Ukraine updates: Moscow refinery hit in massive drone attack – DW – 09/01/2024

Russia says its troops have captured two more settlements in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its units had taken Ptyche, about 21 km (13 miles) southeast of Ukraine’s key logistical hub of Pokrovsk, and were “continuing to advance deep into the enemy’s defenses.” 

It said Russia had also seized Vyimka, another settlement in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine has not confirmed the Russian claims, but Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said the situation was “difficult” along Russia’s main line of attack in eastern Ukraine.

A civilian was killed and four others were injured in Russian shelling on Ukraine’s Sumy region, local authorities said.

“During the night and in the morning, the Russians carried out 18 shelling of the border areas and settlements of the Sumy region. 47 explosions were recorded,” authorities there said on social media.

Local prosecutors said later on Sunday that Russia launched a missile attack on a Ukrainian convoy of trucks carrying grains. The attack killed a 23-year-old truck driver.

The Sumy region borders Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have been carrying out a major cross-border offensive for almost a month.

Ukraine’s air force said in a separate statement that it had destroyed eight of 11 Russian drones fired into its territory overnight.

Ukraine’s top general, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said the situation with Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine remained “difficult,” adding that all necessary decisions were being taken.

Syrskyi did not specify the exact location of the offensive, but he has earlier said Russian forces were targeting the strategic city of Pokrovsk.

“The situation is difficult in the direction of the enemy’s main attack. But all necessary decisions at all levels are being made without delay,” Syrskyi said on Telegram.

Syrskyi said he spent several days last week on the eastern front near Pokrovsk and described the fighting there as “exceptionally tough.”

Russia’s army is closing in on Pokrovsk, a critical logistical hub for Ukrainian defense in the area.

Russia said it thwarted a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack by shooting down 158 drones in 15 regions — including two over the capital city Moscow.

A coal-fired power plant near the city was reportedly hit, as was an oil refinery within city limits.

Attacks on a power plant in the Tver region, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of the capital, were also reported.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said 122 drones were shot down over the border areas of Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh and Belgorod.

Drones were also shot down deeper in Russia, including one each in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, and the Ivanovo region, northeast of the Russian capital.

The barrage comes just days after Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was targeted by more than 200 Russian drones and missiles in one of the largest attacks on the Ukrainian power grid.

dh/rm (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)