A pre-dawn Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa wounded 14 people, including two children, local authorities reported on Monday. The drones struck residential neighbourhoods and civilian infrastructure, according to Serhii Lysak, head of the city administration. Oleh Kiper, head of the regional military administration, said five of the injured were hospitalised, most with shrapnel wounds.
In the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, a Ukrainian drone strike killed two people in the village of Dnipriany, said Moscow-installed Governor Vladimir Saldo. The victims, a man and a woman in their 70s, died in the attack.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that over the past week Russia launched approximately 1,900 attack drones, nearly 1,400 guided aerial bombs, and around 60 missiles of various types at Ukraine. He claimed that Ukraine now intercepts more than 90% of Russian drones due to its development of cutting-edge military technology, but reiterated the need for more American-made Patriot air defence missiles to counter ballistic missiles.
Ukraine has been sharing its expertise with Middle Eastern and Gulf countries facing Iranian drone attacks. Norway became the latest European nation to sign a joint drone manufacturing agreement with Kyiv, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry announced on Monday.
Zelenskyy also welcomed positive developments: NATO allies (excluding the US) have contributed to a financial arrangement to purchase American weapons; the European Union approved a €90 billion (£106 billion) loan to Ukraine; and the EU intends to impose further sanctions on Moscow. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to strike oil terminals and refineries deep inside Russia with long-range drones and missiles. The Institute for the Study of War reported geolocated evidence of at least 10 such strikes in the past two weeks.
