Kremlin Defiant After Drone Attack on Kyiv: Analysts Question Putin's Political Strength
In the latest military escalation between Ukraine and Russia since the July 2020 ceasefire, Kyiv was targeted in a drone attack early Sunday. This marks the first drone attack since the ceasefire and the first in 12 days. Russian troops launched eight Iranian-made Shahed drones and three Kalibr cruise missiles across Ukraine. In addition, a 13-year-old boy was wounded in overnight shelling in Ukraine's partially occupied southern Kherson province, while shelling continued in the region, injuring four people in the regional capital. The most intense fighting occurred in Ukraine's industrial east, with numerous combat clashes reported.
The attack on Kyiv early Sunday was the latest in a series of military escalations since the ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia was agreed upon in July 2020. It is the first drone attack since then, and the first in 12 days. Ukraine's air force reported that eight Iranian-made Shahed drones and three Kalibr cruise missiles were launched by Russian troops across the country. Further south, a 13-year-old boy was wounded in overnight shelling of Ukraine's partially occupied southern Kherson province. In addition, shelling of the Kherson province continued Sunday morning, wounding four people in the regional capital.
Ukraine's military reported that the most intense fighting continued in Ukraine's industrial east, with attacks focused around Bakhmut, Marinka and Lyman in the country's Donetsk province, where 46 combat clashes took place. In its regular update Sunday morning, the General Staff said that Russia had carried out 27 airstrikes, one missile strike and around 80 attacks from multiple rocket launchers, targeting regions in the north, northeast, east and south of the country. In Russia, local officials reported that air defense systems shot down a drone over the Belgorod region, while the neighbouring Kursk region faced shelling attacks. Russian authorities remained defiant, with Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin had strengthened his position both in the country and in the world. However, Gen.
Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, was believed to have been detained days after the mutiny. It's not clear whether Surovikin, who has longtime links to Prigozhin, faces any charges or where he is being held. The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been escalating since the ceasefire was agreed upon in July 2020, with the drone attack on Kyiv early Sunday being the latest in the series of military escalations. The attack is the first of its kind since the ceasefire was agreed, and the first in 12 days. While Russian authorities remain defiant, the fate of the deputy commander of the Russian forces fighting in Ukraine remains uncertain.
