On September 13, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced that they had successfully shot down 44 Russian Shahed “kamikaze” drones used mainly against ports in Odesa oblast during the night, 32 of them in total.
Russia reportedly fired the drones from three different directions: from Primorsko-Achtarsk in Russia’s Krasnodar region, from Chauda in occupied Crimea, and from the Russian city of Kursk. This reports The Kyiv Independent. According to the Air Force, these drone strikes were directed against Sumy and Odesa oblasts and targeted port infrastructure in the Odesa region.
While 32 out of a total of 44 drones were successfully shot down, a Russian drone strike on the Danube ports caused damage to civilian infrastructure and started a fire at a truck parking lot. Seven people were injured in the incident, as reported by the Southern Operations Command.
According to reports, the fire was extinguished and the injured received medical care. According to Oleh Kiper, the governor of Odesa oblast, at least three of the injured are in serious condition.
After unilaterally terminating the grain agreement, Russia has stepped up its attacks on southern Ukraine, particularly on ports, grain storage facilities, and agricultural infrastructure.
Image: kremlin.ru, 2018 inauguration of Vladimir Putin 53, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)