Ukraine reports successful attack and warns of new Russian offensive

The General Staff of Ukraine said in a statement that on the night from Friday to Saturday, units of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Forces, in cooperation with other branches of the Ukrainian military, carried out a strike on "an important object of the military-industrial complex of the Russian aggressor."

The text notes that this is a facility of the VNIIR-Progress enterprise in the city of Cheboksary (Chuvash Republic). According to the Ukrainian command, the target of the attack were factories producing Kometa adaptive phased array antennas.

"The operation itself was part of the actions aimed at limiting the enemy's capabilities in the field of precision weapons production," we read. The Ukrainian side reported that it was confirmed that the means of destruction reached the target area and that the consequences of the attack were being determined. According to available information, the same factory, producing jam-resistant navigation modules, was attacked by Ukrainian forces a month ago.

The Ukrainian command noted that Komet antennas are used in Shahid-type kamikaze drones, Iskander-K ballistic missiles, guided bomb guidance modules and other precision weapons, with which the Russians regularly attack targets in Ukraine. Komets are based on an anti-jamming antenna. Thanks to them, bombs or drones equipped with them can ignore false radio signals and reach their targets.

"The Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to take all measures to weaken the military and economic potential of the Russian occupiers and force the Russian Federation to cease armed aggression against Ukraine," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement. The Ukrainians also reported an attack on the Russian military airport Borisoglebsk , where Su-34, Su-35S and Su-30SM aircraft are stationed.

On Saturday, Ukrainian troops attacked targets in Russia using drones. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported on social media that Russian air defenses shot down four Ukrainian drones heading toward the Russian capital that day. He said services were working on the scene, but did not provide any data on possible damage.

Ukrainian firefighter fighting fire at the site of a Russian drone attack in the city of Chuhuyev (Kharkiv region)

Photo: PAP/EPA/STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE

In turn, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that 94 drones were shot down over Russian territory on the night from Friday to Saturday, while on Saturday from 8:00 to 13:50 Moscow time another 45 were destroyed, and from 13:50 to 19:00 - another 48, including five over Moscow Oblast and two flying towards Moscow. According to the evening report, in the second part of the day the largest number of aircraft were shot down over Bryansk Oblast (17) and Oryol Oblast (11).

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Russia) reported “restrictions” in the airspace of the Russian capital, which temporarily suspended departures at one of Moscow’s main airports, Sheremetyevo, on Saturday. Due to safety concerns, takeoffs and landings were also canceled at other Russian airports on Saturday, including Pulkovo Airport.

This is what the situation on the front looked like on the 1228th day of the war

Photo: PAP

Meanwhile, General Oleksandr Syrsky, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, warned of a possible new Russian offensive in northeastern Ukraine – in the direction of Kharkov, where fighting has been going on since 2022.

This year, the Russians have been slowly advancing on various sections of the front, trying to use their superiority in numbers of troops and ammunition. In recent months, the Russians have managed to enter the Sumy region in northern Ukraine and establish a small bridgehead there.

Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

“I do not neglect any section of the front, especially those areas where there is a threat of new offensives by enemy forces,” Syrski said on social media on Saturday. He added that he had spent two days working in units in the Kharkiv region and that he was working with the commander of the Joint Forces of the SZU, who at the beginning of June was General Mykhailo Drapaty, commander of the Khortytsya operational group.

Gen. Syrsky said that in the South-Slobozhansky direction (which the Ukrainian command called the "Kharkov" direction until mid-June) Ukrainian soldiers had repelled more than 60 attacks by Russian troops over the past week. "I examined the operational situation in detail on site. I discussed ways to strengthen defense with the command of the Armed Forces and National Guard of Ukraine. I got acquainted with the priority needs and requests of our military," he added.

"The Russians are trying to press in numbers, but we must be ready, use effective tactical and technological solutions to prevent the invaders from advancing," the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian forces said.

China also spoke out on Saturday about Russia's war with Ukraine. "On the Ukrainian crisis, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China's position is open and consistent, including promoting peace talks, not supplying lethal weapons to the parties to the conflict, and strictly controlling dual-use goods, including drone exports," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said. He added that although there are serious differences between the parties involved, "it is better to talk than to fight."

Earlier, CNN reported, citing a source familiar with the matter, that during a meeting with Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, the Chinese foreign minister privately expressed his position (contrary to Beijing's official assurances of neutrality in the conflict in Ukraine) that China would not allow Russia to be defeated in the war with Ukraine , because this would allow the United States to "fully focus" on the rivalry with China.

A Ukrainian soldier from the 93rd Independent Mechanized Brigade in a position on the front line near Konstantynovka in the Donetsk region

Photo: REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi

In turn, on Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on social media that after a massive Russian airstrike in Kyiv, "a component of the Russian-Iranian Shahid-136/Gyeran-2 combat drone, which was manufactured in China and recently delivered, was found." "We call on the United States and the international community to increase pressure on both the regime in Moscow and its war budget, as well as on all others around the world who support the Russian war effort and enable Putin to continue killing people in Ukraine. There is no time to wait," he said.