Ukraine News ++ Russia reports multiple Ukrainian drone strikes ++

RRussia accused Ukraine of attacking six Russian regions with drones early Wednesday. According to officials, several heavy military transport aircraft were damaged in the attack on the airfield in the northwestern Russian city of Pskov. The military is repelling the attack with drones, Pskov Region Governor Mikhail Vedernikov wrote on his Telegram channel. He posted a short video of the sound of an explosion and the glow of fire at the airport.

“As a result of the drone attack, four Il-76 aircraft were damaged. A fire broke out; Two planes caught fire,” said a representative of the rescue services of the Russian state agency TASS. The information could not be independently verified.

According to Russian reports, drone strikes also took place in other areas, including Moscow Region, Bryansk and Orel, and Crimea’s Sevastopol Bay. According to observers, it would have been the largest drone attack on Russian soil since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began about 18 months ago.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s capital Kiev came under heavy fire from Russian cruise missiles overnight. According to reports, there were violent bursts of anti-aircraft missiles against incoming bombs on the city. The military administration said more than 20 missiles and drones were “destroyed by air defense forces”.

Accordingly, it was “the largest rocket and drone attack since the spring.” Rocket debris fell on buildings in at least two districts, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko told Telegram on Wednesday morning. A fire broke out in many places including an administrative building and a commercial company. At least two people were killed and two others injured.

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Serhiy Popko, the head of the military administration of the city of three million people, told Telegram that among the injured was a woman who was taken to hospital with glass splinter injuries. A drone strike from the north was preceded by a wave of cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea. A flight alert has been issued across the country. Missiles are also reported to be approaching Odesa, a region in southern Ukraine.

All developments in live ticker

8:20 am – Current situation on site

8:03 a.m. – Pskov airport is temporarily closed after a drone attack

Russian authorities canceled eight takeoffs and landings at Pskov airport scheduled for Wednesday after drone attacks overnight. Aviation regulator Rosawijajija told Telegram that two charter companies were affected. The reason for the closure is to strengthen security measures. Steps will be taken to open air traffic soon, he said.

06:31 – Ukraine: At least two dead in biggest airstrike on Kiev since spring

At least two people were killed in a rocket attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, the military said. “Unfortunately, according to preliminary information, two people died when debris fell in Kiev’s Shevchenkivskyi district,” head of the capital’s military administration, Serhii Babko, told the online service Telegram. Another person was injured, he added.

04:39 – Klitschko: Explosions in Kiev

According to Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, explosions are heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Through his Telegram channel, he urged city dwellers to stay in shelters.

03:59 – Russia: Destroys another drone towards Moscow

According to official reports, the Russian air defense intercepted a drone that was traveling in the direction of the capital Moscow again. The Russian Defense Ministry said on its Telegram channel that the UAV intercepted and crashed over Rusa in the Moscow region. According to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyan, there was no damage or injury. Emergency services are on site. The information could not be independently verified.

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03:22 – Governor: Drone attack in Sevastopol Bay

According to Russian sources, Ukrainian forces used drones to attack Sevastopol Bay on the Black Sea at night. The Moscow-appointed governor of the port city of Sevastopol in Crimea, Mikhail Rasvozhayev, wrote on his Telegram channel that the Russian military is on combat alert and deterring the attack. The information could not be independently verified.

1:28 am – Moscow: Four more Ukrainian drones shot down

According to official information, Russia has again shot down four Ukrainian drones. Three unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defenses over the southwestern border region of Bryansk, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced. Another drone was shot down in neighboring Oryol region. The information could not be independently verified.

01:08 am – Brazil: Russia fails to launch international investigation into Prigozhin accident

According to Brazilian sources, Russia has not allowed an international investigation into the plane crash of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group. The government in Moscow told Brazil’s civil aviation authority, Cenepa, that it would not open an investigation into the crash in accordance with international rules, the civil aviation authority told Reuters. A Brazilian-made Embraer plane crashed north of Moscow with ten people aboard, including Prigozhin, two senior generals from his Wagner group and four bodyguards.

8:18 pm – US announces $250 million more in aid to Ukraine

The United States has announced an additional $250 million in military aid to Ukraine. The Defense Department in Washington said the aid package included equipment to clear mines and anti-tank obstacles, as well as anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles and more than three million rounds of ammunition for handguns.

The Pentagon said the support would help Ukraine “counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression on the battlefield and protect its people.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the online service X (formerly Twitter) that he personally thanked “the American people, Congress and President Joseph Biden for the new security package.” “Cannons, rockets, ammunition for Himars (systems), that’s what our soldiers need,” he added.