Ukraine shoots down almost 500 Iranian drones since September amid warnings of further attacks

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have shot down almost 500 Iranian drones since September, the spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force announced on Tuesday (3 January).

Speaking during a television interview, Yurii Ihnat added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had also destroyed all 84 drones launched by Russia during the massive drone attack over the New Year holidays.

"If they are going to bombard at such a pace as during those two nights, then according to the information already announced by our certain special services and intelligence about a new batch of 250 [drones], at least half of them have already been used," the spokesman said. Despite suggesting that the current intensity of Russian drone attacks may not be sustainable, Ihnat also cautioned against complacency, saying that Russia would likely receive further batches in the future.

Ihnat's words echo those of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who in his nightly address on Monday (2 January) warned that Russia is planning prolonged drone attacks in order to "exhaust" Ukraine. Indeed, it is believed that the drone attacks on population centres and critical infrastructure do not yield any particular battlefield advantages, and are instead designed to demoralise the population which must live with the constant fear and uncertainty that the strikes bring.

"We must ensure - and we will do everything for this - that this goal of terrorists fails like all the others," President Zelensky said. "Now is the time when everyone involved in the protection of the sky should be especially attentive."

In other developments, a Ukrainian strike in the early hours of New Year's Day in occupied Makiivka, Donetsk oblast, has killed around 400 Russian soldiers and wounded around 300, according to the Ukrainian military. Russia contests this figure, claiming that 63 soldiers were killed.

The BBC's Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg has noted that it is extremely rare for Russia to make such admissions, adding that the scale of the losses meant that staying silent was not an option.

Local security officials have since told Tass news agency that Ukrainian forces launched the strike after detecting the use of Russian mobile phones by servicemen arriving in the building.

source: commonspace.eu with BBC, Ukrinform, other agencies
photo: Ukrinform

 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
EU interior ministers reach "historic" agreement on migration, but significant opposition remains

EU interior ministers reach "historic" agreement on migration, but significant opposition remains

Interior ministers from the European Union's 27 member states reached a deal on the bloc's migration policy yesterday (8 June) after some 12 hours of negotiations at a meeting in Luxembourg. The agreement outlines how responsibility for looking after migrants and refugees who arrive in the EU without authorisation is shared out among member states, a topic which has been the source of much disagreement since 2015, when well over 1 million migrants and refugees entered the EU, many of them fleeing the war in Syria. Under the deal agreed yesterday and set to be finalised ahead of a 2024 EU election, each country would be responsible for a set number of people, but would not necessarily have to take them in. Countries unwilling to receive irregular migrants and refugees arriving ad hoc to the EU would be able to help their hosting peers through cash - around 20,000 euros per person - equipment or personnel, reports Reuters. The agreement would introduce a new expedited border procedure for those deemed unlikely to win asylum to prevent them from lingering inside the bloc for years.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
EU interior ministers reach "historic" agreement on migration, but significant opposition remains

EU interior ministers reach "historic" agreement on migration, but significant opposition remains

Interior ministers from the European Union's 27 member states reached a deal on the bloc's migration policy yesterday (8 June) after some 12 hours of negotiations at a meeting in Luxembourg. The agreement outlines how responsibility for looking after migrants and refugees who arrive in the EU without authorisation is shared out among member states, a topic which has been the source of much disagreement since 2015, when well over 1 million migrants and refugees entered the EU, many of them fleeing the war in Syria. Under the deal agreed yesterday and set to be finalised ahead of a 2024 EU election, each country would be responsible for a set number of people, but would not necessarily have to take them in. Countries unwilling to receive irregular migrants and refugees arriving ad hoc to the EU would be able to help their hosting peers through cash - around 20,000 euros per person - equipment or personnel, reports Reuters. The agreement would introduce a new expedited border procedure for those deemed unlikely to win asylum to prevent them from lingering inside the bloc for years.