Russia launches more than 700 drones in a record attack on Ukraine. Ukraine recaptures positions, takes Russians prisoner with unmanned ground vehicles only. Europe’s top human rights court finds Russia responsible for international law violations in Ukraine, the downing of MH17.
Russia launches more than 700 drones in record attack on Ukraine
Russia launched its largest drone attack of the war on Ukraine overnight into Wednesday, with 741 aerial attack vehicles used in the bombardment.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia had launched 728 drones and 13 missiles toward Ukraine, including six Kh-47M2 Kinzhal ballistic missile and seven Kh-101/Iskander-K cruise missiles. Ukraine’s air defenses shot down or otherwise neutralized 711 and all seven Kh-101/Iskander-K cruise missiles.
The main target for the attack was the city of Lutsk in the region of Volyn. Russian missiles and drones hit target in four locations, and debris from missiles and drones fell in 14 sites, it added.
The Air Force and other branches of the Ukrainian military deployed aircraft, surface-to-air missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units as well as mobile teams to repel the attack.
Russia launched slightly more than 300 [303 – edit.] Shahed attack drones at Ukraine, with the rest being decoys, head of the Communications Directorate for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, Colonel Yuriy Ihnat told the news outlet The New Voice of Ukraine on Wednesday. Ukrainian troops destroyed 296 drones, while other 415 drones, decoys in the first place, disappeared off radar or were disabled by electronic warfare systems, he said.
Ukrainian forces also deployed interceptor drones to repel the attack. These drones destroyed dozens of enemy targets. Ukraine uses various models and types of interceptor drones, Ihnat said. Their use is being developed and scaled up. They are entering service with the Air Force across Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down all incoming cruise missiles. Not all the Kinzhal [aeroballistic] missiles reached target, but some of them damaged some sites, Ihnat said, without providing details.
Most of the drones that Russia launched at Ukraine overnight on Wednesday were decoy drones, Ihnat said, adding that such aerial systems appear to the radars as if they are Shahed drones and that they mimic their flight characteristics.
Decoy drones complicate engagement of targets. The Air Force is able to differentiate them from actual Shahed drones by some flight characteristics as well as to detect them visually and acoustically.
“The military is able to identify them almost unmistakably and decide which systems to use to neutralize them — whether to shoot them down or disable them by electronic warfare systems,” Ihnat said, adding: “That’s why many decoy drones disappear off radar. They either fall after burning all available fuel or get jammed by electronic warfare systems.”
Some of decoy drones carry explosives and can be dangerous, he added.
Ukraine recaptures positions, takes Russians prisoner with unmanned ground vehicles
The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said on Wednesday that it had conducted an “unprecedented operation.” The unit used unmanned aerial systems and unmanned ground vehicles to attack and mop up Russian troops’ positions in Kharkiv region, and take Russian forces captive. The infantry was not involved in the operation, and the brigade did not suffer casualties, it said. The operation was the first of its kind in history, the message reads.
The brigade said it had attacked Russia’s fortifications with FPV drones and unmanned kamikaze ground systems.
“An unmanned ground system was approaching a ruined trench when the adversary signaled surrender to avoid being hit. The drones led the surviving Russians to our positions where we took them captive according to the procedure. Thanks to a precisely planned assault operation with the use of robotic systems the 3rd Brigade recaptured the positions that other units were unable to capture. Our forces took the mopped up positions and the woods,” the brigade said in a statement.
The operation was conducted by the NC13 unmanned ground vehicles unit of the Deus Ex Machina drone company with the 2nd assault battalion.
“This is the first ever confirmed successful assault exclusively conducted by unmanned systems,” the brigade said.
Europe’s top human rights court finds Russia responsible for international law violations in Ukraine, downing of MH17
The European Court of Human Rights delivered damning judgments on Wednesday against Russia in the case “Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia,” accusing it of widespread violations of international law in Ukraine before and after the full-scale invasion and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014.
The extensive inter-state case unites four cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands:
Ukraine v. Russia (no. 8019/16), concerning human-rights violations by Russia during the conflict in eastern Ukraine from spring 2014, including the downing of MH17, torture, forced labor etc.
Ukraine v. Russia (no. 43800/14), concerning the alleged abduction of three groups of children in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and their transfer to Russia.
The Netherlands v. Russia (no. 28525/20), concerning the downing on 17 July 2014 of flight MH17.
Ukraine v. Russia (no. 11055/22), concerning the Ukrainian Government’s allegations of mass and gross human-rights violations committed by Russia in its military operations in Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
In its admissibility decision, the Court found that starting from 11 May 2014, Russia exercised effective control over separate areas in eastern Ukraine via its military presence and its military, political and economic support to the armed groups on the ground. The Court’s ruling upholds that, having this level of control, Russia bears responsibility for a systematic violation of human rights that have been taking place in occupied areas since 2014 and until 16 September 2022, when Russia ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, Global Rights Compliance explained. Furthermore, the case also includes complaints concerning Russian agents’ actions during the full-scale invasion that began on 24 February 2022.
The violations include arbitrary killing and detention of civilians and military personnel, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment of civilians and war prisoners, Russia’s disregard for consequences of its aerial attacks to civilians, a systematic practice of suppressing the Ukrainian identity, forcible transfer of adults and children deep into the occupied territory or into Russia etc.
The ruling also attributed the downing of the MH17 flight to Russia.