File image.
On August 16, the Russian military foiled two attempts by Kiev forces to attack the Kaluga region and the Crimean Peninsula with suicide drones.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that three drones were shot down over Kaluga in the early morning hours.
“At around 05:00 a.m. Moscow time today, the Kiev government’s attempt to use three unmanned aerial vehicles for a terror attack on facilities in the Kaluga Region was thwarted. Russian missile defenses promptly detected and destroyed all drones,” the ministry said, adding that the attack attempt caused no damage or casualties.
In a later statement, the ministry said that a fourth drone was shot down by Russian air defense over the Crimean Peninsula.
“Today at around 11.00 a.m. Russia has foiled an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack by a single fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle against facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said. “Russian air defense systems detected and shot down the drone over the territory of the Republic of Crimea.”
The attacks came following a series of failed advance attempts by Kiev forces in several directions within the special military operation zone.
An officer of the Cossack volunteer battalion SKIF in Donetsk told TASS on August 16 that Kiev forces were bogged down in the Soledar direction and they have been mostly simulating attacks there.
“There were quite serious battles in May. We could see that they had got worn out by August, mostly simulating [attacks] … While we have motorized rifle companies, assault teams are currently being formed,” the unnamed officer said.
A deputy commander of the battalion, code name “Arkon”’ also reported less frequent Ukrainian attacks in the Soledar direction.
“There have been scarce attempts [to attack] of late, with the enemy trying to break through our lines of defense about once a day, and then resuming mortar fire,” he said. The Cossacks have been holding positions in this direction since April, he added.
Meanwhile in the South Donetsk direction, Kiev forces are not doing any better. A spokesman for the Russian Vostok Group of Forces, told TASS that ten Ukrainian troops and a grenade launcher during recent battles in the direction.
“Artillery Platoon Commander Lieutenant Marat Osanov from the Battlegroup’s Motor Rifle Brigade accomplished the objectives of striking enemy sites at one of the frontline sections in the south Donetsk direction. During the battles, the artillery personnel commanded by Osanov managed to knock out two Ukrainian artillery guns under continuous barrages by Ukrainian troops and destroy a team of a tripod-mounted automatic grenade launcher and over ten militants,” the spokesman said.
In addition, the group’s artillery destroyed a Ukrainian Strela-10 short-range air defense system near Antonovka and an ammunition depot in Konstantinovka, according to the spokesman.
“Artillery fire destroyed a Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system of the Ukrainian army in Antonovka, an ammunition depot in Konstantinovka, two Nazis’ strongholds north of Nikolskoye, armored combat vehicles with militants near Zelyonoye Pole and a United States-made counter-battery radar station near Nikolskoye,” the spokesman added.
The group’s warplanes also targeted gatherings of Ukrainian manpower and equipment near Velikaya Novosyolka, Staromayorskoye and Urozhainoye.
“The teams of Tor and Osa air defense systems shot down two Furia aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles and one Valkyrie [drone],” the spokesman said.
More Ukrainian losses were reported in the Kherson region. A source in the regional emergency services told reporters that the Russian Dnepr Group of Forces had destroyed five boats of Kiev forces in this direction.
“The battlegroup Dnepr destroyed in the Kherson Region one boat, four Ukrainian fighters, Grad MLRS with a crew of three people and ammunition. The battlegroup Dnepr destroyed in the Kakhovka area four boats, 15 Ukrainian fighters, two crews of 120 mm mortars and their ammunition. Enemy losses: seven Ukrainian servicemen were eliminated, four received wounds of different severities,” the source said.
A Ukrainian position with five troops in the island zone was also destroyed by the group. Seven troops were wounded, three vehicles were disabled.
Meanwhile, Russian news sources shared videos showing recent strikes with Lancet loitering munitions that targeted an American-made M109 self-propelled howitzer, a Slovak-made Zuzana-2 self-propelled howitzer, a Spanish-made Alakran self-propelled mortar, an American-made M777 towed howitzer, a Polish-made Krab self-propelled howitzer, an American-made Stryker armored personnel carrier, a British-made Mastiff mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle, a military truck and two more unidentified howitzers.
Eleven weeks into its counteroffensive, Kiev forces are yet to reach the Russian military’s main lines of defense in any direction. Despite this failure, the Kiev regime will not likely halt the counteroffensive in order to appease its backers in the West who reportedly provided more than 200 billion in military aid.
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(low whistle) all that damage in odessa from only 3 uav bombs… good thing you nazi terrorists managed to shoot down the other 13 or it could have decimated your entire city! all that damage from just three…tut tut tut. special mention to those firing ak47’s wildly in the air to intercept 13 uav bombs! ‘good shooting tex”
nothing to see here. burn baby burn.
yes, burn like jens asshole from tom sawyer meat rocket
ukraine has run out of orcs, but don’t you worry russia we will just wait 1 year until the 17 year old orclets are 18 and then we’ll go again hehehe
new counter offensive in 2024 and then again the year after hehehe
banderovskí fašisti dostávajú stále do rypákov. zatiaľ dobré!!!
lancet drone wins the weapon of the year award?
nach elf wochen wird der wert von nato klar ersichtlich – wertlos!