Ukraine’s air force shot down 30 out of 40 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack targeting its southern and central regions Saturday, as Moscow celebrated the one-year anniversary of the annexation of four regions in the war-torn country with vows to start drafting men who live in those areas.
Ukraine’s South Military command said that 20 Iranian-made drones were shot down in the central Vinnytsia region and another 10 over the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions in the south, according to reports.
Russia continued to attack critical port infrastructure, including on the Danube River, and was also attempting to strike infrastructure facilities in other Ukrainian regions “to impact the economy,” a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Command told Ukrainian TV.
Moscow stepped up its attacks on grain exports in July after it backed out of a UN-brokered deal that ensured the safe transport of grain to Ukraine via the Black Sea.
Vinnytsia’s regional governor Serhiy Borzov said Saturday that an unidentified infrastructure facility was hit in the region, causing a powerful fire.
He gave no other details about the damage.
The governor of Ukraine’s partly occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, Yurii Malashko, said five people were wounded on Saturday in two missile strikes on the village of Matviivka, located on the northeastern outskirts of the regional capital, also called Zaporizhzhia, according to reports.
Russia’s bombardment may have strayed into NATO territory.
Romania’s Ministry of National Defense reported a possible unauthorized entry into its national airspace occurred overnight amid the drone attack. Romania, a NATO member, said in a statement Saturday that a signal was detected toward the city of Galati, which is close to the border with Ukraine.
“At this moment, no objects have been identified that fell from the airspace onto the national territory,” the statement read, adding that NATO allies were informed in real-time and that searches will continue through the weekend.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions, noting that “they had made their choice to be with the Fatherland” following elections that were labeled a sham ballot by the West.
In a state address released early Saturday, Putin insisted the vote was carried out in “full accordance with international norms,” adding that residents of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia had expressed their desire to be part of Russia in a vote carried out earlier this month.
The address came after Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday that it would recruit 130,000 men for compulsory military service, beginning Sunday.
The ministry said that for the first time, it would enlist men in the annexed territories as part of its conscription campaign.
The Kremlin celebrated the anniversary with a concert in Moscow’s Red Square on Saturday.
The West has denounced both the referendum votes carried out last year and the recent ballots as a sham.
The votes were held as Russian authorities attempted to tighten their grip on territories that the Kremlin illegally annexed a year ago and still does not fully control.