Attacks behind Russian lines hitting logistics, air base: UK

Bloomberg

A drone struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in occupied Crimea on Saturday, days after unexplained explosions at nearby military facilities. No injuries were reported.
The drone struck the roof of Russia’s Black Sea fleet headquarters in Sevastopol, Crimea, the region’s governor said on Telegram. No injuries were incurred, according to the Russian state news service Tass.
Air-defense systems were triggered locally during the incident. Sergey Aksenov, the Russian serving as the head of occupied Crimea, said people in the area should “remain calm and trust only official information.”
Frequent explosions behind Russia’s lines, including in Crimea, “are probably stressing Russian logistics and air basing in the south,” the UK defense department said. Conditions for now are mostly at a standstill, the UK said on Twitter.
Crimea, annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces since 2014, has been the subject of several attacks and strikes in recent weeks. Ukrainian officials haven’t commented on Saturday’s incident.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is approaching the six-month mark, and the past week saw minimal changes in territorial control along the front line in the Donbas. Ukrainian air defense shot down four Russian Kalibr cruise missiles near the city of Dnipro, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Facebook. Russia continued to bombard the Kharkiv region with barrel and rocket artillery in roughly ten settlements. Russian shelling hit an apartment block in Voznesensk, to the north of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, wounding nine people including at least four children, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram.
Russia’s defense ministry said it had evidence of chemical substances having been used against its forces in the Zaporizhzhia region in late July.
Tests on sickened soldiers in Vasilyevka area showed the presence of botulinum toxin type B, the ministry said. It didn’t explain how troops could have been targeted in the occupied region.
Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Geraschenko said on Telegram that the troops may have been sickened by their own supplies. “The poisoning could have been caused by expired canned meat, in which botulinum toxin is often found,” he said.
Also, the latest tranche of military aid to Ukraine, announced Friday, sees total US commitments reach $10.9 billion. The offer includes more HIMARS rocket systems, credited with helping Kyiv slow Moscow’s advance over the summer.
The US will supply Ukraine 50 armed Humvees and 40 mine-clearance vehicles along with Howitzers, drones and other weaponry as part of a $775 million package of military assistance, the Pentagon said. With the latest package, the US will have committed close to $11 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
The latest assistance will include more HIMARS rocket systems, 16 105mm Howitzers and 36,000 shells, 15 Scan Eagle drones for reconnaissance, and more air-to-ground anti-radar missiles, the official said.
“As President Biden has made clear, we will support Ukraine as they defend their democracy for as long as it takes,” the Pentagon said in a statement.