Ukrainian drone strikes kill 2, injure 12 in Russia's Rostov-on-Don

A soldier of the Ukrainian brigade launches a drone towards Russian positions. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka/ap/dpa

Fatalities in Rostov-on-Don

In the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, two people were killed overnight into Monday, and 12 others were injured. Drone impacts were also reported from Belgorod.

In its defense against the Russian invasion, Ukraine has again attacked the enemy's hinterland with hundreds of combat drones. In the southern Russian port city of Rostov-on-Don, two civilians were killed when a drone struck a high-rise building, as Governor Yuri Slyusar reported. Five other people were injured, he wrote on Telegram. The attack was presumably aimed at the nearby port of the city, above which a column of smoke rose according to eyewitness reports.

Large-Scale Ukrainian Attack

The Defense Ministry in Moscow stated that a total of 276 Ukrainian combat drones were intercepted over various parts of the country during the night. These figures cannot be independently verified, but they indicate a large-scale Ukrainian attack. Numerous Russian airports had to temporarily restrict operations. Drone impacts were also reported from the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine. There were twelve injured.

According to Kyiv, the Russian army attacked Ukraine overnight with 147 combat drones, of which 123 were neutralized. There were impacts at ten locations in the country, the air force reported.

Russian Attack on Chornomorsk

On Sunday evening, Russia, according to its own account, attacked the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk in the Odesa region, causing significant damage. As the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported according to the state news agency Tass, a container terminal with military goods was attacked and damaged in the port. Additionally, a general cargo ship was hit during the attack with precision weapons and drones.

Attack on Freighter Confirmed

From the Ukrainian side, it was confirmed in the evening that a freighter sailing under a foreign flag had sunk off the coast near Odesa after a Russian missile attack. In the attack on July 19, nine crew members and a Ukrainian pilot were killed, regional military administrator Oleh Kiper reported on Telegram. Eight crew members were rescued. The "Golden Leo," which sailed under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, was transporting corn.

Russia has been trying for some time to disrupt Ukrainian shipping in the Odesa region and to the Danube inland ports. Ukraine exports a large part of its grain through these ports. The port of Chornomorsk is one of the largest in Europe.

Putin's Statements

Meanwhile, Russia's President Vladimir Putin once again made fundamental statements about Moscow's war of aggression against Ukraine. There is "no aggression from the Russian side," Putin said, claiming that the Russians were "forced to start the special operation to end the hostilities already begun by the West and the Kyiv regime," he said on Sunday at a meeting with Russian military personnel.

The state news agency Tass and the Telegram channels "Vy slushali" and "Smotri" reported on the meeting, publishing corresponding video clips of Putin's statements. He is sure, Putin continued, that Ukraine will sooner or later lose these western territories. He did not explain how he came to this assessment. (dpa, taz)