RUSSIA – This’ what’s happening today in the Russia-Ukraine conflict: The Russian Defense Ministry on Monday said that its North group of forces had captured the Otradnoye settlement in Kharkiv region.
“As a result of active and decisive actions, units of the North military group liberated the village of Otradnoye in the Kharkiv region,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Kharkiv region, bordering Russia, has seen intensified fighting in recent months, with Moscow’s forces attempting to push deeper into Ukrainian territory amid ongoing counterattacks and heavy artillery exchanges.
Russia-Ukraine Drone Attacks
Russia and Ukraine traded claims on Monday over large-scale overnight air attacks, with Moscow saying its air defenses destroyed more than 250 Ukrainian drones and Kyiv reporting hundreds of Russian strikes on several regions.
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense units intercepted and destroyed 251 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles overnight, including 62 over the Black Sea and five over the Azov Sea.
The ministry said the drones were downed across several regions, including Crimea, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, and near Moscow.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 762 strikes on 17 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region within the past 24 hours, killing one person and wounding 11.
“The enemy carried out six airstrikes and over 500 drone attacks on civilian areas,” said Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.
He added that 240 reports of destruction to homes, vehicles, and infrastructure were received.
In the Chernihiv region, authorities said Russian shelling hit an energy facility overnight, causing power outages.
“At night, the enemy shelled the Ichnyan region,” said regional energy operator Chernihivoblenergo, adding that an energy facility was hit.
In the southern Odessa region, regional governor Oleh Kiper said Russian “Shahed” drones attacked a civilian industrial facility, sparking a fire that was quickly extinguished. He added that there were no casualties.
Kremlin Slams European Leaders’ Drone Accusations
The Kremlin on Monday dismissed the statements by European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, linking recent drone incidents across Europe to Russia.
“There are many politicians in Europe who are now inclined to blame Russia for everything,” Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “They always do this without foundation, indiscriminately. That’s how we view these accusations,” he added.
“The story with these drones is strange, to say the least. But there’s no reason to blame Russia for this. Just today, I read that a local aviation enthusiast was arrested in a European city while testing a drone. The guy has nothing to do with Russia. This is one specific, small, isolated example, but perhaps we need to broaden our horizons,” Peskov said.
In recent days, European countries have reported several cases of unidentified drones, prompting temporary airspace closures and security alerts.
Amid these developments, Brussels has advanced an initiative to build a “drone wall” along the EU’s eastern borders, while local media and officials have increasingly connected the incidents to alleged Russian activities.
German Chancellor Merz said the drones could be used for espionage or to intimidate citizens, but Moscow rejected the suggestion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier stated that Russia had “nothing to do with such incidents,” suggesting that European politicians were using the issue to divert attention from domestic challenges.
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