AL JAZEERA | Published January 9, 2025
Ukraine also announced significant investments in unmanned and long-range systems, where it has an edge.
Ukrainian forces launched a new surprise offensive inside Russia, expanding their salient in Kursk towards the north and east, as Kyiv’s counterinvasion passed its five-month mark this week.
Geolocated footage showed Ukrainian forces moving from their base in Sudzha towards Berdin, capturing fields and entering the settlement on Sunday.
By Monday, Ukrainian forces had also captured the settlements of Russkoye Porechnoye and Novosotnitsky. All three settlements lie on the main road between Sudzha and the regional capital, Kursk.
Russian military bloggers said Ukrainian forces also held the settlements of Martynovka, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye and Mikhaylovka.
Ukrainian forces were reported to have advanced in three waves using company-sized assaults backed by armoured vehicles, the Russian bloggers said.
One of the reasons for their success appeared to be the effective use of electronic warfare.
“Our drones can’t do anything about it yet, as enemy EW (electronic warfare) has nailed them literally to the ground,” one reporter wrote.
Ukrainian forces also seem to have used High Mobility Army Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to block Russian reinforcements.
“As in August, the enemy is actively covering up his offensive actions with HIMARS strikes,” wrote a Russian reporter. “He is trying to knock out our suitable reserves, artillery and drone operators.”
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SOURCE: www.aljazeera.com
RELATED: Ukraine says it attacked fuel depot serving Russian strategic bombers’ air base
A huge fire rises from an oil depot in Engels, Russia, after a Ukrainian drone strike overnight into Wednesday.
CNN | Published January 9, 2025
Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia in an overnight attack targeting an oil facility serving a military airfield in the city of Engels, nearly 400 miles from the border, Ukraine’s military said Wednesday.
Ukrainian officials reported a huge fire at the Kombinat Kristall oil depot, which provides fuel to the Engels-2 military airfield in the Saratov region, where Russia’s strategic bomber fleet is located.
At least two Russian firefighters were killed while responding to the fire, Roman Busargin, governor of Saratov region, said in a post on Telegram Wednesday. Another specialist was hospitalized, Busargin said.
Images geolocated by CNN showed large balls of flames lighting up the night sky and plumes of smoke continuing to billow from the site on Wednesday morning.
“The destruction of the oil depot raises major logistic challenges for the strategic aviation of the Russian occupiers and significantly reduces their ability to strike at peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects,” Ukraine’s military said.
Long-range drone strikes have played a prominent role over nearly three years of war between Russia and Ukraine. As land warfare has become more attritional, Kyiv has increasingly taken the battle to the skies and enjoyed considerable success, seeking to disrupt Russian logistics, damage its weapons stockpiles and set its oil facilities ablaze.
Wednesday’s attack is not the first time Ukraine has targeted Saratov, the main city of which lies more than 600 kilometers (375 miles) from the Ukrainian border, although Russian air defenses had mostly thwarted previous attacks.
Wednesday’s attack is not the first time Ukraine has targeted Saratov, the main city of which lies more than 600 kilometers (375 miles) from the Ukrainian border, although Russian air defenses had mostly thwarted previous attacks.
Busargin confirmed that the cities of Saratov and Engels suffered a “massive” drone attack overnight, which he said had caused damage at an industrial site. Ukraine’s military said this site was the oil depot at the Engels-2 airfield.
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SOURCE: www.cnn.com
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