Extract from ABC News
The drone attack comes after Volodymr Zelenskyy hinted at a 40-day blitz on Russia. (Reuters: Valentyn Ogirenko)
In short:
Ukraine has launched one of its largest ever drone attacks on Russia since the Kremlin's full-scale invasion more than four years ago.
Kyiv's long-range drones have been battering oil production and energy facilities behind the front line and deep inside Russia.
Authorities
in Russian-annexed Crimea on Friday declared an "emergency situation"
in a bid to ease the fallout from increasing Ukrainian aerial attacks on
the peninsula.
Ukraine has launched a major night-time attack on a dozen Russian regions, Russian-held Crimea and the surrounding seas, Moscow's Defense Ministry says.
Russian air defences intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday, local time.
The bombardment appeared to be one of Kyiv's biggest drone assaults since the Kremlin's full-scale invasion more than four years ago.
The previous biggest Ukrainian attack over the past year, as Ukraine has accelerated its drone development, involved 556 drones on May 17.
In an effort to turn the tables on Russia's grinding war of attrition, Ukrainian long-range drones have been battering oil production and energy facilities behind the front line and deep inside Russia.
The campaign has choked Russian fuel supplies and military deliveries, stalling Moscow's efforts on the battlefield, Western officials and analysts say, and has heaped pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian chemical plant reportedly hit
Initial damage reports from Russia after the overnight attack provided scant information. Russia's Defense Ministry usually does not say what was targeted in Ukraine's drone attacks, nor does it detail any damage.
Russian independent online outlet Astra reported that a chemical plant and a hydro-electric plant in Novomoskovsk were attacked and caught fire. The Associated Press could not independently verify the report, and there was no official confirmation.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 47 Ukrainian drones were downed as they flew toward the Russian capital. He did not report any casualties or damage.
Ukraine's Security Service said it used drones to strike Russian navy ships and air defence radars in Kerch, an important port city in Crimea.
The targets were two reconnaissance and mine-laying ships, the Volga and the Vyatka, and the cargo-passenger ferry Petropavlovsk, the agency said, claiming that the strikes started a large fire. The claim could not be independently verified.
Russia-annexed Crimea declares 'emergency'
Authorities in Russian-annexed Crimea on Friday declared an "emergency situation" in a bid to ease the fallout from increasing Ukrainian aerial attacks on the peninsula.
The announcement comes amid fuel shortages and power cuts triggered by the Ukrainian attacks on logistics chains and oil facilities across Crimea, the rest of Russian-occupied Ukraine and southern Russia.
A satellite image shows the Sevastopol power substation after local officials said Ukrainian drones knocked out power in the biggest city in Russian-held Crimea on Wednesday. (Reuters: Vantor/Handout)
"A decision has been made … to sign decrees declaring a regional-level emergency situation in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol," the Moscow-installed governor Sergey Aksyonov said in a post on Telegram.
The emergency situation would allow for a "rapid resolution of tasks related to ensuring the stable operation of all sectors", Mr Aksyonov said in the post.
Despite the ongoing war that has killed tens of thousands and ravaged swaths of Ukraine, Crimea has been a popular holiday destination for Russians.
Speaking to AFP by phone, a Moscow resident holidaying in Feodosia on Crimea's south-eastern coast said earlier this week that "everyone is afraid: locals and visitors alike".
"The sky was like Star Wars,"she said.
Russia seized and annexed Crimea in 2014, though the vast majority of countries — including many of Moscow's allies — do not recognise the move.
The Black Sea territory holds special importance to Mr Putin, who hailed the annexation as a historic victory and has poured resources into the peninsula since 2014.
Ukraine says Crimea is an inalienable part of its territory and will never formally cede it.
Zelenskyy hints at a 40-day blitz of Russia
The major attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that he had ordered "a 40-day influence operation," believed to mean an escalation of attacks, aimed at "compelling (Russia) to end the war" after US peace efforts over the past year yielded no breakthrough.
Ukraine has racked up a list of successful strikes, including hitting targets in Moscow and St Petersburg.
Mr Zelenskyy said he got further promises of foreign support when he attended a recent summit of G7 leaders, including from US President Donald Trump, and that the promised aid will help Ukraine step up its effort to force Mr Putin to the negotiating table.
A NATO summit next month could be another key moment in beefing up Ukraine's military.
Ukraine says three civilians killed and 20 wounded in Russian attacks
Two people were killed and seven others injured in Russian attacks on the north-eastern Kharkiv region over the previous 24 hours, regional head Oleh Syniehubov said on Friday.
Russian forces struck the city of Kharkiv and 16 other settlements across the region using guided aerial bombs and drones of various types, Mr Syniehubov said.
On Friday morning, another Russian drone attack on downtown Izium, a city in the Kharkiv region, killed a woman and wounded three other people, emergency services said.
Rescue workers put out a fire at a building destroyed after a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia on Friday. (AP: Evgeniy Maloletka)
Other wounded people and damage were logged in attacks in the capital, Kyiv, the southern Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions, and Sumy in the north-east, with some of the Russian assaults using powerful glide bombs.
Ukraine's defences overnight stopped 174 of 189 Russian drones, however four of seven Iskander-M ballistic missiles got through air defences and struck various locations, the Ukrainian air force said.
No Russian military build-up seen on border with Belarus, Ukraine says
Russia is expanding several of its military sites deep inside Belarus, but there is no build-up of forces near the Ukrainian border, a State Border Guard Service spokesman said on Friday.
Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine from Belarus, which borders both countries, and Kyiv has kept a close watch on developments there during the war.
Ukrainian intelligence units have detected no grouping or reinforcement of Russian units, equipment or personnel close to the border, spokesman Andrii Demchenko said in remarks to Ukrainian television.
However, Russia has a growing number of training grounds, bases and other sites deeper inside the country, according to intelligence units.
AP/AFP
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