Drone strike hits Russian munitions depot – DW – 07/07/2024

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Sunday claimed the capture of another village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

In a daily briefing on the Telegram messaging service, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that forces had “liberated Chigari (Donetsk People’s Republic) and improved the tactical situation.”

On Saturday, Russia claimed to have taken control of another village in the same region, where Ukraine says fierce fighting is currently taking place.

Russian forces have been slowly advancing in the Donetsk region since the beginning of the year, starting with the capture of Avdiivka in February.

Both sides however have been locked in a grinding battle of attrition with neither side able to make considerable gains.

kb/rc (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

A Russian munitions depot was hit in an overnight drone strike in Russia’s Voronezh region, situated near the border with Ukraine, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials.

“Several drones were detected and destroyed overnight by air defense systems above the Voronezh region,” regional governor Alexander Gusev wrote on Telegram.

“Their falling debris set off a fire in a depot” in the Podgorensky district, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

“Explosives began to detonate”, Gusev said and added that there were no indications anybody had been hurt.

AFP news agency cited a Ukrainian military source as saying that drones hit a munitions factory in the overnight strike.

“The enemy stored surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, shells for tanks and artillery and boxes of ammunition” at the site, which was hit by drones resulting in a “powerful” explosion, AFP quoted the source as saying.

Both Russia and Ukraine have used drones with increasing frequency since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia fired two ballistic missiles and 13 Shahed drones overnight, all of which it said, were shot down.