Ukraine repelled Russian drone strike
Ukraine shot down 14 attack drones and a cruise missile fired by Russia at its south and east overnight, but debris from a downed drone damaged a warehouse at the Black Sea port of Odesa, officials said on Monday, Reuters reports.
Air defences brought down nine Iranian-made Shahed drones over the southern region of Odesa, which is home to Ukraine’s main Black Sea ports, and no one was reported injured, governor Oleh Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app. There was no comment from Moscow, which denies targeting civilian infrastructure.
Russia has intensified attacks on port and grain infrastructure since quitting a U.N.-brokered deal in July that had allowed Kyiv to ship its grain via the Black Sea.
Ukraine, a major grain producer, has been trying to establish a new shipping corridor to revive its exports across the Black Sea, traditionally its main route to global markets, despite a de facto Russian blockade.
The regions of Kherson in the south, Donetsk in the east and Sumy in the northeast were also targeted in the attack, the Interior Ministry said.
All 14 drones, including 13 Shaheds, and a cruise missile were shot down in the strike, the air force said, praising air defence systems supplied by the West.
