In front of a recently inaugurated memorial in Boucha, Ukraine, containing 501 plaques with the names of civilians killed by Russian forces during the occupation of this Kiev suburb, July 3, 2023 (AFP / Sergei SUPINSKY)
Russia announced on Tuesday that it shot down five drones over the Moscow region, an attack it blamed on Kiev and which it says could not have happened without help from the United States and NATO.
Ukraine, for its part, reported several Russian attacks, including a particularly bloody one in the Kharkiv region of the north-east of the country that injured at least 38 people, including 12 children.
The attack in Russia targeted locations in the Moscow region and on the outskirts of the capital, areas that have only been attacked a few times since the offensive began in Ukraine, although such attacks have been multiplied elsewhere in Russia.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, four drones were destroyed by anti-aircraft defenses near the capital, and the fifth was neutralized by “means of electronic warfare” before crashing in the Moscow region.
The attack did not cause any casualties or damage, the ministry said.
Map of the situation in Ukraine as of July 4 at 7am GMT (AFP / Cléa PÉCULIER)
“All attacks were repelled by anti-aircraft defenses, all detected drones were neutralized,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in the Telegram.
However, the attack disrupted operations at Vnukovo Airport, one of Moscow’s three major international airports, for three hours.
One of the drones was neutralized near Koubinka, a town about forty kilometers from the airport.
“These attacks would not be possible without the help of the United States and its NATO allies to the Kiev regime,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Westerners “train drone operators and provide the information needed to commit such crimes,” he added.
After the attack, Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Telegram denounced an “act of terrorism” targeting an area where “civilian infrastructure” is located.
– injured children –
In Ukraine, two people were killed by Russian artillery fire in the Kherson region in the south of the country, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said in the telegram.
At least 38 people, including 12 children, were injured in a Russian attack with an Iskander missile in the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. A three-month-old infant had to seek medical attention at the scene.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a virtual summit of the Shanghai Organization (CSO) at the Kremlin in Moscow, July 4, 2023 (SPUTNIK/Alexander Kazakov)
According to local authorities, three people were also injured in the Donetsk region (east) and three others in the Chernihiv region (north).
The death toll from the Russian drone strike that hit an apartment building in Sumy in the northeast on Monday rose to three dead and 21 wounded.
Fighting is also continuing on the front lines, almost a month after the counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces, which has so far brought only modest territorial gains to Kiev.
According to the UK Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian forces are facing “massive use of anti-tank mines by Russia” and attacks by Russian planes, helicopters and artillery as they advance.
The Russian armed forces “had some success with this approach,” but continued to “suffer from major weaknesses,” he said.
– Grain deal under threat –
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday reported “tough” fighting over the past week as Kiev forces advanced 37 square kilometers to the south and east.
Residents in front of a building partially destroyed by a deadly drone strike in Sumy, Ukraine, on July 3, 2023 (AFP/SERGEY BOBOK)
For its part, Russia said that since the start of its counter-offensive in early June, the Ukrainian army “has not achieved its objectives on any axis”.
At the diplomatic level, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday attended a virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional alliance that notably unites Russia, China and India.
Mr Putin assured that his country would “continue to resist” in the face of “external pressure” and “sanctions”. He thanked the SCO countries for expressing their “support” during the mutiny of the Wagner paramilitary group that shook the Kremlin at the end of June.
Separately, Russia’s foreign ministry said it sees “no reason” to extend Ukraine’s landmark grain export deal, which expires on July 17.
Moscow has been denouncing obstacles to its own deliveries of agricultural products due to Western sanctions for months. “Under these conditions, it is obvious that there is no reason to continue (the agreement),” the Russian Foreign Ministry warned.