NEWS
Russia Frustrates Ukraine’s Largest Drone Strikes On Moscow
Russia successfully warded-off Ukraine’s scaled up hostilities, in what is clearly the largest ‘single’ attack since the beginning of the ongoing war in February 2022.
Russian officials revealed that on Wednesday, at least 11 drones that were shot down by air defences which frustrated Ukraine’s largest drone strikes targeted at Moscow.
Biztellers reports that Ukraine launched a total of 45 drones over Russian territory about the same time, which Russian defence sources claim were all successfully defended.
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It was gathered that for months, Ukraine had intensified efforts on winning the war with an increasingly damaging drone deployment against the refineries and airfields of Russia.
Russia is the world’s second largest oil exporter, which marks out the drones’ onslaught on the capital region – with a population of over 21 million, a clear shift in Ukraine’s strategy.
The war, largely a grinding artillery and drone battle across the fields, forests and villages of eastern Ukraine, escalated on Aug. 6 when Ukraine sent thousands of soldiers over the border into Russia’s western Kursk region, according to Reuters.
However, information filtering out from Russia’s defence ministry have it that its air defences destroyed a total of 45 drones over Russian territory, including 11 over the Moscow region, 23 over the border region of Bryansk, six over the Belgorod region, three over the Kaluga region and two over the Kursk region.
The Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin revealed that some of the drones were shot down over the city of Podolsk. The city in the Moscow region is some 38 km (24 miles) south of the Kremlin.
Sobyanin stated on the Telegram messaging app, on Wednesday, “This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever.
“The layered defence of Moscow that was created made it possible to successfully repel all the attacks from the enemy UAVs.”
It was gathered that the attack happened as President Vladimir Putin was locked at a meeting with Chinese premier Li Qiang in the Kremlin.
Biztellers reports that Russia has been strategic to ensure that Moscow’s boulevards, the cafes, restaurants and shops of the capital were kept carefully insulated from the war, a code that Ukraine would have wanted to breach with her latest effort.
Russia, according to Reuters, is advancing in eastern Ukraine, where it controls about 18% of the territory, and battling to repel Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, the biggest foreign attack on Russian territory since World War Two.
In what appears to be a proof-point of Russia’s defence capabilities, a segment of Russian media showed unverified footage of drones whirring over the dawn sky of the Moscow region and then being shot down in a ball of flame by air defences.
The scare saw Moscow’s airports, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, scale down flights for four hours but restarted normal operations from 0330 GMT, Russia’s aviation watchdog said.
Sobyanin maintained that there were no injuries or damage reported in the aftermath of the attacks.
There were also no casualties or damage reported following the attack on Bryansk in Russia’s southwest, the governor of the region, Alexander Bogomaz, wrote on Telegram.
Russia’s RIA state news agency reported that two drones were destroyed over the Tula region, which borders the Moscow region to its north.
Governor of the Rostov region in Russia’s southwest, Vasily Golubev, stated that air defence forces destroyed a Ukraine-launched missile over the region, with no injuries reported.
However, the Russian defence ministry was silent on both Tula and Rostov in its statement on the destroyed Ukrainian air weapons.
On its part, Ukraine’s military said on Wednesday it overnight struck an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system based in the Rostov region.
The drone attack on Moscow was on a par with a May 2023 attack when at least eight drones were destroyed over the capital, a strike Putin said was a Ukrainian attempt to scare and provoke Russia, according to Reuters.
In Kursk, Russian war bloggers reported that intense battles were ongoing along the front in the region where Ukraine claims to have carved out at least 450 square km (175 square miles) of Russian territory.
Armed bandits have taken control of the Gusau-Funtua highway in Zamfara, setting up a roadblock and kidnapping an unspecified number of travelers.
According to reports, the attackers set up a roadblock at the Tazame axis of the highway around 7 a.m. and continued their assault for at least two hours.
Yusuf Tsafe, a commuter stranded at the scene, stated that the bandits arrived on about 50 motorcycles, each carrying three riders, and swiftly kidnapped several travelers.
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Despite efforts by the military to regain control, the highway remains closed, with no vehicles permitted to pass.
Another commuter confirmed that the Magazu–Kucheri Road, another major route connecting Gusau to Funtua, has also been blocked by the armed group.
He said, “They entered the road around 7 am, and till around 9am, they were still there, we just parked by the roadside waiting for the military to clear the road, we are seeing the bandits taking people inside the bush.
“The military guntruck moved to the area earlier, we were just hearing gunshots, but they are yet to open the road. Till now, no vehicle has been allowed to pass.”
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks by armed bandits in the region, raising concerns about the safety of travelers and the effectiveness of security measures.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, announced that additional forces, including members of the Nigerian Police Mobile Squad, have been dispatched to secure the highway.
Zamfara State, like several areas in northwestern and central Nigeria, has been besieged by armed groups involved in mass kidnappings for ransom, looting, and widespread destruction.
A fire outbreak early Thursday morning devastated the GSM village near Kpata market in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, destroying properties worth millions of naira.
The fire, reportedly caused by a power surge, started in the early hours and quickly spread out of control. Shop owners were unable to salvage any of their goods.
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Muhammed Yahaya, one of the affected traders, recounted the incident: “I received a call around 5:30 a.m. that the market was on fire. By the time I arrived, many shops had already been burnt down. It appears the fire was caused by high voltage power supplied to the area, affecting appliances in nearby houses.”
Yahaya added that millions of naira worth of goods, including laptops, phones, and accessories, were destroyed. “Most of these traders had just received their goods this week. It’s a big shock to all of us,” he said, urging the Kogi State Government to provide financial assistance and rebuild the market.
Moses Felix, Financial Secretary of the Kogi Association of Phones and Accessories Dealers (KAPAD), expressed his distress over the incident. “I was crying this morning as my shop burned. I lost everything, including goods that arrived this week. I have a family to feed and workers to support, and now we are starting from scratch,” he said.
At the time of this report, fire service officials were still working to extinguish the fire.
A massive rescue operation by the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has saved 719 people stranded by floods in Maiduguri and Jere, bringing hope to affected communities.
SEMA Director-General, Mohammed Barkindo confirmed that the agency’s divers and emergency responders worked tirelessly to reach victims trapped in flooded areas, using makeshift facilities to facilitate the rescue.
Notably, all 719 rescued individuals opted to stay with relatives or in private residences, declining temporary camp accommodations.
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SEMA has ensured their safety by documenting contact information for ongoing support.
He said, “SEMA went with divers and rescued 719 people trapped in trees and upstairs, taking them to their chosen locations. The rescue operations started yesterday and continued up to this time today.
“We documented their contacts to check on their well-being since they were taken to private residences, where they insisted on living with their relatives.
“Virtually all those we rescued, especially along Lagos Street, said they preferred to stay with their relatives, while the rest also suggested better options. None of the 719 was taken to the camp.”
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