Latest news with #UkrainianDrones
Reuters
2 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Ukrainian drones damage hospital, homes in Russia's Kursk, official says
May 30 (Reuters) - Ukrainian drones launched a night-time attack on Russia's western Kursk region, damaging a hospital and apartment buildings and injuring at least one person, the regional governor said early on Friday. Across the border in Ukraine's Sumy region, the regional governor reported fresh fighting in villages near the border where Russia has been seizing territory. He said various areas in his region were constantly changing hands. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he wants to create a buffer zone in Sumy, which was used to help launch Ukraine's incursion into Kursk last year. In the Kursk region, where Russia's military says Ukrainian forces who staged the incursion last August have been ejected, Governor Alexander Khinshtein said Ukrainian drones swarmed the main town, also called Kursk. "Drone fragments damaged the No. 1 city hospital in Kursk. Windows were smashed. Fortunately, no patients were injured," Khinshtein wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "Falling drone fragments have also damaged high-rise apartment buildings." Ukraine's military says its forces remain active in small areas of Kursk region. Authorities in Sumy region, under constant Russian attack for months, acknowledged this week that Russian forces were in control of at least four villages near the border. "Active battles continue in certain border areas, notably around the settlements of Khotyn and Yunakivka," Governor Oleh Hryhorov wrote on Facebook. "The situation on the line of contact is constantly changing. In some places, we hold the initiative, in others the enemy is proving to be active." Russia's Defence Ministry on Thursday said its forces had captured three more villages as it slowly advances through parts of eastern Ukraine. These were Stroivka in northeastern Kharkiv region, where Moscow has long been applying pressure, and Shevchenko Pershe and Hnativka near the town of Pokrovsk, the focal point of Russia's westward drive for months. Ukrainian military reports have made no acknowledgement of any of the three villages coming under Russian control. A statement on Thursday evening said Russian forces had launched 53 attacks over 24 hours near Pokrovsk.
Russia Today
2 days ago
- General
- Russia Today
Ukraine needed Western help to target Putin's helicopter
Ukraine must have relied on assistance from the West if it did in fact target a helicopter carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter has told RT. Russian air defense division commander Yury Dashkin told the Russia 1 channel last week that Putin's helicopter had been caught in the 'epicenter' of a massive Ukrainian drone attack during a visit to Kursk Region on May 20. The intensity of aerial incursions 'increased significantly' when the president was in the air, with 46 incoming fixed-wing UAVs being shot down in the area, he said. In an interview with RT on Wednesday, Ritter stressed that 'if the Ukrainians drones actually targeted the Russian president, they did not do so in a vacuum... there would have been assistance provided by the West, which means that the West is targeting the Russian president.' 'If you read the Russian nuclear doctrine, this is a trigger for Russian nuclear retaliation or preemptive strikes. So, who is playing with fire here? It is not Vladimir Putin who is playing with fire. It is Ukraine and the West that are playing with fire,' he added. The former US Marine Corps major was referring to a comment by US President Donald Trump, who claimed earlier this week that Putin was 'playing with fire.' The statement by Trump followed large-scale Russian strikes against Ukrainian military infrastructure, which Moscow said were retaliation for the intensification of drone attacks by Kiev on civilian targets inside Russia. According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, more than 2,300 Ukrainian UAVs have been intercepted over the past week above Russian territory, mostly away from the front line. Ritter expressed concern that there is a split in the US administration between opponents of Russia and those who are in favor of improving ties with Moscow. But at the same time, representatives of both camps and Trump himself are no experts on Russia, he added. The US president 'is a victim of basically the last words whispered into his ear before he goes to bed at night or the first words whispered into his ear when he wakes up in the morning… Trump is not well briefed [on Russia]. Look, this is a very dangerous situation,' Ritter warned.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump warns Putin he is ‘playing with fire' with unprecedented drone bombardment
Russia says its air defences destroyed or intercepted well over 100 Ukrainian drones far into the night over widely separated areas of Russia, including a swarm of drones repelled while headed for Moscow, officials said early today. The raid forced the closure of two airports serving the Russian capital – Vnukovo and Zhukovsky. Ukraine 's attack came after Russia launched the heaviest drone bombardment of the war so far, launching more than 900 over a three-day period that ended early Monday morning. That attack saw US president Donald Trump brand Vladimir Putin"absolutely crazy", and the Kremlin responded by saying the US president was being "emotional". Earlier, Russia said it had agreed a prisoner exchange with the US involving nine detainees from each side. Putin's foreign minister said the deal was discussed on the phone call between Trump and Putin last week, and he praised the US president as a man "who wants results". Donald Trump grows angrier as Vladimir Putin exposes his impotence As Washington settled in for a typically sleepy Memorial Day following the passage of Donald Trump 's 'big, beautiful bill' in the House, the president fired off one of his trademark furious rants on Truth Social, but the target was a surprise. This time, the target wasn't any of his domestic political foes — like the Democrats who