Russia (Europe Brief Newspaper): Russian drone strikes kill 2 and wound 17 in Odessa, while Ukraine destroys helicopters in occupied Crimea in latest escalation of the ongoing conflict.
According to a Ukrainian security officer on Saturday, the Kirovske military airfield was attacked by special drones used by Ukraine’s Security Service agency.
“Available data indicate the destruction of multi-purpose and attack helicopters Mi-8, Mi-26 and Mi-28, as well as the self-propelled anti-aircraft missile and gun complex Pantsir-S1,”
according to the official, who spoke about the operation on condition of anonymity.
According to emergency services, a drone crashed into a residential tower block in Odesa, trapping occupants and damaging three floors. Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said three children were among the injured and that the two people killed in the attack were a married couple.
Moscow did not immediately comment. Over 40 Ukrainian drones were shot down over western Russia and Kremlin-occupied Crimea on Saturday morning and overnight, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
Now in its fourth year, long-range drone strikes have become a defining feature of the conflict. The battle has become a testing ground for new weapons as a result of both sides’ competition to create ever-more-destructive and advanced drones.
Drones from Ukraine have accomplished some amazing things. In a secret Ukrainian operation at the beginning of June, inexpensively manufactured drones infiltrated Russian territory and killed or damaged about a third of Moscow’s fleet of strategic bombers.
Both sides utilize smaller, short-range drones on the battlefield and in areas around the approximately 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
According to a study released Thursday by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, between the beginning of the conflict in February 2022 and April 2025, short-range drone operations killed at least 395 civilians and injured 2,635 more. According to the research, the Russian military was responsible for about 90% of the attacks.
According to a June 11 report by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the war has claimed the lives of over 13,300 civilians and injured over 34,700 more.
How are Ukrainian drones managing to hit Russian airbases in Crimea?
Drones are smuggled into Russia or seized Crimea by hiding in common vehicles, such as container trucks, and avoiding notice until they are deployed.
To provide real-time control and lower the possibility of signal interception, operators place mobile ground stations close to targets (within 20 to 50 km).
Drones employ artificial intelligence that has been trained to recognize particular aircraft (such as Mi-8 helicopters and Tu-95 bombers) and vital infrastructure, allowing for targeted attacks in spite of Russian decoys such painted aircraft silhouettes.
In order to evade radar detection, drones use line-of-sight piloting and GPS pre-programming to navigate at treetop level.
Operations such as “Spiderweb” overwhelm air defenses by deploying hundreds of drones across several targets at once. For instance, in a single operation, 117 drones targeted 5 places.
