According to sources, Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone assaults early on Wednesday, with Kiev reportedly attacking Moscow once more and the Kremlin’s forces unleashing another bombardment of Ukrainian grain storage facilities. These attacks are part of a pattern that has recently become a defining feature of the nearly 18-month conflict.Later on Wednesday, the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system in occupied Crimea was allegedly destroyed, according to the Ukrainian intelligence service. If true, it would be yet another embarrassment for Moscow as Russia’s assets in southern and eastern Ukraine are increasingly being targeted.
The organization, referred to by the initials GUR, asserted on its official Telegram channel that Russia has a “limited number” of the advanced equipment and that the loss “is a painful blow.” Moscow authorities didn’t respond right away. One of the best such systems available is the long-range S-400 missile, which can target hostile aircraft. They can engage numerous targets at once and have a range of 400 kilometers (250 miles).
According to Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, a three-hour nighttime Russian drone attack in the southern Odesa area of Ukraine on Tuesday ignited a fire at grain storage facilities.
According to a Facebook post by Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, the attack damaged 13,000 metric tons (14,300 U.S. tons) of grain, bringing the month’s total grain losses to almost 270,000 metric tons (300,000 U.S. tons). Days after President Vladimir Putin halted Russia’s involvement in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia focused on Odesa last month, crippling a sizable portion of the port city’s grain facilities. Due to that military agreement, exports from Ukraine might reach numerous nations where starvation was a problem.
In less than a year after the signing of that agreement, Ukraine exported 32.9 million metric tons (36.2 million U.S. tons) of grain, the majority of it from the Odesa region. The defense ministry and the mayor of Moscow said that Russian officials claimed to have shot down Ukrainian drones early on Wednesday morning in Moscow and the surrounding area. There were no reported casualties in the drone strike, which has virtually become routine in the Russian capital.
One drone reportedly crashed into a building that was being built in Moscow City, a famous corporate complex that had already been struck by drones twice, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin. Two adjoining buildings had several windows damaged, and emergency personnel arrived at the site.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the drone contained electronic jamming. It attributed the attack to Ukraine and said that two other drones were shot down by air defense systems in the Moscow region’s Mozhaisk and Khimki districts. As usual, representatives from Kiev did not confirm or deny that Ukraine was responsible for the drone assaults.
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