Ukraine’s seemingly unrelenting drone offensive looks to be continuing, as seven settlements in the Russian region of Kursk have lost power after what appears to be a successful UAV attack, according to the region’s governor.
Kursk shares a border with Ukraine, and comes under frequent shelling and drone attack from Kyiv’s forces, officials in the region claim.
This morning, in the village of Snagost in the Korenevsky district, a Ukrainian drone “dropped an explosive device on an electrical substation, cutting off power to seven settlements”, Roman Starovoit said on Telegram.
“None of the residents were injured,” he added.
The governor added that emergency crews would begin restoring power supply as soon as possible.
Putin trying to create new ‘assault’ units – but his mobilisation issues remain, says ISW
Russian military officials are pressing forward with building out their armed forces despite a “multitude of endemic mobilisation issues” facing the country, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The US-based thinktank noted a report from Russian outlet Izvestia.
‘Assault troops’
According to that report, the new units will be “comprised of assault troops intended to break through layered defences and reconnaissance troops that will conduct reconnaissance at ‘tactical depth’… each brigade will receive tanks, light armoured vehicles, artillery, and various drones”, ISW said.
The new brigades are designed to overcome prepared Ukrainian defensive positions, particularly in areas of Donbas – which Kyiv has been equipping for defence since 2014.
Colonel Valery Yuryev, who is chairman of the Russian Union of Paratroopers, told Izvestia that the war had stressed the “need to have specialised units for storming fortified areas” and that “separate assault units and formations are necessary.”
But can Putin do it?
Despite the needs and wants of the military officials, ISW says it will be difficult to create these new specialised units given the current climate in Russia – despite a number of tweaks and changes to the country’s legal system to allow for easier recruitment.
ISW says it is “unclear how the Russian force generation apparatus will be able to recruit, train, and staff brigade, army, or army corps level formations considering the multitude of endemic mobilisation issues the Russian army faces at this time”.
Russians claim to have shot down seven drones over Belgorod
Russian air defence units shot down seven Ukrainian drones over southern Belgorod region on Monday, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.
According to Mr Gladkov, there were no casualties.
Russia’s defence ministry later said Russian forces had destroyed two drones over Kursk region.
No details of the attack were provided.
Both the Belgorod and Kursk regions border Ukraine.
Air raid alert over Sevastopol lifted
The air raid alert over Sevastopol has been lifted after Russian forces repelled an attack on the Crimean port of downing one missile, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, has said on Telegram.
Mr Razvozhayev, citing preliminary data, said Russian air defence units downed a missile near the Belbek military airfield.
Traffic on the main bridge linking the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula, annexed from Ukraine in 2014, had been stopped but is now running again, according to reports.
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