Russia and Ukraine Exchange Drone Attacks

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Facts

  • Russian air defenses reportedly shot down two drones headed to Moscow for the second straight day on Thursday, again causing delays and disruptions to the city's two international airports.1
  • One drone was brought down in the Odintsovo district of the capital, while the other was brought down in the Kaluga region on the outskirts of Moscow, the country's defense ministry said.2
  • Russian officials also said that 11 drones were brought down en route to the Crimean city of Sevastopol — with two being shot down by air defenses, while the remaining nine were brought down using electronic warfare means. There were no reports of injuries from either attack.3
  • Ukraine's air force meanwhile said that it shot down seven of 10 drones deployed by Russia over the country overnight. Officials in the Rivne region said that as a result of drones that penetrated there, an oil depot was destroyed. There were no reports of injuries at this stage.4
  • Russia also launched overnight missile and rocket attacks on the Zaporizhzhia region. Local officials said that three civilians were killed while nine more were injured.5
  • Later on Thursday, Ukraine ordered the evacuation of around 12K residents in 37 towns in the eastern Kharkiv region amid reports of Russian gains in the area.1

Sources: 1Associated Press, 2TASS, 3The Times of Israel, 4Ukrainska Pravda (a), and 5Ukrainska Pravda (b).

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by PBS NewsHour. This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after an election a "coup." This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by National Security Archive. NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.

Predictions