At dawn on Monday, Russia witnessed a new and violent wave of organized attacks by Ukrainian drones, which resulted in the death of four people and the wounding of seven others, in a remarkable escalation on the ground targeting vital infrastructure and oil facilities, in conjunction with Moscow's announcement of the foiling of a large-scale terrorist plot that was targeting military airports deep inside the country.
The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, announced on Telegram that three people were killed and three others were injured after a drone crashed in the town of Pionersk, while two others were injured after a drone collided with an apartment building in the city of Solneshnogorsk, noting that Russian air defenses were able to shoot down 81 drones overnight.
In the Belgorod border region, local authorities said a woman was killed when a drone dropped an explosive device on a town, while two men were wounded in a separate attack in the same area.
Attack on Russian airfields foiled, Sea of Azov paralysis
In a significant security shift, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) on Monday thwarted a large-scale Ukrainian attack targeting the Ukrainka and Shagul military airports in Amur and Chelyabinsk oblasts.
The service explained in an official statement that Ukrainian intelligence moved drones, ground control stations and balloons through containers and cars loaded with household appliances to rented garages deep inside Russian territory.
The statement confirmed the seizure of 24 advanced drones equipped with British, American, Canadian and Swedish-made anti-electronic neural network controllers, armed with warheads weighing more than one kilogram.
Ukrainian attacks have spilled over into southwestern Russia, where shelling of the Cizran refinery and an oil depot in the city of Mikhailovsk killed one person and injured three others, including a child. Moscow was forced to suspend navigation in the Sea of Azov after 10 oil tankers and four ferries came under heavy attacks led by the commander of Ukraine's drone forces, Robert Provdi, that hit power plants in Crimea.
Russian backlash targets ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian army continued to bombard and target Ukrainian ports using precision, long-range air-launched weapons and attack drones.
According to the Russian statement, the mass strikes resulted in the destruction and severe damage of port infrastructure facilities in Odessa and Chornomorsk, which are used to unload and store military cargoes, fuel and lubricants, as well as targeting naval vessels transporting these cargoes.
Ukrainian officials reported that four people were killed as a result of Russian strikes, including three in the Dnipropetrovsk region after an industrial facility in the city of Kryvyi Rih was targeted, and another in Kherson, while Russian authorities in the part under their control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region announced that four people were killed by Ukrainian counter-shelling.
The "Alliance of the Willing" meets in Paris to strengthen support for Kyiv
This unprecedented escalation on the ground coincides with a high-level meeting held on Monday by Ukraine's allies within the so-called "Alliance of the Willing" in the French capital, Paris, to discuss ways to increase pressure on Moscow and strengthen military support for Kyiv.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the summit would see the announcement of new defense initiatives and joint military exercises, as well as a discussion on confronting the "unofficial Russian fleet" and expanding cooperation between supporting countries.
Participation and support details: The Paris meeting will be attended by outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa, with Moldova and North Macedonia joining the alliance.
The talks are focused on strengthening Ukraine's air defenses by providing more U.S. Patriot missiles and accelerating the deployment of the French-Italian air defense system SAMP-T.
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