Russia says it shot down 76 Ukrainian drones, Volodymyr Zelensky claims responsibility

“Russian warplanes must be destroyed wherever they are, by all effective means. Striking Russian airfields is also quite fair,” the Ukrainian president justified on social networks on Saturday.

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A Ukrainian soldier operates a reconnaissance drone in a wheat field, in the Zaporizhzhia region, on July 29, 2024. (ANDRIY ANDRIYENKO / AP / SIPA)

Russian authorities said on Saturday, August 3, that they had shot down 76 Ukrainian drones during the night and morning. The majority of the devices were “intercepted and destroyed” in the Rostov-on-Don region, which hosts the headquarters of the Russian operation in Ukraine, and the border regions of Kursk and Belgorod, as well as in the Oriol region, the Russian Defense Ministry said. At present we have recorded damage to the windows [de plusieurs bâtiments], and in particular schools and kindergartens, as well as on houses and industrial premises”lamented the local governor, Vasily Golubev, on his Telegram account.

The strike was claimed by the Ukrainian president. Russia has launched more than 600 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine in a single week, Volodymyr Zelensky said. “Russian warplanes must be destroyed wherever they are, by all effective means. Striking Russian airfields is also quite fair.”he justified on social networks.

In Belgorod Oblast, the drone strike targeted an oil depot and caused a fire that was quickly extinguished, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. In neighboring Rostov Oblast, which borders Ukraine, several fuel tanks caught fire in Kamensky District, the head of the local administration said. More than 90 firefighters and 33 vehicles were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the blaze, he said on the Telegram social network. kyiv says the strikes are in response to Russian bombings that have plagued Ukraine for more than two years, and are primarily targeting military and industrial targets.


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