While Ukrainian drones are penetrating hundreds of kilometers into Russian territory, Kremlin troops are suffering from shortages. Western officials report that Iran has not yet pledged supplies. Putin is meeting with his Security Council, Zelenskyj is visiting the Donbass front.
Russia ran out of Iranian drones weeks ago. The British Guardian reported this with reference to Western officials. Now Moscow would have to wait for supplies. So far there are no signs that Iran will deliver more of its kamikaze drones. The two countries are still in negotiations, the paper wrote. Iran had previously admitted supplying drones to Russia, but noted that it was before Russia's war of aggression.
According to Ukrainian estimates, Russia still has enough precision missiles for several large-scale airstrikes. However, supplies were running out, military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said on state television.
Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin convened his country's security council in the afternoon because of suspected Ukrainian drone attacks in Russia. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the government will take "necessary" measures to protect the country from Ukrainian attacks. Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking inland airfields with drones. Ukraine denies that.
After Moscow classified the drone strikes as a threat, senior security officials discussed with Putin how the country's "internal security" could be guaranteed, the Kremlin said. "Of course, the line openly declared by the Ukrainian regime to continue such terrorist acts is a danger," said Peskov.
According to Russian sources, a drone had previously attacked an airfield in the Kursk region of Russia, which borders Ukraine. An oil tank caught fire, but no one was injured. On Monday, Moscow had already blamed Kyiv for drone attacks on two inland airfields. The Defense Ministry said three soldiers were killed and four others injured in the attacks on the "Djagilevo airfield in the Ryazan region and the Engels airfield in the Saratov region with drones of Soviet design". The two air bases are several hundred kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited soldiers near the front in Donbass. "Eastern Ukraine is the most difficult front axis," Zelensky said during a visit to the city of Sloviansk, which is around 40 kilometers north of the fiercely contested industrial city of Bakhmut and thus close to the front. "It is an honor for me to be here with our defense forces in Donbass. I believe that next time we will meet in our Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk and (...) in Crimea," he added.
On the occasion of Armed Forces Day, he thanked the soldiers for their service and awarded some of them a medal. Since the war began more than nine months ago, Zelenskyy has visited frontline locations several times, including Kherson in the south, which was recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces. Sloviansk is an iconic city, having briefly been under the control of pro-Russian separatists back in 2014. It is north of Bakhmut, which has become a center of fighting since the retaking of Kherson. Russian forces have been trying to take control of the city since the summer - so far without success.
Meanwhile, ground fighting continued unabated in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military said in the afternoon that the armed forces had been able to repel Russian attacks on seven towns in the Donetsk region in the past 24 hours. This also includes Bachmut. Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Ukrainian television there were only around 12,000 people left in the city. Before the war, Bachmut had 80,000 inhabitants. There is no gas or electricity.
