KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A major drone attack shook Moscow and its suburbs overnight into Sunday, injuring several people and temporarily halting traffic at some of Russia’s busiest airports, authorities said. reported. Meanwhile, a large night wave of Russian drones targeted Ukraine.
This happened after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the agreement. with North Korea on Saturday night, obliging both countries to provide immediate military assistance by “all means available” if either side is attacked. The deal represents the strongest link between Moscow and North Korea since the end of the Cold War.
Ukraine reported earlier this week. The army engaged for the first time with North Korean troops. U.S. officials earlier confirmed that at least 3,000 North Korean troops were being sent to Russia, but Kiev has repeatedly said the number is much higher. This includes: stir up concern Moscow’s war with Ukraine has significantly escalated, and tensions are spreading across the Asia-Pacific.
Britain estimates Russian military losses at 700,000
Both Russia and Kiev have suffered casualties since the start of the all-out war, despite regular reports that Russian forces have suffered huge losses in “human sea” attacks aimed at exhausting Ukraine’s defenses. The numbers have been carefully hidden.
But Tony Radakin, Britain’s chief of defense staff, told the BBC that October was the worst month for Russian troops in terms of casualties since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He said Russian troops suffered an average of 1,500 deaths. The number of wounded per day, the total losses in the war amounted to 700,000 people.
According to Radakin, ordinary Russians paid an “extraordinary price” for the war. Months of brutal Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine’s industrial zone We continue to accumulate profits. He did not say how British authorities calculated the number of Russian casualties.
“There is no question that Russia has tactical and territorial interests that are putting pressure on Ukraine,” he said. But he added that they were “small tracts of land” and that Russia’s increased defense and security spending was increasing the burden on the country.
Radakin argued that Ukraine’s Western partners should support Ukraine “for as long as necessary” to repel Russian aggression. Allies of President-elect Donald Trump Kiev has suggested it may have to cede territory to seek peace.
Russia is cautiously optimistic about Trump becoming the next president
On Sunday, the Kremlin’s official spokesperson expressed cautious optimism about Trump’s next term as president, saying, “At least he’s talking about peace. He’s talking about peace.” …He doesn’t talk about conflict. ”
“The signals are positive. During the campaign, President Trump said that he sees everything through transactions and is able to conclude deals that bring peace to everyone,” Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a briefing. He told the group.
“He does not talk about his desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, and this point favorably distinguishes him from the current (US) administration,” Peskov said.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that “strong determination” from Kiev’s Western partners was needed to stop “terrorism” from Russian drone and missile attacks and ensure “credible peace” in Ukraine. He claimed that.
“We cannot simply forget the murder of a child or the loss of a family,” President Zelenskiy said in a post on the messaging app Telegram.
“Without strong determination, there is no security from terrorism, and this is equally clear in any country. Without justice, there can be no reliable peace,” he said.
Continuing the battle will result in damage and casualties on both sides.
Heavy fighting continues near the eastern Ukrainian cities of Toretsk and Krahov, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Sunday. 700 to 1,000 residents remain in krahova frontline city surrounded on three sides and in ruins. Most of them live underground without running water, heat or electricity.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that a total of 84 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight inside Russian territory following “massive attacks on civilian infrastructure.” A man was crushed to death under rubble after a drone struck his apartment in Russia’s Belgorod region, a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported.
Five other people were injured in the Moscow suburb of Ramenskoye and a nearby village, local officials said. A Russian channel on the messaging app Telegram reported sightings of debris from the drone setting fire to suburban homes.
Russian aviation authorities announced the temporary suspension of flights at major international airports, including Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo. At least 14 flights bound for Moscow were rerouted to Nizhny Novgorod, a city more than 490 kilometers (300 miles) to the east, local airport officials reported.
Ukraine’s General Staff claimed on Sunday that a Ukrainian drone caused a fire at an armory in Russia’s southern Bryansk region, close to Ukraine and Belarus. An online update showed photos of thick reddish smoke billowing into the night sky. The Associated Press could not confirm the circumstances of the shooting and there was no immediate comment from Russia.
Separately, Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations announced on Sunday that a large fire had broken out at a warehouse on the outskirts of Moscow. There were no immediate reports of casualties and it was unclear whether the fire was linked to the Ukrainian drone attack.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched a “record” 145 drones into Ukrainian territory overnight, 62 of which were shot down. An additional 67 aircraft were “lost,” the Air Force said, likely referring to electronic jamming that caused the drones to veer off course.
Local governor Ole Kiper reported that a Russian drone struck a residential area in the port of Odesa in southern Ukraine, injuring at least one person. And on Sunday, at least five civilians, including a 17-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, were injured by falling drone debris and shelling in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, Governor Oleh Sinievov and local prosecutors announced. did.
Russia said late Sunday that it had attacked a large contingent of Ukrainian soldiers in the Kharkiv region with thermobaric rockets, but did not immediately provide evidence.
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Joanna Kozlovska reported from London.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the Ukraine war. https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine