Reports from Ukraine’s air force indicate that Russia has launched air attacks on various locations in southern and eastern Ukraine, employing drones and potentially ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian air force, communicating through the Telegram messaging app, stated that the southern port of Odesa, as well as the regions of Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk, were all under the threat of Russian drone strikes.
Late on Monday, a fire broke out in the port of Mykolaiv, as confirmed by the city’s mayor. Mykolaiv is a crucial access point for Ukraine to the Black Sea. More information regarding the fire is expected to be released later.
Social media videos surfaced, purporting to show Iranian-made Shahed drones carrying out attacks in the Mykolaiv region. However, there has been no independent verification of these attacks or the authenticity of the footage.
Oleh Kiper, the head of the military administration in the Odesa region, reported that air defense systems were engaged in repelling multiple waves of Russian drone attacks. Kiper warned of the likelihood of further waves of attacks.
In addition to drone strikes, the Ukrainian air force indicated that Russia might also be employing ballistic weaponry to target the regions of Poltava, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Kirovohrad.
Air raid alerts were issued across several Ukrainian regions for hours on Tuesday morning before being called off around 4:30 am local time. Details of the attack in the Odesa region are expected to be revealed later, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Odesa military administration.
The attack on the southern Odesa region occurred shortly after Russia refused to extend a deal allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports. Last year, during Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian Black Sea ports were blocked by Russian warships until a temporary agreement was reached in July 2022, allowing critical grain exports from Ukraine. On Monday, Russia declined to extend the grain deal, citing unfulfilled elements of the agreement related to the export of Russian food and fertilizers.
Furthermore, Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal followed an attack on a Russian-built bridge connecting Ukraine’s annexed Crimean peninsula to Russia’s Krasnodar region earlier on Monday. According to Russian reports, unmanned remote-controlled boats detonated explosives at the structure, resulting in casualties. Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the attack and vowed military retaliation.
On Tuesday, Russia claimed that its air defenses and electronic countermeasure systems had successfully intercepted 28 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, causing no casualties or damage.
The situation remains highly tense, with the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalating through these air attacks, posing significant threats to the affected regions and exacerbating the strained relations between the two nations.
