The Russian army expects a massive Ukrainian attack to liberate the occupied city of Kherson. “The situation is difficult on this part of the front,” the new commander in chief of Russian forces in Ukraine, Sergey Surovikin, admitted on television. He added that “difficult decisions” may be necessary. The performance seemed to suggest that Russia might consider withdrawing from the city.
Russian invading forces shelled the Kryvyi Rih and Nikopol districts of the Dnepropetrovsk region throughout the night. There was great devastation, the head of the region’s military administration, Valentyn Resnichenko, said Wednesday. The energy infrastructure was also affected. Numerous towns and villages in the region are cut off from electricity and water.
In Kryvyi Rih, a two-storey building was destroyed as a result of an enemy attack, Reznichenko said. Up to 60 shells hit two communities near Nikopol. No injuries were reported, but several houses were damaged. Air raid sirens blared throughout the night in other areas, but no attacks were reported.
Russia uses Iranian drones
In their air strikes over the past 24 hours, Russian armed forces have used 14 Iranian-made kamikaze drones in addition to missiles. Ten of these drones were shot down, the Ukrainian military said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia’s use of Iranian drones a bankruptcy declaration. “Russia’s call for help to Iran is the Kremlin’s recognition of military and political bankruptcy,” he said in his video address on Tuesday evening. Moscow has poured billions of dollars into its military-industrial complex for decades, but ultimately has to rely on “fairly simple drones and missiles” from Tehran.
Bombing Ukraine with swarms of these drones could give the Russians tactical hope. “It won’t help them strategically anyway,” Zelensky said. The president thanked all members of the Ukrainian air defense who have shot down missiles and drones from Russia in recent days. He also praised the German-supplied Iris-T air defense system: “It really is a very effective system.”
Use of Iranian drones denied
Ukraine has accused Russia of using Iran-made Shahed-136 “kamikaze” drones. Iran denies having supplied these drones, Russia denies using them. However, according to government and diplomatic circles in Tehran, Iran has promised to supply more drones and surface-to-surface missiles to Russia.
The US newspaper “New York Times” reported that Iran has sent its own trainers to the annexed Russian peninsula of Crimea to help Russian troops there with the drone fleet. The trainers operate from a Russian military base in Crimea, where many of Iran’s drones are stationed, according to information from US government circles. According to the report, the trainers belong to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian military that the US classifies as a terrorist organization. “There is ample evidence that Iranian drones have been used to attack Ukrainian civilians and military targets, although Iran continues to blatantly lie about its involvement,” a US State Department spokesman said in the report.
Diplomats say the Islamic theocracy’s arms shipments to Russia will be discussed at the UN Security Council on Wednesday. The US, Britain and France planned to raise the issue in a closed-door session, sources say. Details are not mentioned.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
