Ukraine announces the downing of 24 Russian drones, and Moscow launches air strikes on Zaporizhzhia

 General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced - today, Thursday - that its air defenses shot down 24 of a total of 29 drones launched by Russia on its territory last night, while the Russian governor of Kursk said that Ukraine targeted their territory with drones.

Ukrainian Air Force stated that the drones were destroyed over the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions (south), as well as the Kirohovrad region (center of the country), saying that Russia is trying with these attacks to destroy the port of Odesa.

The Ukrainian army said that it thwarted attempts by Russian forces to regain their lost positions on the Bakhmut axis, specifically in the towns of Hryhorivka, Klyshchevka, and Andreevka in the Donetsk region.

The army added - in its morning report - that its defenses today repelled Russian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia axis in the south in the towns of Novodarivka, Verbovoye, and Robotny, noting that it had engaged in 57 armed clashes with Russian forces during the past 24 hours.

The army added that the Russian forces launched 60 air strikes and carried out 40 attacks using multiple rocket-propelled grenades.

For his part, the governor of Kursk reported that a woman was injured as a result of a Ukrainian bombing with cluster munitions that targeted the border city of Rylsk, adding that Ukraine targeted the Sudzhansky, Korinevsky, and Glushkovsky regions with drones, causing a power outage.

Russian governor of Bryansk also said that Ukrainian forces targeted the village of Suzymka, which led to a power outage, but no casualties were reported.

Regarding the conflict in the Black Sea, the British government yesterday, Wednesday, reported intelligence information that Russia may use sea mines to target civilian ships in the Black Sea by planting them off Ukrainian ports, after a Ukrainian attempt yesterday to penetrate the territory of the Crimean Peninsula.

Zelensky in Spain

On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Spanish city of Granada to participate in the summit of the European Political Group, which aims to strengthen cooperation between more than 40 countries, which was formed after the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Zelensky said - in a tweet on the X platform - that strengthening his country's air defenses is one of his main priorities as winter approaches.

Ukrainian military officials reported that their forces were making some progress south as part of their counterattack launched last June to reclaim areas controlled by Russia during the war, she said.

Kyiv continued to head towards the Sea of Azov to separate the lands that Russia controlled in the south and east.

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces achieved a degree of success on the Eastern Front, as it put it.

US President Joe Biden announced - yesterday, Wednesday - that he will soon deliver an “important speech” regarding the importance of supporting Ukraine, at a time when Washington is witnessing political divisions that threaten to obstruct the aid provided to Kyiv.

The Deputy US State Department Spokesman stated that it is impossible under any circumstances to allow US support for Ukraine to be obstructed, stressing that a decline in support for Kyiv - even for a short period - would make a big difference on the battlefield.

For his part, the Ukrainian President stressed the importance of Western support, noting that his country feels the support of the United States in these very difficult times, as he put it.

Yesterday, US Central Command announced the transfer of more than a million rounds of Iranian ammunition that it confiscated last December to Ukraine.

Source: The News + Agencies