Moscow has claimed that that a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack targeted Vladimir Putin’s helicopter as the Russian leader visited the embattled Kursk region earlier this week.
Russian air defence officer Yury Dashkin said on Sunday that Putin’s helicopter was at the “epicentre of an operation to repel a massive drone attack” on Tuesday, state media RT reports.
The alleged attack came as the Russian leader visited the Kursk region, which saw the most significant incursion into Russian territory since the Second World War after Ukraine’s forces launched a daring counterinvasion last summer.
During his first visit to the Russian region after expelling the Ukrainians, Putin’s helicopter became embroiled in an “unprecedented” drone attack comprised of dozens of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Dashkin claimed.
“I would like to stress the fact that the intensity of the attacks during the flight of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s aircraft over the territory of Kursk Region increased significantly,” he said.
Claiming the destruction of 46 Ukrainian drones, Dashkin said that the Russian air forces were engaged in anti-aircraft combat and ensure the safety of the president’s helicopter in the air.”
“The task was accomplished. The attack of the enemy drones was repelled, with all aerial targets being hit.”
It comes as both sides of the conflict have claimed an increase in drone strikes, with Moscow’s Foreign Ministry claiming that Ukraine launched 764 drones into Russian territory between Tuesday and Friday.
On Saturday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed “some European nations led by the UK, France, Germany, and the EU leadership” for the increased level of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Sunday that Russia had launched one of its largest combined drone and missile assaults of the conflict.
Zelensky said that around 300 drones and 70 missiles were fired against 30 cities across Ukraine overnight, hitting residential buildings and the dormitories of a university. “Tragically, people were killed, including children,” he said.
“Each such terrorist Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia. Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day. The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored. Silence of America, silence of others around the world only encourage Putin,” Zelensky said.
“Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help. Determination matters now – the determination of the United States, of European countries, and of all those around the world who seek peace. The world knows all the weaknesses of the Russian economy. The war can be stopped, but only through the necessary force of pressure on Russia. Putin must be forced to think not about launching missiles, but about ending the war,” he added.
The reports of increased attacks from both sides come despite Kyiv and Moscow completing the largest exchange of prisoners of war since the start of the conflict after it was agreed to earlier this month at peace talks in Istanbul.
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