It’s almost spring in Russia. And the drones are flying again.
Knewz.com has learned dozens of drones flew into seven Russian territories Wednesday, March 13, apparently from Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported the military shot down at least 58 drones from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. But other Russian officials admitted several drones got through and caused damage.
The TASS news service revealed windows were damaged in the front of the federal security service building in Belgorod. The front of the building was damaged as well, according to The New Voice of Ukraine.
“No one was injured,” Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on Telegram. But he said some towns lost power and a gas supply line was damaged by falling drone debris, while one drone “fell into the river.”
Reuters quoted Gladkov as saying the attack damaged several homes in the town of Gubkin.
Dozens more drones reportedly were downed across Russia Tuesday. But as Knewz.com reported, a large oil refinery was damaged. The Kyiv Independent reports two other refineries were attacked, one of them in the Leningrad area.
Gladkov added the Tuesday attack also injured two people, while the roof of a shopping center was damaged by a falling drone.
“The main goal – I have no doubt about it – is to, if not disrupt the presidential election in Russia, then at least somehow interfere,” President Vladimir Putin was quoted by ABC News as saying.
Putin is up for reelection March 15-17. One independent group that supports Ukraine indicated his view is correct.
“Russians will vote for whom they want, not for whom they should. Russians will live freely,” said Maksimillian Andronnikov of the Free Russia Legion.
The New York Sun quoted Andronnikov as saying his group’s larger goal is that “Russians will sleep freely, not be afraid of the doorbell, and will say what they think without fear.”
Ukraine has 10 drone factories, which officials say hope to produce thousands of long-range drones this year to strike as far as 600 miles inside Russia.
Front Page Detectives quoted a Ukrainian official in late February as saying the drones have a range to reach Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The Kremlin’s defense ministry counted 796 Ukrainian drones shot down in the last week of February.
Some of the softest targets for Ukrainian drones may be Russian armored vehicles. The New York Times, quoted by Business Insider, reports tanks lack gear to guard against electronic items.
But Russia’s high success rate in shooting down drones reportedly is because its electronics can scramble Ukrainian navigation systems.
Meanwhile, Newsweek reports the Russian army will begin testing a new ground-based drone called Zubilo in April.
A 2023 model of the Zubilo was heavier and less flexible for movement, its manufacturer said.
Russia already has a “Marker” army robot with artificial intelligence capability, while Ukraine is testing its own robot called “Ironclad.”
The post Putin Claims Ukraine Drone Attack Damaging Russian Infrastructure Was Attempt to Interfere in Presidential Election appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: Richard Burkard
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