Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Russia Says It Has Foiled a Major Ukraine Drone Attack as Concerns Grow Over Kyiv's Weapons Supplies
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
October 4, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Russian air defenses shot down 31 Ukrainian drones during a concerted nighttime attack by Kyiv’s forces on border regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday, as uncertainty grew over Ukraine’s future access to weapons and ammunition from its Western allies.

The drone attack appeared to be Kyiv’s largest single cross-border drone assault reported by Moscow since it launched its invasion 20 months ago. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.

Ukraine is pressing on with a slow-moving counteroffensive it launched three months ago to expel Russian invaders, though mounting concerns about replenishing its military stocks and cracks in the Western wall of support cast a cloud over its efforts.

Adm. Rob Bauer, the head of NATO’s Military Committee, sounded the alarm about depleted stockpiles.

“The bottom of the barrel is now visible,” Bauer said of weapons systems and ammunition supplies.

With the war of attrition likely continuing through winter into next year, Bauer urged the defense industry to boost production “at a much higher tempo. And we need large volumes,” he told the Warsaw Security Forum, an annual two-day conference that continued Wednesday.

The Russian Defense Ministry didn’t provide any evidence for its claims about intercepting Ukrainian drones nor any details about any damage or casualties.

It also said Russian aircraft thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to deploy a group of soldiers by sea to the western side of Russian-annexed Crimea. The force attempted to land on Cape Tarkhankut, on Crimea’s western end, using a high-speed boat and three jet skis, the ministry said.

Moscow’s claims could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.

The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks. The region has been the key hub supporting the invasion.

US is Ukraine’s Largest Weapons Supplier

Bauer’s stark warning on depleted weapons stockpiles adds to mounting concerns over the resupply of Ukraine’s armed forces, which has deepened amid political turmoil in the United States and the unprecedented and dramatic ouster Tuesday of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The U.S. is by far Ukraine’s largest military supplier, but a faction in the House Republican majority, and many GOP voters, oppose sending more military aid to Ukraine.

The Pentagon has warned Congress that it is running low on money to replace weapons the U.S. has sent to Ukraine.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, publicly questioned the motives of what he called “Western conservative elites.”

“Why are you so insistently against … destroying the Russian army, which has been terrifying,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The funding concerns prompted U.S. President Joe Biden to hold a phone call Tuesday with key allies in Europe, as well as the leaders of Canada and Japan, to coordinate support for Ukraine.

The call was held three days after Biden signed legislation hastily sent to him by Congress that kept the federal government funded but left off billions in funding for Ukraine’s war effort that the White House had vigorously backed.

Meanwhile Wednesday, sirens blared across Russia and television station briefly interrupted regular broadcasts to air emergency warnings as part of nationwide drills that started on the previous day to test the readiness of the country’s emergency agencies.

Russian media said that the scenario of the drills envisioned the increasing danger of a conflict between nuclear powers and simulated action in response to a situation in which 70% of housing and all vital infrastructure are destroyed and wide areas are contaminated by a radioactive fallout.

The drills follow a series of warnings from Russian officials that Western support for Ukraine has increased the threat of a direct military conflict between Russia and NATO.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

UN May Cut Staff by 20%, Internal Memo Says

Ancient DNA Reveals a New Group of People Who Lived Near Land Bridge Between the Americas

22 hours ago

FDA Approves Moderna’s New Lower-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine

1 day ago

Townsizing? Land Snorkeling? A User’s Guide to the Latest Travel Lingo

For your next trip, have you considered townsizing? What about choosing a detour destination? And instead of forest-bathing, maybe it’...

21 hours ago

21 hours ago

Townsizing? Land Snorkeling? A User’s Guide to the Latest Travel Lingo

21 hours ago

Trump Trade War Has Already Had Huge Effect on California Ports

22 hours ago

Cambodian American Chefs Are Finding Success and Raising Their Culture’s Profile. On Their Terms

22 hours ago

Ancient DNA Reveals a New Group of People Who Lived Near Land Bridge Between the Americas

1 day ago

FDA Approves Moderna’s New Lower-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine

1 day ago

Cabrera, Three Relievers Combine to Lead Marlins to Win Over Giants

1 day ago

Spike in Steel Tariffs Could Imperil Trump Promise of Lower Grocery Prices

2 days ago

Dodgers’ Mookie Betts Out With Broken Toe After Late-Night Bedroom Mishap

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend