Ukraine takes out more Russian aircraft in another strike on a Crimea airbase. Ukrainian drone strikes disrupt oil terminals in Russian ports of Novorossiysk and Tuapse. Poland moves to allow its military to shoot down Russian drones over Ukraine without NATO’s approval.
Ukraine takes out more Russian aircraft in series of strikes
Ukraine’s Air Force said it had shot down a Russian Su-34 bomber as it was dropping glide bombs on Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Thursday. The incident occurred around 4 a.m.
In the past days, the Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry struck the Kacha airbase in occupied Crimea twice, taking out a total of four Russian aircraft, a helicopter and two radar systems. On September 21, the Prymary (Phantoms) unit struck two Russian Be-12 Chayka amphibious aircraft and a Mi-8 helicopter. This was the first-ever strike on a Be-12 in history, Ukraine’s defense intelligence said. The aircraft are in service with the 318th Separate Mixed Aviation Regiment of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The Kacha airfield is home to the regiment.
On September 23, Ukraine’s defense intelligence hit the airfield once again, destroying two An-26 transport planes and two radar systems. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed to Ukrainian news site Novynarnya that the Russian aircraft damaged in the attack on the Kacha airfield on Tuesday were the An-26s.
Russia fails to protect its military installations in Crimea, likely lacking air defenses, Ukrainian military news site Defense Express said, commenting on Ukraine’s repeated successful strikes on the Kacha airbase.
Ukraine drone strikes disrupt oil terminals in Russian ports of Novorossiysk, Tuapse
The Main Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry attacked Russia’s Black Sea ports of Novorossiysk and Tuapse with sea drones on Wednesday, sources in the agency told Ukrainian media.
The attack “paralyzed” Transneft’s oil loading facility and a terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium near Novorossiysk, the sources said.
Russia uses the sites to load tankers with oil, including ones that are part of its shadow fleet. These oil transfer terminals have an export capacity of 2 million barrels per day.
Ukraine’s sea drones blew up an oil-loading pier at an oil terminal in the port of Tuapse, the sources said. The terminal is one of the largest in Russia, the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said, commenting on the attack.
Chaotic and imprecise fire of Russian air defenses damaged residential buildings and destroyed several passenger vehicles.
Social media reports said a naval base of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Novorossiysk also came under a drone attack on Wednesday.
Poland moves to allow its military to shoot down Russian drones over Ukraine without NATO approval
Poland is looking to amend its law on military deployment abroad to allow its military to down Russian drones over Ukraine without needing approval from NATO or the European Union, Euractiv said on Thursday, citing Gazeta Wyborcza.
Amendments to the law submitted by the defense ministry in June are expected to be fast-tracked.
The law originally let the president authorize deployments at the government’s request in cases such as armed conflict, peacekeeping, counterterrorism or evacuations. But in 2022 — a day before Russia’s full-scale invasion — the Law and Justice (PiS) government amended it to require approval from NATO, the EU and the foreign country where Polish forces would operate. The commission for investigating Russian influence later criticized the change, saying it stripped Warsaw of the right to act independently against drones crossing from Ukraine or Belarus, Euractiv said.
It also said that initial amendments could have aimed to limit the possibility to deploy Polish troops abroad in case of an “imminent war” in a neighboring state.
The current government is planning to scrap the restrictive measure under a new “shoot first, ask later” policy, which is intended to give the military more flexibility when it comes to responding to threats.
