On the morning of 12 October, the Ukrainian Army’s Air Force reported that Ukraine repelled another Russian air attack, shooting down 28 of 33 explosive Russian drones. The Iranian-made Shahed drones targeted the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the southern region of Odesa, injuring at least two civilians, according to local authorities.
“Overnight into 12 October 2023, the enemy attacked Ukraine with Shahed UAVs from the northern and southern directions – Belgorod Oblast, Russia, and from Cape Chauda, [temporarily occupied territory of] Crimea. A total of 33 Shaheds were launched. The enemy UAVs flew in different directions, so air defense was active in at least six regions of Ukraine,” the Air Force elaborated.
The Air Force says the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ aircraft, anti-aircraft missile troops, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units were involved in repelling the air attack, which resulted in the destruction of 28 Shahed-131/136 Iranian-made one-way attack drones.
Kharkiv
In his morning bulletin on the situation in Kharkiv Oblast, regional leader Oleh Syniehubov said the Shaheds targeted Kharkiv City and nearby villages.
“Last night at about 23:30 [on 11 October], the enemy struck the Industrial district of Kharkiv, using a Shahed UAVs, as per preliminary data. The strike damaged two detached residential buildings and started a fire. A 57-year-old man was wounded. A woman also sought medical help due to an acute stress reaction,” he wrote regarding the drone attack on Kharkiv City.
Also, around 22:45, Russians used the Shahed drones to attack the villages of Budy, Babai, and Podvirky in Kharkiv district with a Shahed UAV, damaging civilian enterprises, where fire broke out, causing no casualties, as per Syniehubov.
The Oblast Head added that later around midnight, Russians also shelled the village of Kivsharivka in Kupiansk district, where an artillery shell hit between the entrances of an apartment building, injuring no one.
Odesa
Around 22:00-23:00 on 11 October, a wave of Russia’s Shaheds attacked Odesa Oblast.
The Ukraine South Defense Forces (USDF) reported that the attack once again targeted Ukraine’s Danube river port infrastructure.
“Our air defense forces shot down 10 Shaheds in the skies of Odesa Oblast, but unfortunately, there were some hits,” wrote Oleh Kiper, the Odesa Oblast Military Admiinstration Head.
The USDF says in addition to the destruction of 10 Shahed drones in Odesa Oblast, the air defenders downed four more of those in Mykovlaiv Oblast adjacent to Odesa.
According to Kiper, the authorities recorded damage to port infrastructure and residential buildings in Izmail district as “fires broke out on the scene, which have already been extinguished.” The USDF noted that storage facilities came under fire in Izmail district.
Kiper says one person was injured in the attack.
“A woman born in 1935 suffered thermal burns. She is currently in hospital and receiving all the necessary medical care,” he reported.
In the ongoing series of drone attacks, Russia has targeted the Ukrainian Danube ports in Izmail and Reni, Odesa Oblast, in several recent attacks trying to disrupt the Ukrainian grain exports. Amid the ongoing Russian Black Sea blockade of the Ukrainian sea ports, the Danube river ports remain the only properly functioning terminals to export grain by water.
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