voted in lockstep against the budget package he endorsed, or the handful of Republicans who refused to fall into line. It wasn't even aimed at the various law enforcement figures who have attempted to hold him to account over the years. Sunday evening's rant was aimed squarely at Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite what he called a 'very good relationship' with Putin, Trump in his latest statement on the Ukraine -Russia war blasted the Russian leader as 'absolutely crazy.' Donald Trump grows angrier as Vladimir Putin exposes his impotence Analysis: Russia's latest deadly offensive also did clear damage to Donald Trump's ego, writes John Bowden Arpan Rai28 May 2025 06:58 US snaps at Russia for stoking World War fears: 'Reckless comment' US president Donald Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg has scolded a top Russian official for stoking fears of a Third World War. Mr Trump took to Truth Social and said Vladimir Putin was "playing with fire" and cautioned that "REALLY BAD" things would have happened already to Russia if it was not for Mr Trump himself. "What Vladimir Putin doesn't realise is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened in Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He's playing with fire," Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post yesterday. Responding to Mr Trump, top Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said: "Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing – WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!" Mr Medvedev wrote in a post on X. US envoy Keith Kellogg quoted Mr Medvedev's post and called it reckless. "Stoking fears of WW III is an unfortunate, reckless comment... and unfitting of a world power," Mr Kellogg said on X. "President Trump @POTUS is working to stop this war and end the killing. We await receipt of RU Memorandum (Term Sheet) that you promised a week ago. Cease fire now,' he said. Arpan Rai28 May 2025 06:53 Germany hosts Zelensky today for bilateral talks Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to arrive in Berlin today for talks with German chancellor Friedrich Merz. According to a statement, Mr Merz will receive Mr Zelensky with military honours at the Federal Chancellery at noon (10am GMT). The newly-inducted German chancellor has ramped up the country's efforts to help Ukraine fight back against Russian aggression, aligning his efforts with those of the British and the French governments. On Monday, Mr Merz said his country and other major allies are no longer imposing any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion. It was unclear whether this represented a change in policy. Germany has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States since the full-scale war began in February 2022. Arpan Rai28 May 2025 06:29 US says Russia should focus on ending war, not Trump's social media Russia should focus less on president Donald Trump's social media posts and more on ending its war against Ukraine, US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said last night. "If the Russians cared about the nature of how [peace efforts are] proceeding, they would be thinking less about [the president's statements] and more about what they could do – which is in their hands – to stop the carnage and the slaughter that's happening right now," Ms Bruce said in a press briefing. The remarks from the US state department come shortly after the Kremlin blamed Mr Trump's recent remarks on Vladimir Putin on 'emotional overload'. Mr Trump said the Russian president had gone 'absolutely crazy' after the weekend bombardment of Ukraine that killed at least 12 people. Arpan Rai28 May 2025 05:58 'Ample evidence' Russia preparing fresh offensive despite talk of ceasefire, claims Zelensky After days of unprecedented Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine, involving more than 900 missiles and drones, Mr Zelensky claimed Kyiv had obtained intelligence suggesting Moscow was on the brink of a new push. 'We can see from the information obtained by intelligence and from open-source data that Vladimir Putin and his entourage do not plan to end the war,' the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address on Monday. 'There is currently no indication that they are seriously considering peace or diplomacy. On the contrary, there is ample evidence that they are preparing new offensive operations.' Russian troops have increased their attacks in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region in recent weeks, targeting an area 30 miles long between the two cities of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka, analysts tracking the front line have told The Independent. Russia preparing fresh offensive despite talk of ceasefire, claims Zelensky Russia's foreign ministry says it is working on a peace proposal to be sent to Ukraine, but Kyiv suggests Moscow is simultaneously planning a major new offensive Arpan Rai28 May 2025 05:50 Russian bots turn on 'clown' Trump after his comments against Putin Russian bots are piling on president Donald Trump, and calling him a 'clown,' after he publicly criticised Russian president Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. Nearly 1,000 posts ridiculing Trump have popped up on the Russian social media platform VKontakte since Sunday, after Trump vented that the Russian leader had gone 'absolutely CRAZY' and was 'needlessly killing a lot of people' in Ukraine. The pro-government accounts have accused Trump of having dementia, Newsweek reported, citing investigative Russian news outlet Agentstvo. Russian bots turn on 'clown' Donald Trump after he rips Putin over war in Ukraine Nearly 1,000 posts ridiculing Trump have popped up on Russian social media since the U.S. President shared critical comments on Putin's war. Arpan Rai28 May 2025 05:46 Putin's reluctance will prolong Ukraine war, warns Germany's Merz The war in Ukraine is expected to persist due to Russia's reluctance to enter negotiations, Germany's chancellor Friedrich Merz said. "Wars typically end because of economic or military exhaustion on one side or on both sides and in this war we are obviously still far from reaching that (situation)", Mr Merz said at a joint press conference with Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo in Turku. "So we may have to prepare for a longer duration," Mr Merz added. Arpan Rai28 May 2025 05:41 Trump says Putin avoided 'really bad things' — thanks to him Donald Trump has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he is 'playing with fire' following a barrage of Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine. The U.S. president also suggested Russia has avoided 'really bad things' — thanks to him. 