Russia carried out, this Sunday August 6, a new massive missile attack on Ukraine. Moscow claimed to have struck airbases in the west of the country. The Ukrainian Air Force said it succeeded in shooting down 30 of the 40 cruise missiles and all of the Iranian-made Shahed drones fired by Russian troops, who also used hypersonic Kinjal missiles, which are difficult to intercept.
While Kyiv did not give details of all the sites hit, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have struck “air bases of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the localities of Starokostiantyniv, in the Khmelnytsky region, and Dubno, in the Rivne region”. “The objective of the strike has been achieved. All designated targets have been hit,” the ministry added on Telegram.
The Khmelnytsky region, hundreds of kilometers from the front lines in the west of the country, is regularly targeted by the Russian army. It is home to a major Ukrainian air base.
A drone shot down in the Kaluga region, less than 200 km from Moscow
Russia said on Monday August 7 that it had shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Kaluga region, less than 200 km south-west of Moscow, against a backdrop of an increase in such attacks targeting the Russian capital. “A drone was shot down by the air defense system in the Ferzikovsky district” overnight, Kaluga region governor Vladislav Chapcha wrote on Telegram. The incident “did not affect people or infrastructure,” he said.
On August 3, Russian authorities claimed that seven Ukrainian drones had been shot down in this region located about 180 km from Moscow. Ukrainian drone attacks have multiplied in recent weeks on Russian territory, often targeting Moscow and the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Thus, the mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin announced on Sunday that a drone targeting the Russian capital had been shot down by the air defense forces. Authorities said Moscow suffered several drone attacks last week, including one that damaged an office building in the main business district, which was targeted twice within days.
Two bridges hit by Ukrainian missiles
On the Russian side, two Ukrainian missile attacks hit two bridges in territory occupied by Moscow on Sunday. The first targeted the Chongar bridge in the Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014. “Some missiles were shot down by the air defense forces. The road bridge platform was damaged, repair work has already started. “There are no casualties,” pro-Russian governor Sergei Aksionov said.
The second targeted a bridge near the town of Genitchesk in the Kherson region, injuring one person and damaging a gas pipe that left 20,000 homes without gas, said occupation official Vladimir Saldo. According to him, 9 out of 12 Ukrainian missiles were shot down.
Former Ukrainian MP killed in action
Serhi Slabenko, a 57-year-old former Ukrainian MP, was killed on the front lines, parliament announced on Sunday on Telegram. According to Volyn News Servicehe died in the Zaporijia sector on August 4th.
Serhi Slabenko was a member of the Ukrainian Parliament from 2002 to 2006. He was the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, Judiciary and Judicial Reform of the Assembly’s Legal Policy Committee. In addition, he was notably a member of the regional council of Volhynia between 2015 and 2020.