Russia thwarts a drone attack on Kaluga region
3 Min Read
Russia's Defense Ministry accuses Ukraine of targeting the Kaluga region with three drones, adding that all the drones involved in the incident were shot down.
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Traffic police block road near the site where Ukrainian drone targeting the Russian capital was downed by air defense system, in western Moscow on August 11, 2023. (AFP)
Russia's air defense systems successfully intercepted and destroyed three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Kaluga region on Wednesday.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Kiev government "deployed these UAVs in an attempted terrorist attack against targets in the Kaluga region."
The incident occurred at around 5 a.m. Moscow time (02:00 GMT). Fortunately, there were no casualties or material damage resulting from the thwarted attack.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that their air defense systems detected the UAVs in a timely manner and effectively neutralized the threat. "An attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using three unmanned aerial vehicles against facilities in the Kaluga region was foiled today around 5 a.m. Moscow time [02:00 GMT]. Russian air defense systems timely detected and destroyed all UAVs," the ministry said.
This comes just a few days after Russian air defense systems thwarted a Ukrainian aerial attack on Crimea composed of 20 attack drones.
At the time, air defense systems managed to destroy 14 UAVs while the remaining six were disabled by electronic jamming systems.
The Ukrainian army has become overreliant on the use of long-range missiles and attack drones during its floundering offensive, which has failed to achieve substantial breaches into Russia's defensive positions along the frontline.
Furthermore, evidence shows that in the first two weeks of the campaign, Ukraine was losing 20% of the equipment it sent.
The US claims that it has provided Ukraine with all its demands for its counteroffensive, but progress is still slower than expected and it will be even harder with the coming fall, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby has said recently.
"In the months leading up to the counteroffensive, we fulfilled everything on the Ukrainian shopping list, everything they said they needed for the counteroffensive," Kirby told CNN.
He added, "We're continuing to do that, we're continuing to willing to continue to train Ukrainian forces but more critically, we're giving them the kinds of tools and weapons that they need to break through those [Russian lines of defense]."
The White House official noted that the Ukrainians understand that "time is not on their side," and with the fall coming, it would be harder for them to maneuver on the ground and to operate drones and air security systems.
Kirby also suggested avoiding speculation on "what success looks like" and letting Kiev determine that.
Read more: Zelensky fires all heads of military enlistment in Ukraine
