Kyiv: 76 Shahed drones launched from Moscow. Fedorov calls for elections in Ukraine
Russia has once again ruled out the possibility of a ceasefire in Ukraine to facilitate peace talks
The exchange of drone attacks between Kyiv and Moscow continues. Russia launched, during the course of the day, 76 jet-powered Shahed drones against Ukraine, mainly in the direction of the Kyiv region. This was announced by the Ukrainian Air Force. According to a preliminary assessment, air defences shot down or neutralised more than 70 of these drones. However, the Air Force reported that some drones had struck their targets and that debris from downed aircraft had fallen in various locations, adding that the information was still being verified. According to the same source, in the late afternoon more than 20 other jet-powered drones entered Ukrainian airspace. Air defence operations were still underway.
In Ukraine, two people – a 43-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman – were killed in a drone attack attributed to Russia on the evening of 17 August in the Zaporizhzhia region: this was reported on Telegram by the head of the local military administration , Ivan Fedorov . The same source warned later that evening of numerous threats of drone attacks and guided aerial bombs in this part of Ukraine. Furthermore, in the Kharkiv region, a Russian missile strike killed at least 10 people, according to local media reports. A further eight people were injured, and the attack also damaged private homes, a bar, a post office, a shop and at least seven cars.
Meanwhile, according to the Washington Post, Russians are withdrawing billions of roubles from the country’s banks for fear that the Kremlin might start seizing deposits to finance the war. According to reports, nearly 286.4 billion roubles ($3.4 billion) were withdrawn in the first two weeks of August, according to figures from the Russian Central Bank. This figure is in addition to the 7,3 billion withdrawn last month and the more than 4.5 billion dollars withdrawn in June. Withdrawals on this scale are causing liquidity problems, said a former senior Russian financial official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Zelensky: ‘Brutal Russian attack on the Kharkiv region – we will respond’
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented on the Russian missile attack. ‘This morning, the Russians launched a brutal attack on a busy crossroads in Pechenihy, in the Kharkiv region, a location housing a post office and several shops, surrounded exclusively by residential buildings. At present, it is reported that 10 people have been killed. I offer my condolences to their families and loved ones. Many people have been injured and are receiving all the necessary medical care.’ Zelenskyy then added: “We will certainly respond to this Russian attack. And it is equally important that our partners also back up our legitimate military responses with their own actions, putting pressure on Russia and supporting Ukraine.”
Kremlin: Attack involving 620 Ukrainian drones against Moscow repelled
Between Monday evening and 5.00 am on Tuesday (Moscow time), 620 drones were launched towards Moscow and the surrounding region, and 180 were destroyed in the capital region. “Emergency services are working at the sites where the debris fell,” said the Mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, on his official Max channel. Previously, the largest attempted drone attack had taken place between the evening of 15 August and 6.30 am on 16 August (Moscow time). According to the mayor – as also reported by the Tass news agency – 600 drones had been heading towards the capital, and 201 had been shot down in the Moscow region. Sobyanin also reported that between the evening of 6 July and 6.00 am on 7 July (Moscow time), air defence forces shot down more than 430 drones, 36 of which were approaching Moscow. The attempted attack on Moscow by hostile drones was the largest in the last two years, according to calculations by Tass based on data released by the Mayor of Moscow himself.
