Source : Perth Now news
Ukrainian long-range drones have hit a warehouse in the Ural Mountains belonging to Russia’s biggest online retailer, more than 2000km from the two countries’ border.
Ukraine has regularly hit targets in the distant Urals and has even struck a Russian oil refinery in western Siberia, nearly 2500km from the border.
The attacks are examples of how Kyiv has used drone innovation as a key part of its response to the invasion by its much bigger enemy more than four years ago.
Its successes have drawn international interest and drone co-operation agreements with nine countries, with further deals being negotiated with 15 other countries, according to Kyiv officials.
A Wildberries warehouse in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, was set ablaze by the attack, the company said.
Most merchandise was not damaged, it said, unlike at some of the more than a dozen other Wildberries depots struck by Ukraine in recent weeks that have burned down.
Kyiv is trying to rattle the Russian public and the Kremlin with the attacks.
Officials said three drones hit the warehouse’s roof, while 800 people were evacuated from the warehouse but nobody was hurt.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is pushing for his country to keep up the pace of technological development, especially in air defence systems to help stop Russian ballistic missiles that are exploiting Ukraine’s shortage of American-made Patriot interceptor missiles and battering civilian areas.
A joint European anti-ballistic development program was already under way, Zelenskiy said late on Thursday, with 10 countries engaged in developing an anti-ballistic shield.
Europe is concerned about Moscow’s ambitions on the continent beyond Ukraine.
“Ukraine is capable of producing its (anti-ballistic) missile and launcher, while our partners will provide the necessary components and critical elements – radars, sensors, and everything else required,” Zelenskiy said on social media.
“An anti-ballistic program of our own – one that is truly large-scale – will greatly benefit everyone in Europe.”
At the same time, Ukraine is working on manufacturing its own ballistic missiles to use against Russia.
“The tests have shown strong potential. We need to turn this into a real weapon,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukrainian frontline defences in eastern regions, meanwhile, remain under strain as Russia’s bigger army looks for a breakthrough after months of minimal advances that Western analysts and official says have had a high cost for Moscow in troop casualties.
Ukraine has been evacuating children from Kramatorsk, one of the four eastern Donetsk region cities that make up Ukraine’s so-called Fortress Belt. The line of four large and heavily defended cities, about 50km long, has been key to denying Moscow its goal of seizing Ukraine’s industrial heartland.
The head of the Donetsk region’s regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin, said Friday that more than 800 people, including 91 children, were evacuated during the previous 24 hours.
Ukraine has been deploying mid-range strike drones to disrupt Russia’s supply lines and slow it advance.
Russia’s air defences downed 203 Ukrainian drones from late Thursday through early Friday, the defence ministry in Moscow said.
Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 147 long-range strike drones, according to the country’s air force.
In Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, a Russian drone struck a busy market Friday morning, wounding 10 people, authorities said.
Russia also launched glide bombs and drones of various types at the regional capital, according to the regional administration.
The attack targeted residential buildings, transport and infrastructure, wounding two people.
