Ukraine says Russian drone strikes targeted energy infrastructure

Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that Russia launched 17 drones, two cruise missiles and a ballistic missile into the country.

The Ukrainian Air Force stated that it shot down 14 drones and the interception locations were the Nikolayev and Odessa regions. Ukrainian air defenses also shot down two of the three missiles also aimed at Odessa.

Odessa Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram that Russia launched the attack
The focus was on energy, transport and logistics infrastructure, damaging multiple locations and injuring at least two people.

Nikolayev Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram that the drone strike damaged local energy infrastructure and caused power outages that were resolved hours later.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it had halted a Ukrainian drone attack overnight, destroying five drones over the Bryansk region.

There were no immediate reports of damage in Bryansk.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he had urged U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to visit Ukraine.

In an interview with Axel Springer Media, the president said he wanted to hear Trump’s proposals for ending the war between Ukraine and Russia. However,
Zelensky said he was not interested in Trump’s idea that the war would end if Ukraine gave up significant amounts of land.

“If the agreement is that we give up our territory … then that is a very original idea,” Zelensky said. “I need a real idea because people’s lives are at stake.”

The U.S. military said on Tuesday it had handed over to Ukraine a collection of small arms and ammunition seized from Iranian forces as they tried to hand them over to Yemen’s Houthi rebels backed by Tehran.

U.S. Central Command said the cache includes more than 5,000 AK-47 assault weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, sniper rifles and more than 500,000 rounds of ammunition seized by the United States from four ships between May 2021 and February 2023. .

The United States says “these weapons will help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression” and are enough to equip a brigade.

Even so, Ukraine faces a shortage of weapons, in part because right-wing Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives oppose more aid to Ukraine and have so far managed to block U.S. consideration of $60 billion in new arms aid. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would vote on the measure later this week.

Zelensky said that without additional U.S. armaments, Kiev’s military would lose to Russia in the two-year war.

Cameron in the mountains of England

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on Tuesday as part of a visit to urge U.S. officials to support more aid to Ukraine.

Cameron met with congressional leaders but was unable to meet with Speaker Johnson due to scheduling conflicts.

President Joe Biden has repeatedly urged Johnson and other Republican opponents to support the Ukraine security bill.Some House Republicans say the focus should be on domestic priorities, such as securing the U.S.-Mexico border from a surge of migrants entering the U.S.

“Ukraine’s successes and failures [Russian President Vladimir] Cameron said in a statement that Putin was vital to the security of the United States and Europe. “The alternative will only encourage Putin to further try to redraw Europe’s borders by force, and Beijing, Tehran and North Korea will hear that loud and clear.”

Ukrainian officials have asked allies for more military help, particularly systems to protect Ukrainian skies from routine Russian drone and missile attacks.

Information for this report was provided in part by Reuters, The Associated Press and AFP.