Russia fires drones at civilian areas of Ukraine after sacking transport chief
At least 10 civilians were killed and 38 injured, including three children, in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said.
Russia has intensified its aerial strikes on civilian areas after more than three years of war. Over the past week, Russia launched some 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.
Russia's bigger army is also trying hard to break through at some points along the roughly 620-mile front line, where Ukrainian forces are severely stretched.
The strain of keeping Russia's invasion at bay, and the lack of progress in direct peace talks, has compelled Ukraine to seek more military help from the US and Europe.
Mr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine had sealed deals with European allies and a leading US defence company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives 'hundreds of thousands' more this year.
'Air defence is the main thing for protecting life,' Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Monday.
That includes developing and manufacturing interceptor drones that can stop Russia's long-range Shahed drones, he said.
Extensive use of drones has also helped Ukraine compensate for its troop shortages on the front line.
One person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, 27 were injured in north-eastern Kharkiv and falling drone debris caused damage in two districts of Kyiv, the capital, during nighttime drone attacks, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two others in the northern Sumy region, officials said. Sumy is one of the places where Russia has concentrated large numbers of troops.
Also, nine people were injured and seven killed in the eastern Donetsk region, governor Vadym Filashkin said.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Monday that its troops shot down 91 Ukrainian drones in 13 Russian regions overnight, as well as over the Black Sea and the Russian-annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
The Kremlin dismissed transport minister Roman Starovoyt on Monday, an order published on the Kremlin website said.
The announcement did not give a reason for Mr Starovoyt's dismissal.
Over the weekend, hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo and St Petersburg's Pulkovo airports. Other airports in western and central Russia also faced disruption because of Ukrainian drone attacks.
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an hour ago
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2 hours ago
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Throughout the UK, the company was said to have contributed £13.7bn to GDP in 2024, accounting for one in every £200 of economic output. 'With 4,500 employees in Scotland and spending £550m with 300 suppliers, we're proud to support both national security and economic growth," BAE naval ship supply chain director Sean Scott said. 'As one of the UK's largest employers we recognise the impact we have - creating jobs, developing skills and strengthening communities in Scotland and across the country.' Whatever your view on the merits of a higher defence budget versus those of other public services, the reality is that this additional money is going to be spent if the government holds to its commitments. With that in mind, the engineering industry in Scotland needs to secure as much of this as possible. Read more: This point was raised earlier this year by Gerry Hughes, managing director of family-owned KRG Specialist Engineering in Coatbridge. He maintains that more needs to be done to ensure large contractors source locally, ensuring small and medium-sized firms in Scotland benefit from the financial rewards. 'While major defence firms such as BAE Systems, Babcock, and Leonardo have operations in Scotland, much of their supply chain spending still goes elsewhere," Mr Hughes told The Herald. "The UK Government has committed to directing 25% of defence spending to SMEs, but how much of that truly benefits Scottish businesses? Without stronger links between local firms and defence procurement, Scotland risks missing out on a vital economic opportunity." The solution? Better support for advanced manufacturing in Scotland with backing from the Scottish and UK Government in skills, innovation and infrastructure to keep firms competitive in defence supply chains. Mr Hughes also argues that Scottish firms should have greater access to Ministry of Defence contracts, declaring that they must be embedded in procurement to prevent local expertise from being overlooked in favour of larger, more established suppliers. Read more: 'Scotland's engineering excellence is not just history - it is the foundation of a resilient and secure defence industry," he said. "While shipbuilding remains critical, the future of UK defence cannot be confined to the Clyde alone. "A genuine commitment to local procurement will not only bolster national security but also ensure Scotland's world-class precision engineering and manufacturing capabilities are fully utilised." So will defence spending turbocharge economic growth? The verdict from analysts at Capital Economics is a conditional "no". The rise in defence spending that looks likely in many countries across Europe will boost demand and output, but not by as much as some would hope due to several factors such as capacity restraints and the reliance on imports referred to by Mr Hughes. There could be "significant" improvement to productive potential in some economies in the long run, according to Capital Economics, but this will happen over decades and is not guaranteed. The UK is particularly constrained by a lack of spare capacity, which is all the more reason to ensure no viable firm is overlooked in the distribution of any "defence dividends".
