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?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Facing Multiple Charges After Violent Freeway Pursuit and Shooting

DON'T MISS

Former Porterville Librarian Accused of Stealing Thousands From Elderly Friend

DON'T MISS

As Fresno Files First Case, Maxwell Vows to Protect Wage Theft Unit

DON'T MISS

Fowler Felon Jailed After Officers Find Assault Rifle, Drugs in Home Search

DON'T MISS

Young People Drive Fresno to CA’s Top Job Growth: Wells Fargo Study

DON'T MISS

Judge Rejects Claim That Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Was Treated Differently Because of His Race

DON'T MISS

Rapper Tory Lanez Attacked at a California Prison as He Serves Time for Megan Thee Stallion Shooting

DON'T MISS

Grapevine Fire Forces Full Closure of Southbound I-5

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s New Economic Development Leader Has Boomtown Expertise

DON'T MISS

KMJ’s Ray Appleton Is Off the Air as He Deals With ‘Rare Condition’

UP NEXT

Trump Plans to Accept Luxury 747 From Qatar to Use as Air Force One

UP NEXT

What the World Needs From Pope Leo

UP NEXT

Pope Leo XIV Urges Release of Imprisoned Journalists, Affirms Gift of Free Speech and Press

UP NEXT

Iran Warns Europeans That Reimposing Sanctions Could Have Irreversible Consequences

UP NEXT

Hamas Set to Free US-Israeli Hostage, Israel Says No Ceasefire

UP NEXT

Trump’s Trip to Saudi Arabia Raises the Prospect of US Nuclear Cooperation With the Kingdom

UP NEXT

Iran to Send Russia Launchers for Short-Range Missiles, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Residents Stockpile Food, Rush to Bunkers as Conflict Rattles India and Pakistan

UP NEXT

Israel Won’t Be Involved in New Gaza Aid Plan, Only in Security, US Envoy Says

UP NEXT

Iran Agrees to Fourth Round of Indirect Nuclear Talks With US on Sunday

Fowler Felon Jailed After Officers Find Assault Rifle, Drugs in Home Search

2 hours ago

Young People Drive Fresno to CA’s Top Job Growth: Wells Fargo Study

2 hours ago

Judge Rejects Claim That Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Was Treated Differently Because of His Race

3 hours ago

Rapper Tory Lanez Attacked at a California Prison as He Serves Time for Megan Thee Stallion Shooting

3 hours ago

Grapevine Fire Forces Full Closure of Southbound I-5

3 hours ago

Fresno’s New Economic Development Leader Has Boomtown Expertise

3 hours ago

KMJ’s Ray Appleton Is Off the Air as He Deals With ‘Rare Condition’

4 hours ago

Bakersfield Man Pleads Guilty to Aiming Laser at Sheriff’s Helicopter

5 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Faces Life Sentence for Murder of Former Exeter Police Officer

5 hours ago

US Car Prices Higher in April After Tariffs Hit

5 hours ago

Fresno Man Facing Multiple Charges After Violent Freeway Pursuit and Shooting

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against a 31-year-old Fresno man, accusing him of attempted murder and ...

60 minutes ago

60 minutes ago

Fresno Man Facing Multiple Charges After Violent Freeway Pursuit and Shooting

A former Porterville librarian, Vikki Ann Cervantes, 50, faces felony charges for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly friend over the course of a year while managing her finances. (Shutterstock)
1 hour ago

Former Porterville Librarian Accused of Stealing Thousands From Elderly Friend

2 hours ago

As Fresno Files First Case, Maxwell Vows to Protect Wage Theft Unit

Fowler police and sheriff’s deputies arrested two residents Monday, May 12, 2025, after finding illegal firearms, drugs, and stolen property during a search of their home. (Fowler PD)
2 hours ago

Fowler Felon Jailed After Officers Find Assault Rifle, Drugs in Home Search

2 hours ago

Young People Drive Fresno to CA’s Top Job Growth: Wells Fargo Study

Sean 'Diddy' Combs, far left, looks on from the defense table with his attorneys, as a prospective juror, far right, answers questions posed by Judge Arun Subramanian, center, at Manhattan federal court, Monday, May 5, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
3 hours ago

Judge Rejects Claim That Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Was Treated Differently Because of His Race

Singer Tory Lanez returns to the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center for his trial, Dec. 13, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP File)
3 hours ago

Rapper Tory Lanez Attacked at a California Prison as He Serves Time for Megan Thee Stallion Shooting

A fire has shut down all southbound lanes of I-5 at Grapevine Road on Monday, May 12, 2025, prompting major traffic delays as crews work to extinguish the flames. (CHP)
3 hours ago

Grapevine Fire Forces Full Closure of Southbound I-5

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

Search

Send this to a friend