Russian forces carried out 14 attacks against Ukraine tonight with "Shaheed" kamikaze drones, but the Ukrainian forces for air defense shot down 13 of them, Ukrinform reported, citing the country's air force. All the drones were sent from the region of the city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, writes BTA.
Fighter fighters, air force anti-aircraft missile units and electronic warfare units were used in repelling the enemy air attack, the army statement said.
The drones were shot down over the Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Rivne regions, the air force specified.
During a working meeting in Prague, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal and EU leaders discussed providing more air defense systems to Ukraine.
On the other hand, newly appointed Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belusov sent telegrams to Moscow's forces in Ukraine thanking them for progress on the battlefield, Reuters reported today, citing Russian military TV channel Zvezda.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin removed longtime Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and replaced him with Belusov, an economist and former deputy prime minister. The change is seen by many as an attempt to achieve greater efficiency in defense spending and clean up the Defense Ministry, which has been hit by a major bribery scandal, Reuters notes.
At the same time, Polish security services arrested a man on suspicion of trying to take pictures of military vehicles crossing the border with Ukraine, a spokesman said today.
A 26-year-old Ukrainian man is suspected of encouraging a Polish citizen to send the photos and "participate in foreign intelligence activity against Poland," the spokesman said. Poland has said its role as a distribution hub for supplies to Ukraine has made it a key target for Russian spies trying to gather information on support for Kiev in the war and engage in sabotage.
The Ukrainian, identified as Oleksandr D., sent messages to a Polish national encouraging him to help a foreign intelligence service, Jacek Dobzynski, a spokesman for the minister who coordinates the work of special services, said in a statement.
"The activity consisted in sending pictures of military vehicles that were intended to help Ukraine and were crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border," said Dobzynski. "In exchange for the information provided, the Polish citizen was supposed to receive 15,000 euros," the spokesman added.
The court granted the prosecutor's request to keep the suspect in pre-trial detention for three months. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to eight years in prison.