The Russian Ministry of Defense stated on Tuesday that Russian air defense systems destroyed 7 Ukrainian drones launched over the southwestern area of Belgorod. This announcement followed the governor of the region reporting a drone attack on the city of Gubkin. However, the ministry claimed in a statement on Telegram that “no drone reached its target.”
The governor of the region, Viacheslav Gladkov, mentioned via Telegram that there were no casualties from the attack on Gubkin but noted that 4 houses were damaged due to drone debris.
Belgorod and other neighboring areas have been subject to repeated attacks carried out by Ukrainian forces in the context of the ongoing war for the past two years, which began with Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Army Chief Dismissal
Speculations arose on Monday that the highly popular Ukrainian army chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, could soon be dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky confirmed on Sunday evening that he is considering dismissing senior army officers and stated in a press release that “a reset, a fresh start is definitely necessary.”
He further added that personnel changes may extend beyond Zaluzhnyi to include “a number of prominent figures in the state, not just in one field like the army.”
Zaluzhnyi, 50, was appointed as the Ukrainian army’s general commander just months before the war.
Zaluzhnyi became the general commander of the Ukrainian army just a few months before the war (Reuters)
Russian Arrests
In another development, the Russian Federal Security Service mentioned in a statement on Monday that security forces arrested a group of Russian citizens who were planning to detonate a car belonging to a security official in the city of Simferopol, following instructions from the Ukrainian security agency. The Russian security agency added that a remotely controlled explosive device made from a German-made anti-tank projectile, as well as communication devices and other equipment, were seized.
The Russian security agency’s website quoted that group members admitted to planning, at the behest of the Ukrainian intelligence agency, an attack against an official in the Crimean Peninsula.
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