Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to tighten control of Ukraine’s borders on Tuesday after a series of drone attacks targeting regions within Russia – with one drone crashing just 60 miles from Moscow.
The Ukrainian authorities did not claim responsibility for the attacks, but claimed that they had the right to conduct such forays to repel the Russian invasion. Pictures of the drone showed it was a small Ukrainian model with a range of nearly 500 miles but no capacity to carry a large payload of explosives.
Local governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram that Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian drone early Tuesday morning over the Bryansk region. He said there were no injuries. Three drones also targeted the Russian region of Belgorod along the border, and one flew through the window of an apartment in its capital of the same name, local authorities said.
Moscow regional governor Andrei Vorobyov said the drone in the Moscow region was apparently targeting Gazprom’s gas distribution facility, but was not hit.
“There were no casualties or destruction on the ground,” he said on Telegram. There are no risks to the safety of the local population.”
Developments:
– Raid alarms halted TV and radio programs in several Russian regions on Tuesday. The Russian Emergencies Ministry said in an online statement that the advertisement was a hoax resulting from hacking.
Flights to and from the main airport in Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, were halted for a while on Tuesday. The authorities did not give a reason but some reports said it was caused by an unidentified drone.
At least four civilians were killed and five wounded in renewed Russian bombardment of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and surrounding villages, Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday.
► A third of Ukrainians who fled to EU countries because of the war eventually want to go home, the same proportion of those who would prefer to stay in the host country, according to nearly 15,000 respondents to a survey. Conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. About a quarter of respondents are undecided.
Wesley Clark:Putin’s war was motivated by his fears of Russia’s decline. This gives Ukraine a path to victory.
Eugene “Eugene” Vindman:Victory in Ukraine is decisive for America and the world. Biden must do more.
Russia’s death toll has surpassed all of its wars since World War II
A new study reveals that more than 60,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the first year of the Ukraine War, more than all of Russia’s wars since World War II combined.
Analysis by Center for International Strategic Studies It is estimated that 60,000 to 70,000 Russian soldiers were killed in Ukraine. The analysis says that Russia suffered approximately 200,000 to 250,000 casualties — killed, wounded, or missing — during the first year of the war.
By comparison, Russia had 13,000 to 25,000 deaths in Chechnya from 1994 to 2009, and 14,000 to 16,000 in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989.
“Some types of authoritarian regimes are willing to accept large losses in interstate conflicts, but the numbers of Russian casualties are unprecedented in post-WWII Russia,” the analysis says.
The analysis says that the Ukrainian army performed “remarkably well” against a much larger and better-equipped Russian army to begin with, in part because of the innovation of its forces. So far, she adds, Putin has been willing to accept large numbers of dead Russians with limited political ramifications, “but it’s less clear he’ll be able to do that in perpetuity.”
Contributing: Maureen Group, USA Today; Associated Press
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