Ukraine updates: Russia says drone attacks hit 6 regions

Ukrainian armed forces said six service members were killed aboard two Mi-8 helicopters in eastern Ukraine.

There's no information on what kind of incident killed the service members, with local media reporting that the deadly accident happened at a site near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.

The town lies west of the crucial city of Bakhmut that has seen the war's longest and bloodiest battle.

The Ukrainian armed forces said in a statement on Telegram that the men who died were "carrying out missions" in the Russian-occupied sector of Bakhmut.

Local online publication Ukrainska Pravda reported the two helicopters were "completely destroyed" and that the bodies were found at the site. 

DW spoke with David Hambling, a military technology writer and consultant specializing in defense technology, about the impact of the drone attacks and what this could signify in terms of future actions by Ukraine.

He said that the latest drone strikes on Russian territory show a "massive asymmetric advantage" for Ukraine — as the drones used were relatively cheap compared to the Russian military aircraft that was heavily damaged.

Hambling added that Russia's air defense systems have not yet been adapted to address the threat posed by drone attacks.

"They have no defense plan to cope with drones. They have very advanced air defense system, but it's built to deal with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, high speed aircraft — it's not designed to deal with small, slow moving objects," he said.

Despite similar attacks on Russian air bases in 2018 by suspected Syrian rebels, Russia has not yet adapted its air defense systems to deal with these types of attacks, Hambling said, adding, "they've really seemed quite incapable of learning."

"Russia may have problems with training, with competence or with policy. But certainly their air defenses seem to be very slow to catch on to the threat here."

Moscow has dismissed the possibility of allowing an international investigation into the plane crash that it said killed Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. 

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the investigation into the crash was strictly Russian and that there could be no question of an international probe.

Peskov added that Moscow had taken into account the possibility of the crash being deliberate. 

"It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version — you know what we are talking about — let's say, a deliberate atrocity," Peskov told reporters.

The crash came merely two months after Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny against the Russian military, making Western governments entertain the possibility that Moscow was behind it.

Rising convictions for desertion among Russian soldiers suggest low morale among troops, the UK Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. 

The analysis cited a report by the independent Russian website Mediazona on July 18, stating nearly 100 soldiers are convicted for insubordination each week.

"Refusal to fight likely reflects the lack of training, motivation and high-stress situations Russian forces face along the entire Ukrainian frontline," the ministry posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

"The high rate of convictions demonstrates the poor state of morale in the Russian Army and the reluctance of some elements to fight."

Despite this, Russia is maintaining troop numbers by deploying many poorly trained soldiers to the frontline following its September 2022 partial mobilization.
 

European Union defense ministers are meeting in Toledo, Spain, to discuss a €20 billion ($22 billion) plan for long-term military aid to Ukraine. 

The plan aims to streamline support Ukraine against Russian aggression and allocate €5 billion for arms and training from 2024-2027. 

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell, the plan's architect, emphasized the need for ongoing support and reconstruction in Ukraine. 

"It has to continue after the war, whatever happens. It has to continue for the reconstruction and togive security guarantees to Ukraine," Borrell said at the start of the meeting.

The country has so far received €5.6 billion in aid through a separate budget mechanism, as EU laws prohibit using its budget for military projects.

Two people were killed and one injured in Kyiv following a Russian missile strike that led to falling debris and fires in several buildings, the local military administration said on Wednesday. 

"As a result of debris falling in Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv...2 people died, according to initial reports," Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, wrote on Telegram.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko also confirmed the casualties in a Telegram post. 

Klitschko said the bodies were found in a nonresidential building while several other buildings were on fire. 

Meanwhile, the military administration said that air defenses over Kyiv destroyed more than 20 drones and missiles, making it the "most powerful strike" on the city since spring.

Russia said on Wednesday it destroyed four Ukrainian military boats carrying up to 50 soldiers in the Black Sea. 

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, an aircraft destroyed four high-speed military boats carrying about 50 members of the Ukrainian special operations forces. The incident occurred around midnight (2100 GMT).

Following the collapse of the UN-brokered navigation deal for grain ships, there has been increased military activity in the Black Sea region from both the Russian and the Ukrainian sides.

Meanwhile, Russian defenses also intercepted a drone strike near Sevastopol Bay in Crimea, a base for Russia's Black Sea fleet, officials said. 

This comes as Ukraine has recently increased its targeting of Russian ships in its waters and in the Crimean Peninsula.