The Russia Ukraine war saw another deadly escalation as Ukrainian drone attacks killed several people and damaged vital infrastructure across Russian held territories. Three people were killed and 16 injured in Foros on the Crimean Peninsula after drones packed with explosives struck a resort area. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said there were no military targets in the vicinity.
Two more people were killed in a drone strike on a gas station in Pervomaisk in Ukraine’s Luhansk region which is occupied by Russia. The Ministry of Emergency Situations in Luhansk reported the incident through state news agency TASS. According to Russian officials Ukraine is deliberately targeting gas stations during a period of fuel shortages.
Another drone attack killed one person in Russia’s Belgorod region. In Vasylivka in Russian occupied Zaporizhia one person was killed and three were critically injured. Ukraine’s general staff confirmed that its forces struck the Saratov oil refinery in Russia causing fires and explosions. They also targeted the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in Samara though damage assessments are still ongoing.
In Ukraine Russian shelling killed a man and damaged residential buildings in Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region according to local officials.
The conflict is also spilling into regional security concerns. The German air force scrambled two Eurofighter jets to track a Russian reconnaissance aircraft that allegedly entered neutral Baltic airspace. Estonia Poland and Romania have all recently reported similar violations. Estonia announced that the UN Security Council will hold an emergency session to address Russia’s airspace breach. NATO’s North Atlantic Council is also expected to meet this week.
On the diplomatic front Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he plans to meet with US President Donald Trump during what he described as a very intense week of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly. Trump said the United States would help defend European Union countries if Russia escalated hostilities.
French President Emmanuel Macron commented that European nations are within international law by using proceeds from frozen Russian assets but warned that seizing Russia’s central bank reserves could create total chaos. Russia’s Foreign Ministry however threatened harsh countermeasures if assets are confiscated.
Meanwhile Russian Colonel General Alexander Lapin who served in the early phase of the war has been dismissed from military service according to Russian media outlet RBC.
