Russian drone strike on Konotop injures 14; Ukraine downs 44/64 Shahed drones during ongoing air attack

Russians launch a massive air assault on Ukraine, deploying 64 explosive drones and several missiles. Drone strikes in Sumy's Konotop injured at least 14 civilians. Ukraine's air defenses intercepted 44 drones. The attack is ongoing at the time of publication.

Sep 12, 2024 - 04:00

Russian drone strike on Konotop injures 14; Ukraine downs 44/64 Shahed drones during ongoing air attack

russian drone strike konotop injures 14; ukraine downs 44/64 shahed drones during ongoing air attack residential house sumy oblast damaged early hours 12 september 2024 telegram/sumy police civilian casualties

Russian forces launched a massive air attack on Konotop, Sumy Oblast, and other Ukrainian cities overnight on 12 September 2024, causing damage to civilian infrastructure and injuring at least 14 people, according to local officials.

Russia continues its deliberate daily air attacks on residential areas in attempts to terrorize civilians and damage civilian infrastructure. The Russian forces launch dozens of Shahed long-range “kamikaze” drones are launched every night, often also launching several missiles during the attack. Once every several weeks, the Russians also launch one or a few massive missile attacks, targeting Ukrainian cities.

The head of the Sumy Oblast Military Administration, Ihor Kalchenko, reported that the number of injured in Konotop had risen to 14 this morning. The regional administration said that Russian forces used Shahed drones to target residential buildings, educational institutions, and medical facilities in the city.

Konotop Mayor Artem Semenikhin described the situation with electricity supply in the city as critical, saying,

“When electricity will appear in the homes of residents, even hourly, no one will venture to predict.”

He added that a large number of educational institutions were damaged, and windows were shattered in many medical buildings. However, medical equipment was not seriously affected, and hospitals continue to operate.

The attack also destroyed a section of the tram track in the city center, limiting tram movement to “only route number three,” according to Semenikhin. Water supply in the city will be provided on an hourly basis, with a detailed schedule to be announced later.

Massive air assault

This morning, Ukraine’s Air Force reported that they had detected and tracked 69 Russian air attack means as of 9:00.

The Russian forces struck Chernihiv Oblast with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles from Kursk Oblast and one Kh-59/69 guided air missile from Bryansk Oblast. They also launched two Kh-22/32 cruise missiles from Tu-22M3 strategic bomber aircraft over the Black Sea towards Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, and 64 Shahed-type one-way attack UAVs from launch areas in Russia’s Kursk, Yeysk, and occupied Crimea.

The Air Force stated that air defense systems were active in Kyiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, and Poltava oblasts.

Ukrainian air defenses, including aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units, intercepted 44 UAVs of 64. Three Russian drones reportedly flew back to Russia, and four were lost over Ukrainian territory without reported casualties or damage.

As of the time of the Air Force’s report at 9:15, four strike UAVs remained in Ukrainian airspace, with combat operations ongoing.

Airspace monitoring Telegram channels reported that at least one Shahed drone was still airborne in Ukrainian airspace at the time of publication.

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