Ukraine

DONETSK REGION, Ukraine, Nov 9 (Reuters) - The soldiers piloting Ukraine's fleet of small, cheap assault drones are voicing concerns that, despite pioneering their use, they are now being leapfrogged by their adversary as Moscow pumps money and resources into its drone sector.

The use of agile First Person View (FPV) drones in battle has been one of the most successful of the various low-cost strategies Ukraine has used to defend itself from a full-scale invasion by Russia, its much richer and more powerful neighbour.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s intelligence agency took credit for a car bombing Wednesday that killed a member of the Russia-backed authority in the illegally annexed Luhansk region.

Mikhail Filiponenko was a member of the local legislature and previously served as police chief. He had survived a car bombing on Feb. 21, 2022, three days before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Local officials announced Filiponenko’s death.

Nov 7 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Ukrainians to remain united, days after a rift emerged between his office and the country's commander-in-chief as the war with Russia grinds on.

The Ukrainian leader, who also said it was not the right time for wartime elections in a speech late on Monday, entreated Ukrainians to strengthen the country and not to be drawn into dangerous infighting that could imperil the war effort.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A top aide to the commander of Ukraine’s military was killed by a grenade given to him as a birthday gift and not in a targeted attack, the interior minister said.

Maj. Hennadii Chastiakov died in the tragic accident Monday that badly injured his 13-year-old son, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.

A colleague presented six new grenades as a gift to Chastiakov, who was a top aide and close friend to Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, for his 39th birthday, Klymenko said.

MELITOPOL, November 6. /TASS/: Russia’s tactics of maneuver defense made it possible to stop the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporozhye Region, Governor Yevgeny Balitsky told reporters at a press conference.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Monday launched a criminal investigation into military officers who organized a ceremony to honor troops that was hit by a Russian missile strike, killing 19 soldiers in one of the deadliest single attacks reported by Ukrainian forces.

The State Bureau of Investigation said it aims to hold military officials accountable for the Rocket Forces and Artillery Day event held Friday near the front line in Zaporizhzhia where Russian reconnaissance drones could easily spot the crowded gathering.

(AP) --- The Russian military said a Ukrainian missile strike on a shipyard in annexed Crimea had damaged a Russian ship.

The Russian Defense Ministry said late Saturday that Ukrainian forces fired 15 cruise missiles at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch, a city in the east of the Crimean Peninsula. Air defenses shot down 13 missiles but others hit the shipyard and damaged a vessel, a statement from the ministry said.

The ministry didn’t give details about the ship or the extent of the damage.

KYIV, Nov 4 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday that Ukraine had made "excellent progress" towards EU accession, days ahead of a key report on Kyiv's membership bid.

Standing next to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, she said Ukraine had reached many milestones despite the war with Russia, highlighting Kyiv's judicial reforms.

"I must say you have made excellent progress," she told a joint news conference in Kyiv.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a wave of nighttime drone and missile attacks across 10 of Ukraine’s 24 regions, Ukrainian authorities said Friday as they prepare for another winter of infrastructure bombardment by the Kremlin’s forces.

Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 24 of 38 Shahed drones and one Kh-59 cruise missile launched by Russia.

KYIV, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Russia launched a massive drone attack early on Friday, hitting critical infrastructure in the west and south of Ukraine and destroying private houses and commercial buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, officials said.

The air force said it shot down 24 "Shahed" drones out of 40 launched by Russia, the biggest drone attack in weeks to target Kharkiv in the northeast, Odesa and Kherson in the south and the region of Lviv on Ukraine's border with Poland in the west.

One X-59 missile was also shot down, the air force said.