UK drones used for ‘deep strikes’ in mainland Russia, as Ukraine launches huge aerial attack
Over 800 drones were been fired towards Russia in the early hours of Sunday morning in response to an overnight attack on Ukraine.
British drones have been used to strike targets on the Russian mainland for the first time, with Kyiv launching huge aerial attack on Russian targets in the early hours of Sunday, August 16.
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It has been confirmed that drones made by two UK companies have been supplied to Ukraine to facilitate "deep strikes" on Russia - using long-distance drones to hit industrial and military targets in mainland Russia.
It is estimated that around £35 billion in economic damage has been caused, including fuel shortages and rolling blackouts in some regions, as Kyiv targets oil refineries, naval bases and logistics hubs.
It comes as strikes on Sunday morning saw at least six people killed in Russia, after Ukraine launched hundreds of drones in one of its biggest aerial attacks of the war.
Five died in Russia's southwestern Rostov region, where three towns came under attack, according to local governor Yury Slyusar, and an 83-year-old man was killed in the Moscow region after a Ukrainian drone hit a private home.
Russia's Ministry of Defence said that it had destroyed 822 drones overnight.
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Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said several more people had been injured in Podolsk, where he said a warehouse belonging to Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries had been struck.
He said damage had been caused at several other sites, including at a warehouse in the town of Domodedovo, close to one of Moscow's main airports.
Photos just emerging from the Ukrainian strikes shows the aftermath of a hit on Wildberries' Koledino warehouse, where a large plume of smoke is emerging over the site, around 45 km (28 miles) south of Moscow.
Ukraine has been targeting Wildberries, which it accuses of handling military goods, in recent weeks as part of a wider bid to damage Russian economic infrastructure that it believes to be crucial to Moscow's military campaign.
Speaking Sunday morning, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed at least three had died in Ukraine after Russian strikes on the country overnight.
He said that 13 regions came under attack this week, with Russia launching another wave of drones during the early hours of Sunday.
"Wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure," he added.
"The enemy launched more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs, and 62 missiles at our cities and communities, most of them ballistic missiles of various types."
While Ukraine has previously used limited numbers of western missiles against Russia - such as British Storm Shadows - they failed to turn the dial on Ukraine's progress in the war.
In contrast, drone-led deep strikes have proven most effective, spiking demand to a critical need for supplies.
According to reports, multiple sources in the Ukrainian armed sources have confirmed the use of British drones in attacks during the last six months, marking an upgrade in the partnership between Britain and Ukraine.
It has not been confirmed that British-made weapons were used in the huge attack on Russia on Sunday, August 16.
