Drone attacks in the war in Ukraine.
Aerial assaults hit Ukraine and Russia
Exploding drones were launched into six regions of Russia overnight on Wednesday, Russian officials said, damaging military cargo planes at an airfield 30 miles from the border with Estonia, a NATO member, in an apparent sign that Ukraine was increasingly capable of striking back deep inside Moscow’s territory.
Around the same time, Russia unleashed an aerial assault on at least three regions of Ukraine, officials in that country said, including one of the most significant barrages the Kyiv region has received in months. Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down 43 of 44 incoming missiles and drones.
The assault in Russia came after months of Moscow’s deadly missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities, infrastructure and military targets. Ukrainian officials did not claim responsibility for the overnight strikes on Russian soil, in keeping with standard practice.
Strategy: Attacks on Russian soil are also intended to pierce Russian propaganda by showing Russians that their military is vulnerable, and to bolster morale among Ukrainians wanting payback.
In other news from the war:
The U.S. has new intelligence that shows arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are advancing, a White House spokesman said.
Germany sent tanks to Ukraine that are so old that former tank drivers who trained decades ago are teaching troops how to operate them.
The Pentagon announced $250 million in new military hardware and ammunition for Ukraine.
Ukraine has insisted that F-16 planes would make a difference, but the U.S. maintains that other resources are far more important in what is, right now, primarily a ground war.A coup in Gabon
Military officers in Gabon said they had seized power early yesterday, overturning disputed election results that returned the incumbent, Ali Bongo Ondimba, to office. The president, detained inside his residence, issued a video plea for help. But celebrations erupted in the streets outside, as many Gabonese cheered the apparent demise of a family dynasty that has dominated for a half-century.
By the end of the day, the officers had announced Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, Bongo’s cousin and the head of the Republican Guard, which is responsible for protecting him, as Gabon’s new leader.Sharp remarks from Pope Francis
Speaking in Lisbon early this month, in comments that were made public this week, Pope Francis expressed his dismay at “a very strong, organized, reactionary attitude” opposing him within the U.
