ready for operational use. Despite significant post-Cold War reductions, global nuclear arsenals remain at a 'very high level', according to a report by the Federation of American Scientists. As of January 2025, just nine countries are estimated to possess a total of approximately 12,241 nuclear warheads. Today, according to the nonprofit Arms Control Association, the US deploys 1,419 and Russia deploys 1,549 strategic warheads on several hundred bombers and missiles. The US conducted its first nuclear test explosion in July 1945; the following month, it dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Four years later, the Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test explosion. As of 2025, the US Navy operates 71 submarines, all nuclear‑powered, making it the largest undersea force. This fleet includes 14 Ohio‑class ballistic missile subs (SSBNs), four Ohio‑class converted guided‑missile submarines (SSGNs) loaded with Tomahawk missiles for strikes or special operations, and about 53 fast‑attack submarines designed for intelligence gathering, anti‑submarine warfare and cruise‑missile support. By comparison, the Russian Navy fields fewer than 30 nuclear‑powered submarines, including approximately 10 strategic SSBNs, a mix of modern Borei and older Delta IV classes, that carry Bulava missiles. It also operates several strategic‑missile cruise boats and about six Akula‑class attack submarines equipped for anti‑ship and multi‑role missions. Russia is investing in modern fleet expansion through the Yasen‑M class. Has Russia responded to Trump's submarine manoeuvre? No. Neither the Kremlin nor Medvedev has publicly responded to Trump's order to move two nuclear submarines following their war of words. Viktor Vodolatsky, a senior Russian lawmaker and deputy chairman of the State Duma's committee on Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) affairs, however, stated that Russia possesses 'significantly more nuclear submarines in the world's oceans' than the US, claiming US subs have 'long been under their control' and, therefore, no specific response is required. Last month, the US President said he was 'disappointed' with Putin. 'We'll have a great conversation. I'll say: 'That's good, I'll think we're close to getting it done,' and then he'll knock down a building in Kyiv,' he told the BBC in an interview. On Friday, in an apparent reference to Trump's comment, Putin said: 'As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule.' On a ceasefire with Kyiv, Putin said he wants a 'lasting and stable peace' in Ukraine; however, he has not given any indication that Russia is willing to achieve it any quicker. In 2017, during his first term as US president, Trump announced that he had sent two nuclear submarines to the Korean peninsula. Soon afterwards, he held a meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. Whether this latest move will lead to a new meeting with Putin is yet to be seen, however.
