The pace of mutual attacks between Russia and Ukraine has escalated over the past hours, as Moscow announced the downing of hundreds of Ukrainian drones over several areas, while Kyiv continued to target military infrastructure and supply lines in the territories under the control of Russia and the Russian Federation.
Russian authorities reported on Saturday that a huge fire broke out at a naval station in the city of Temeryuk in the Krasnodar region overlooking the Sea of Azov, following an attack by a Ukrainian drone. The governor of the region, Vneyamin Kondratev, confirmed that one person was killed and three others were injured by falling debris from the drones, noting that emergency teams had sent about 96 personnel and more than 30 vehicles to extinguish the fire.
A separate attack hit an industrial area in the town of Kotovo in the Volgograd region in southern Russia, causing a fire without revealing the extent of the damage, days after reports that a Lukoil refinery in the same area had been shut down by a similar strike. For its part, the Russian military announced that a total of 177 Ukrainian drones were shot down on Friday night over various areas.
Putin announces deployment of 700,000 troops, threatens Ukrainian attacks
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that Russia has deployed more than 700,000 troops to the war zone in Ukraine, while speaking with soldiers in the Kremlin on the occasion of the National Day that fell on June 12.
Putin said that the Ukrainian drone strikes, which have escalated in intensity in recent months, are aimed at "dividing Russian society, sowing confusion and causing economic damage," stressing that they "will not succeed in achieving this," and spoke confidently of achieving victory in the "special military operation" ordered against Ukraine in February 2022, which quickly turned into the worst conflict in Europe since World War II.
Ongoing escalation and sharp jump in civilian casualties in Ukraine
On the other hand, recent Russian strikes resulted in the death of a woman and seriously wounded another in the border region of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, in addition to damage to residential and commercial buildings, while three people were injured in the Mykolaiv region in the south of the country.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the head of the state administration of the region, Oleksandr Hanja, reported that nine people were wounded in an attack on the region, explaining that Russian forces targeted three neighborhoods with more than 20 raids using drones and aerial bombs, and noting that a 40-year-old man was taken to hospital in critical condition.
In the context of the human cost, a report by the UN Human Rights Office revealed a sharp jump in the number of civilian casualties, with at least 274 people killed and 1,763 injured in May, a 93% increase compared to the same month last year, when 191 deaths and 865 injuries were recorded. The report attributed the main cause of death in major cities such as Kyiv and Dnipro to missiles and long-range drones at 45 percent, while short-range drones posed a greater risk near the front lines.
The United Nations has documented more than 16,000 civilian deaths and more than 46,000 injuries since the war began in February 2022.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that 11 regions in Ukraine have been hit by Russian attacks since the beginning of the week.
"The Russians used about 530 drones and two air-launched guided missiles against Ukraine," he wrote on the "X" platform, injuring dozens of people. In turn, the Ukrainian Air Force announced the downing of 110 Shahed attack drones on Friday night.
Kyiv strikes deep into Russia's energy sector and weapons factories
In recent weeks, Kyiv's forces have increasingly targeted Russia's energy sector by carrying out long-range strikes on oil facilities.
Zelensky announced that Ukrainian forces had struck the Kubyshev oil refinery in Russia's Samara region, as well as two oil infrastructure facilities in the Vladimir region.
He also confirmed that Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles hit a military factory in Cheboksary, explaining that the facility is used to supply Russian forces with drones and missiles.
Revival of EU accession talks for Kyiv and Moldova
This escalation on the ground coincides with Ukraine's approach to achieving its ambition to join the European bloc, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday that EU countries have agreed to open the first package of membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
"At the first intergovernmental conference on Monday, we will open the set of fundamentals, which form the backbone of the accession process," she wrote on social media, calling the move a recognition of the determination, courage and hard work of both countries in advancing reforms despite enormous challenges.
Ukraine and Moldova are on the front lines of Russian moves, and both see joining the bloc as a way to boost their security. Moscow, on the other hand, has consistently warned the two countries against rapprochement with Europe, and has considered the deepening of Kyiv's ties with the West and its ambition to join NATO as part of the justification for launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In an earlier comment on Chisinau's growing ties with Brussels, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency TASS that the Moldovan government was making a "grave mistake", adding: "This is a continuation of a very confrontational approach towards our country; they believe that the path of developing relations with Europe means entering a state of complete hostility with Russia, and there is one country (Ukraine) that has already made such a mistake, and it has brought no good to it."
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