Ukraine announced on Saturday (December 28) that it had struck a storage and maintenance warehouse for a remote “Shahed” drone in the Oryol region of Russia, stating that this action has “seriously weakened” Russia’s ability to launch large-scale drone attacks on Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces that crossed into Russia’s Kursk region suffered expanded losses earlier this August and are retreating towards the border.
The Ukrainian General Staff issued a statement on Saturday via social media platforms such as Telegram and Facebook, indicating that the attack in the Oryol region of Russia took place on Thursday (December 26) and was carried out by the Ukrainian Air Force.
The statement mentioned, “The strike destroyed a storage, maintenance, and repair warehouse for a ‘Shahed’ suicide drone composed of multiple protective concrete structures.”
“This military operation significantly undermines the enemy’s capacity to conduct air strikes on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.”
According to Reuters, Moscow has not yet commented on the attack.
Throughout the 34-month-long invasion, Russia has regularly launched missile and drone attacks on Ukraine. In recent months, Russia has been sending dozens of drones almost daily to Ukraine in an attempt to disrupt its infrastructure, weaken its air defense, and increase the difficulty of intercepting missiles.
The Ukrainian Air Force earlier on Saturday stated that out of the 16 drones launched by Russia during the night, 15 were shot down, and one disappeared from radar.
Simultaneously, Ukrainian forces that crossed into Russia’s Kursk region in early August are facing increased pressure, with intense attacks from Russian and Korean troops resulting in expanded Ukrainian losses and a gradual reduction of the territory they occupy.
As reported by the Associated Press, when Ukrainian forces initially entered Kursk region, Russia was caught off guard, scrambling to deploy troops but failing to withstand the Ukrainian offensive. Ukrainian forces managed to rapidly expand the territory they occupied within Russia.
However, in recent times, Russia has amassed over 50,000 troops, including more than 10,000 Korean soldiers, in the area. Russian forces are increasingly effectively launching attacks against Ukrainian forces, leading the latter to retreat towards the Russian-Ukrainian border after sustaining significant losses.
The Associated Press points out that Ukrainian forces are struggling to coordinate effective military operations, resulting in thousands of soldiers being casualties of Russian counterattacks. When Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region in early August, they briefly expanded their occupied Russian territory to 984 square kilometers; currently, the area under Ukrainian control has decreased by over 40%.
According to Voice of America, Ukrainian President Zelensky had hinted at his desire for Ukrainian forces to control the Kursk region, believing this could compel Russia to come to the negotiation table and commence ceasefire talks. However, five officials from Ukraine and Western countries in Kyiv expressed concerns to the Associated Press that the high stakes in Kursk might weaken Ukrainian forces along the 1,000-kilometer-long front in eastern Ukraine, leading to successive retreats against the fierce Russian offensive.
Amid the difficult situation in Kursk, Zelensky stated on Monday that 3,000 Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded on the battlefield.