'What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday. 'He's playing with fire!' Trump's latest post draws criticism that he has been 'shielding' Putin, even as he ramps up public criticism of Ukraine war Arpan Rai28 May 2025 05:29 Russia accuses Finland of provocation over Baltic Sea drills Russia's foreign ministry has accused Finland of escalating tensions by carrying out pre-organised naval drills, a week after two of Moscow's fighter jets reportedly violated Finnish airspace. Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson, claimed Finland's current naval operations were 'becoming a tool of Nato escalation near Russia's border'. It is not unusual for Moscow to make baseless claims like this. She was referring to Finland's Exercise Narrow Waters 25, the country's annual spring exercise. It was formerly a national exercise but has been developed into an international exercise to include Sweden, Germany and Estonia, following Finland's accession to Nato and the renewed threat posed by Russia. Russia is concurrently conducting naval exercises near the exclave of Kaliningrad further south. Last week, Finland summoned the Russian ambassador after Kremlin warplanes were reported to have crossed into Finnish airspace. It has also been reported that Russia is building a military presence on Finland's border. Arpan Rai28 May 2025 05:12 Russian aerial attacks across Ukraine at record levels Russia has increased its attacks on Ukraine in the past week to weaken Kyiv and "undermine" Western support for the war-hit nation, a think-tank has said. 'Russian forces conducted one of their largest drone and missile strikes of the war against Ukraine on the night of 25 to 26 May after three nights of record strikes,' the Institute for the Study of War said. 'The 25-26 May strike is now the second largest combined strike of the war after Russian forces conducted the largest combined strike on the night of 24-25 May,' it added. Russia is 'may be increasing strikes against Ukraine as part of a cognitive warfare effort to weaken Ukrainian resolve and undermine Western support for Ukraine,' the ISW said. Arpan Rai
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Moscow airports suspending flights as Ukraine launches barrage of drones: Russia
Russian authorities said they repelled almost 150 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday, in a major attack that forced at least three Moscow airports to suspend flights. On Telegram, the defense ministry posted that 112 Ukrainian drones had been 'destroyed and intercepted' in six different regions in the three hours up to midnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that another 33 drones heading for the Russian capital had been shot down. The Russian military announces Ukrainian drone attacks most days but rarely of this intensity over such a short period of time. Moscow, several hundred kilometers from the frontier, is not often the target of such a big attack. But the capital has increasingly had to divert flights in recent weeks. This time, the Federal Aviation Transport Agency said restrictions had been introduced at Moscow's Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports. Beyond Moscow, 59 drones targeted the southwestern region of Bryansk, Russia's defence ministry said. Others were fired at the Kursk, Belgorod, Tula, Oryol and Kaluga regions. The overnight swarm comes after Ukraine said it faced the most intense three days of Russian drone attacks since Moscow launched its military offensive in 2022. Ukraine said that Russia launched more than 900 drones over three days up to Monday. Thirteen civilians were killed in attacks on Sunday, including three children. Russia's defense ministry said Tuesday that its strikes were a response to Ukrainian drone and missile attacks that caused Russian civilian casualties.
Arab News
4 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Moscow airports disrupted as Russia says Ukraine launches drone assault
MOSCOW: Russian authorities said they had battled a major Ukrainian drone attack late Tuesday and early Wednesday, with at least two Moscow airports forced to suspend flights. The defense ministry said in a Telegram post that 112 Ukrainian drones had been 'destroyed and intercepted' in six different regions in the three hours up to midnight. Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Telegram that 12 drones heading for the Russian capital had been shot down. Some 59 had targeted the southwestern region of Bryansk, the defense ministry said. Others were fired at the Kursk, Belgorod, Tula, Oryol and Kaluga regions. The attack comes after Ukraine said it had faced the most intense three days of Russian drone attacks since Moscow launched its military offensive in 2022. The Russian military announces Ukrainian drone attacks most days but rarely of this intensity over such a short period of time. Moscow, several hundred kilometers from the frontier, is not often the target of such a big attack. But authorities have been increasingly forced to divert flights from Moscow airports in recent weeks. This time, the Federal Aviation Transport Agency said restrictions had been introduced at Moscow's Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports. Ukraine said that Russia launched more than 900 drones over three days up to Monday. Thirteen civilians were killed in attacks on Sunday, including three children. Russia's defense ministry said Tuesday that it had responded to Ukraine's 'provocation' by launching drone and missile attacks on Russian civilian installations.
