Ukraine launched a series of drone attacks on Moscow and other locations on the final day of Russia’s presidential election, according to local authorities. These attacks are part of a larger strategy to divert Russian troops from the Ukrainian front and undermine President Vladimir V. Putin’s image as a protector of Russia. The most disruptive attacks in recent days have been ground assaults along the Russian border, with 35 exploding drones shot down by the Russian military. An oil refinery in southern Russia was set on fire, and two drones flying towards Moscow were intercepted by air defense forces. The governor of the Krasnodar region attributed the fire at the oil refinery to debris from the downed drones. Four drones were also shot down in the Yaroslavl region, northeast of Moscow. Ukraine’s military has not yet commented on the attacks inside Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Ukraine’s domestic arms production in his address to the nation, highlighting the country’s long-range weaponry capable of reaching deep into Russia. The drone attacks coincided with ongoing skirmishes along the border between Ukraine and Russia, with three groups of Russian exiles supported by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency launching ground assaults into Russia. Russia has responded by bombarding Ukrainian towns and villages where the exiles are staging, with 69 strikes reported in the Sumy region. In southern Ukraine, two missiles struck the city of Mykolaiv, injuring at least five people, while an exploding drone hit a gas station in Nikopol, injuring three. Agricultural warehouses in the Odesa region were also damaged by drone strikes, but no casualties were reported.
2024-03-17 12:45:27
Original from www.nytimes.com