KYIVHours after being fired by President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s transport minister was discovered dead on Monday in what authorities said was an apparent suicide. Following a chaotic travel weekend during which airports canceled hundreds of flights over fears of drone strikes from Kyiv, the dismissal was made.
Earlier in the day, a presidential order dismissed 53-year-old Roman Starovoy, Russia’s transport minister since May 2024, without providing an explanation.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported Monday that Russian attacks during the past 24 hours had killed at least 11 civilians and injured over 80 others, including seven children.
According to authorities, Russia launched around 100 drones against civilian areas of Ukraine during the course of the night.
After more than three years of conflict, Russia has significantly increased the number of airstrikes it launches against civilian targets. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia launched around 1,270 drones, 39 missiles, and nearly 1,000 strong glide bombs at Ukraine in the last week.
At certain locations along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukrainian soldiers are severely outnumbered, Russia’s larger army is also making a concerted effort to breach the line.
Ukraine has been forced to ask for greater military assistance from the United States and Europe due to the pressure of containing Russia’s invasion, the failure of indirect peace talks, and the suspension of certain planned U.S. arms supplies last week.
In order to increase drone manufacturing and guarantee Kyiv receives hundreds of thousands more this year, Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that Ukraine had inked agreements with European allies and a top U.S. defense corporation.
The key to saving lives is air defense, Zelenskyy stated on Telegram on Monday.
According to him, this includes creating and producing interceptor drones that can thwart Russia’s long-range Shahed drones.
Ukraine has also been able to make up for its front-line personnel shortages by using drones extensively.
During midnight drone assaults, Ukrainian officials said that one person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, another person was killed and 71 people were injured in northeastern Kharkiv, and falling drone debris damaged two districts of the capital city of Kyiv.
In the northern Sumy region, Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two more, according to officials. One location where Russia has concentrated a significant number of troops is Sumy.
Additionally, Vadym Filashkin, the regional director, reported that seven persons were killed and nine injured in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. He didn’t say which firearms were utilized.
Additional Russian long-range drone attacks For the third time in five days, military mobilization centers were targeted Monday, reportedly in an effort to interfere with recruiting, according to Ukraine’s Army Ground Forces leadership.
According to regional authorities in southern Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, at least 17 persons were hurt.
Russia’s defense ministry reported on Monday that its forces had shot down 91 Ukrainian drones during the course of the night in 13 Russian areas, as well as over the Black Sea and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia unlawfully invaded in 2014.
Andrey Nikitin, Starovoyt’s deputy, was appointed interim minister of transportation by Putin. Up until February, Nikitkin served as the governor of the Novgorod region of Russia.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, declined to comment on Starovoyt’s termination.
At the airports in Sheremetyevo, Moscow, and Pulkovo, St. Petersburg, hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed over the weekend, resulting in lengthy wait times for thousands of passengers. Ukrainian drone assaults also caused difficulties at other airports in central and western Russia.
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Katie Marie Davies of Manchester, England, wrote for the Associated Press.
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Visit https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine to follow AP’s coverage of the conflict in Ukraine.
