Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Explosions occurred on Wednesday morning in the city of Kherson, which is under the control of Ukrainian authorities.
This comes as the escalation between Russia and Ukraine continues.
Sirens were not activated in areas under the control of Ukrainian authorities in Kherson province.
Sirens are currently sounding in Sumy and Chernigov provinces in Ukraine.
This comes as a missile strike killed three people in a village in the Russian Belgorod region bordering Ukraine.
A local official noted that some people may still be trapped under the rubble.
Intercepting Ukrainian marches
The Russian Defense Ministry previously reported that air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.
The statement issued by the Russian Defense Ministry today said: “During the past night.. Air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 53 Ukrainian drones, including 28 over Belgorod Oblast, 11 over Voronezh Oblast, six over Rostov Oblast, two drones over both Bryansk and Kursk Oblasts, and one drone over Lipetsk, Tambov, Smolensk, and Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with leaders of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff on Tuesday in St. Petersburg.
In it, he discussed the latest developments on the front in Ukraine, and listened to their military reports.
During the meeting, Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov announced that Russian forces continue their active combat operations and are advancing on almost all axes.
“The forces of the joint group continue their active combat operations and advance on almost all axes,” Gerasimov said.
He added that the Ukrainian army “focused its main efforts on stabilizing the situation in critical areas of the front to slow our advance”.
He also confirmed that intensive raids on Ukrainian military facilities are continuing in accordance with the plan of the Russian General Staff.
Zelensky: Russia seeks to destabilize Europe
This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of seeking to destabilize Europe by using drones in acts of sabotage and confusion.
Zelensky said in his video speech on Tuesday that Moscow is using what is known as the “shadow fleet” not only to finance the war by transporting oil by tankers, but also “for acts of sabotage and multiple attempts to destabilize the European continent”.
“The recent launches of drones from oil tankers are one such example,” he added.
He referred to intelligence information obtained by Ukrainian agencies.
Official information about the source of the drones recently detected in countries including Denmark and Germany has not yet been confirmed.
Russia denied any connection to the matter.
For his part, Dmitry Medvedev, Vice Chairman of the Russian National Security Council, hinted that Ukrainian forces themselves might use such aircraft provocatively.
He justified this by saying that it was aimed at dragging Europe into a war against Russia.
Ukraine also produces long-range drones.
