All the latest developments from the war in Ukraine.
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Ukraine claimed it used a maritime drone to sink a small Russian warship in the Black Sea as Russian investigators alleged that a Russian military transport plane that crashed last month was hit by two US-made missiles fired by Kiev’s military. Was shot down by Patriot missiles.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known by the Ukrainian acronym GUR, published a video it said showed naval drones attacking the Russian missile-armed corvette Ivanovets on Wednesday night.
Footage released on GUR’s social media showed several naval drones hitting a ship and exploding. According to GUR, the ship, costing €55 million to €65 million, was on patrol on Lake Donuzlav in western Crimea when it was attacked by GUR’s special unit. The lake has developed into a bay since 1961, when a channel was dug connecting it to the Black Sea.
Disinformation has been part of the deadly war, which marks its second anniversary on February 24, and it was not possible to independently verify claims on both sides.
Private security firm Ambre said Ukraine used six maritime drones in the attack, each of which typically carries 300 kilograms of explosives. GUR footage showed that the ship was sinking.
Russian officials had no immediate comment on Ivanovets.
A Western official supported the Ukrainian account, saying, “It is highly likely that uncrewed surface ships were responsible for the attack on Ivanovets.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence.
Ukrainian attacks on Russian aircraft and ships in the Black Sea have helped push back Moscow’s naval forces, allowing Kiev to increase vital exports of grain and other goods through its southern ports.
Ukraine’s top general praises development of unmanned weapons
In an article published by CNN, Ukraine’s army chief of staff, General Valery Zaluznahi, called the development of unmanned weapons systems “a central driver of this war.”
Zaluzny’s essay surfaced on Thursday, as rumors of his firing continue to swirl amid an alleged rift with him. President Volodymyr Zelensky,
In it, the general outlined his assessment of the war situation and outlined priorities for Ukraine in 2024, while also addressing the challenge of adding more troops to the army – a reported source of tension between him and Ukraine’s leader. Is the source.
“We must acknowledge the significant advantage gained by the enemy in mobilizing human resources and how this compares with the inability of state institutions in Ukraine to improve the manpower level of our armed forces without the use of unpopular measures,” Zaluzny said. wrote.
Another problem, he said, “is, for example, bottlenecks in the production of ammunition – which further deepens Ukraine’s dependence on its allies for supplies.”
The general listed three areas on which Ukraine should focus its main efforts in 2024: “Creating a system for providing high-tech assets to our armed forces. Introduction of a new philosophy of training and warfare that takes into account restrictions in assets and how they can be deployed. And to master new combat capabilities as quickly as possible.”
Russia claims US-made Patriot missiles shot down transport plane
Meanwhile, Russia’s main state criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, said on Thursday it had concluded that the Russian Il-76 military transport plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine on January 24 was using the US-made Patriot air defense system. Which was supplied to Kiev by the Western Allies.
Russian officials claimed that there were 74 people on board the plane, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew members and three Russian soldiers. There is news of everyone being killed.
It said both missiles were fired by Ukrainian forces near the village of Lipsy in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
The committee said in a statement that 116 fragments of two MIM-104A missiles fired from the Patriot system were found near the crash site in the Belgorod region. It presented no physical evidence for its claims.
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Meanwhile, across the front line spanning eastern and southern Ukraine, fighting continued to claim civilian casualties.
In the eastern Donetsk region, Russian forces shelled 11 towns and villages on Thursday, killing one person in the village of Tsukurin. The Ukrainian presidential office said two people were injured during a rocket attack in Toretsk.
In the south, six civilians were injured in the Kherson region, including a husband and wife in Berislav who were hit by a drone strike while driving a motorcycle through the city.
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