Russian forces introduced an Iran-designed cruise missile and 89 attack drones into Kyiv overnight, the Ukraine Air Force reported.
Meanwhile, Russia claims to have introduced the third level of training on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons.
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Romania’s Defense Ministry said it had discovered the wreckage of a drone used in a Russian attack on Ukrainian ports on the Danube last week.
The ministry said this is the third time it has discovered drone fragments in connection with last week’s Russian attack on facilities just across the Danube in NATO member Romania.
Last week’s attack destroyed grain storage facilities, a local said.
The ministry had earlier said it had discovered spare portions in two villages across the river.
A NATO spokesman said last week that there is no indication of an intentional attack on allied territory, adding: “Although NATO has no data indicating an intentional attack through Russia on allied territory, such moves are irresponsible and potentially dangerous. “
Whelan’s attorney was unable to verify his immediate whereabouts due to rumors of a possible prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia.
According to Russian media, at least seven prisoners held in Russia have been transferred from their prisons or penal colonies in recent days, fueling hypotheses about an imminent prisoner exchange.
“I hear from journalists from various foreign agencies asking me to explain if I know where Paul is, because there are rumors about a possible exchange,” Whelan’s lawyer, Olga Karlova, told the Interfax news agency.
“I sent a request to the management of the colony [prison], but I don’t get a response,” he said.
Whelan, a 54-year-old businessman and former US Marine, has been imprisoned in Russia since his arrest in December 2018 for espionage-related fees that he and the US government deny. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued an order doubling the one-time payment a volunteer receives when he signs up to fight in the war in Ukraine, now in its third year.
The decree establishes that a user who signs a contract between August 1 and December 31 will obtain a bonus of 400,000 rubles (about 4,650 dollars, 4,291 euros), more than double the previous 195,000 rubles.
The new decree increases the annual minimum wage during the first year of service to 3. 25 million rubles ($37,791). The monthly salary of officers is higher and depends on their rank.
Russia has struggled to recruit infantrymen for its army and has relied heavily on monetary aid to make it more attractive.
First, Putin ordered a rapid partial mobilization of Russian citizens in September 2022, meaning that citizens who were army reservists could simply be mobilized.
The campaign has drawn strong complaints from many men trying to flee the country. The campaign was suspended in November 2022 after Putin said he had reached the recruitment target of another 300,000 people at the time.
A Russian warehouse of weapons and military equipment located in the Kursk region of western Russia, near the border with Ukraine, was set on fire on Wednesday morning, according to the Ukrainian military.
The military said the day before that it had attacked the facility and rushed to assess the damage caused. Russia, he added, activated its air defenses to try to counter the attack, but explosions could be seen at the target locations.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed a Ukrainian Neptun drone and a guided missile over the Kursk region. He said he had shot down 18 drones over 4 other Russian regions and the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.
Ukraine has used long-range drones to strike strategic targets, from oil facilities to military radars, up to 1,500 kilometers away.
Russia began the third level of training focused on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense.
“In accordance with the resolution of the President of the Russian Federation, the third level of training of non-strategic nuclear forces has begun,” the Defense Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.
The army’s exercises aim to get infantrymen to deploy fake warheads for Iskander-M missile systems and secretly transport them to the places of release.
“The current level of training is aimed at maintaining the readiness of Russia’s non-strategic nuclear weapons personnel and apparatus to fulfill combat missions,” the ministry said.
The first level of nuclear exercises began in May, and the Kremlin’s best friend Belarus took part in the second level in June.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken about the possible use of nuclear weapons in extreme conditions since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Putin ordered the exercises in early May in part as a reaction to perceived threats from Western countries, according to the Kremlin, after French President Emmanuel Macron raised the option of sending French troops to Ukraine.
Air raid alerts sounded this afternoon in Kyiv as waves of Russian drones targeted the Ukrainian capital, the city’s army leadership said Wednesday.
“Today, the Ukrainian air defense withstood and repelled an attack by enemy drones,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Serhiy Popko, head of the Kiev army administration, called it one of the largest drone attacks on Ukraine during the war. He said the airstrike alert lasted seven hours.
As of 6:30 a. m. (03:30 GMT) on Wednesday, Ukrainian air defense had destroyed more than 30 drones, Popko added.
“According to the existing operational report, there are no casualties or injuries in Kyiv,” he said, adding that this is the seventh Russian attack on the city in July.
Russian forces introduced a cruise missile and 89 attack drones designed by Iran, the government said.
Russian state news agencies, which mention fighters in Ukraine, said attacks on airports and army warehouses across the country.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that the attack on the city came from several directions.
ss/wd (Reuters, AFP)