2023-10-23 16:17:41
Ukraine shot down 14 drones and a cruise missile fired by Russia into southern and eastern Ukraine overnight, but debris from a downed drone damaged a warehouse in the Black Sea port of Odessa, officials said on Monday. fair.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down nine Iranian-made Shahed drones over the southern region of Odessa, home to Ukraine’s main Black Sea ports, and no one was injured, Governor Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram.
There was no comment from Moscow, which denies targeting civilian infrastructure.
Russia has intensified attacks on port and grain infrastructure since abandoning a United Nations (UN) agreement in July that allowed Kiev to ship its grain through the Black Sea.
Ukraine, a major grain producer, has been trying to establish a new transport corridor to revive its exports via the Black Sea, traditionally its main route to global markets, despite the Russian blockade.
The regions of Kherson in the south, Donetsk in the east and Sumy in the northeast were also targets of attacks, the Interior Ministry said.
All 14 drones, including 13 Shaheds, and a cruise missile were shot down in the attack, the air force said, praising Western-supplied air defense systems.
“Western weapons have proven and continue to prove their effectiveness on the battlefield,” Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote in a statement on Telegram.
Russia has carried out frequent airstrikes in Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kiev fears Russia will intensify attacks on its power grid to cripple infrastructure as winter sets in.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said Russian shelling hit a thermal power plant in the Donetsk region on Sunday night. The Interior Ministry said there was a large fire.
By Olena Harmash and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne
#Ukraine #repels #Russian #drone #attack #debris #damages #warehouse #Odessa #Kiev