Russia recently has intensified its aerial strikes on civilian areas after more than three years of war. Over the past week, Russia launched some 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 7.
Russia’s bigger army is also trying hard to break through at some points along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620 miles) front line, where Ukrainian forces are severely stretched. The strain of keeping Russia’s invasion at bay, and the lack of progress in direct peace talks, has compelled Ukraine to seek more military help from the U.S. and Europe.Read more: FM discusses issues of bilateral cooperation with Russian, Chinese counterparts
Zelensky said on Saturday (July 5) that Ukraine had inked deals with European allies and a leading U.S. defence company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives “hundreds of thousands” more this year. “Air defense is the main thing for protecting life,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Monday (July 7).
That includes developing and manufacturing interceptor drones that can stop Russia’s long-range Shahed drones, he said. Extensive use of drones has also helped Ukraine compensate for its troop shortages on the front line.
One person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, 27 were injured in northeastern Kharkiv and falling drone debris caused damage in two districts of Kyiv, the capital, during nighttime drone attacks, Ukrainian authorities said. Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two others in the northern Sumy region, officials said. Sumy is one of the places where Russia has concentrated large numbers of troops.
Also, nine people were injured and seven killed in the eastern Donetsk region, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said. He didn’t specify the type of weapons used. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday (July 7) that its troops shot down 91 Ukrainian drones in 13 Russian regions overnight, as well as over the Black Sea and the Russian-annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
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The Kremlin dismissed Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt on Monday (July 7), an order published on the Kremlin website said.
The announcement did not give a reason for Starovoyt’s dismissal. Over the weekend, hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airports. Other airports in western and central Russia also faced disruptions because of Ukrainian drone attacks.
