Russia Ukraine war today: Kyiv recaptures village amid battlefield success as Putin admits counter-offensive

Russian air defences downed a Ukrainian military drone before it could attack its targets near Moscow on Friday, the RIA news agency cited Russia‘s defence ministry as saying.

The ministry said the incident has caused no casualties or damage to buildings.

The impact of the war in Ukraine will almost certainly compound food insecurity across Africa for at least the next two years, the British Ministry of Defence has warned today.

This comes as the Russia-Africa conference convened in St Petersburg yesterday, with 17 African heads of state attending, down from 43 at the last iteration, the ministry said.

The event takes place ten days after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI).

“The BSGI had allowed the export of 30 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to Africa, providing essential nutrition to states including Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan,” it pointed out.

“As well as the direct disruption of supplies, Russia’s blockade of Ukraine is also causing grain prices to rise,” the ministry said.

In January this year, the US made a firm promise to the Ukraine and offered to send 31 of its M1 Abram battle tanks, worth an estimated $400m, to help the war-hit nation push back Russian forces out of its territory.

As a result, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, said the decision by Joe Biden’s administration amounted to “another blatant provocation” against Moscow, pledged that the tanks would be destroyed and warned the West it would come to regret the “delusion” that Ukraine could ever win the day.

When it comes to the M1s, experts have warned of the complex logistics involved in getting these high-tech vehicles to the battlefield. The extensive and tricky maintenance required for their use mean that it could be some time before they appear on the frontlines in Eastern Europe.

The first M1 tank was manufactured by American armoured vehicle manufacturer General Dynamics Land Systems in 1978 and was first delivered to the US Army in 1980.

Each model costs around $10m to make, according to Reuters.

It has to be crewed by a team of four (driver, commander, loader and gunner), has a maximum speed of 42 miles per hour, has a maximum range of 624 miles and runs on a 1,500 horsepower gas turbine engine.

The M1 is armed with an M256 120mm smoothbore cannon, as well as two machine guns: a 12.7mm and a 7.62mm M240.

Defence industry expert Sydney Freedberg described them as “big vehicles, heavily armoured” to Al Jazeera, adding that they are “much better protected than anything the Soviets built, or anything the Russians currently have.”

Read more about the top-tier battlefield tank here:

Officials in the US are looking to start delivering Abrams tanks to Ukraine as soon as September, six people aware of the planning said.

The tanks could be deployed to the Ukrainian battlefield in September, reported Politico, citing people aware of the talks.

Handful of Abrams tanks will be sent to Germany in August, according to the plan, where they will undergo final refurbishments.

Once that process is complete, the first batch of Abrams will be shipped to Ukraine the following month, the report added.

The US has pledged to send 31 of its M1 Abram battle tanks, worth an estimated $400m, to Ukraine to help the resistance fight back against the Russian onslaught as the one-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion approaches.

Russian air defences downed a Ukrainian military drone before it could attack its targets near Moscow today, Russia’s defence ministry said, reported RIA news agency.

The ministry said the incident has caused no casualties or damage to buildings.

It is not immediately clear what kind of drone was used in the purported attack and where was it intercepted.

Ukraine is believed to be pushing hard to punch through heavily fortified Russian defences in the country’s southeast – with even president Vladimir Putin admitting that “hostilities have intensified significantly”.

Kyiv is seeking to move towards the coast of the Sea of Azov – to break through the land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.

The aim would be to split Russian forces into two and cut supply lines to units farther west. Ukraine’s military has said that Russia was launching intense artillery and aerial bombardments to try and slow down Kyiv’s troops.

The new focus of Ukraine’s military action is now on the southward drive of Staromlynivka, a village less than 5 km (three miles) away from the recently recaptured Ukrainian village Staromaiorske.

“It really serves as a stronghold for the Russian occupiers, the peak of the second defensive line in this location,” Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said in an interview with Ukraine’s media outlet RBC UA.

The push to repel Russia from the southward region is aimed at severing the land bridge Russian forces have created linking areas occupied in the east in the 17-month-old invasion and the illegally annexed Crimea.

Ukraine’s military has confirmed securing battlefield success after recapturing another village in the besieged country.

The military and war-time president Volodymyr Zelensky have confirmed success on one of the front lines in southeast Ukraine.

In a video published by president Zelensky last night, he confirmed Ukrainian troops had taken the village of Staromaiorske.

“I thank everyone who is fighting for Ukraine! Thank you for the liberation of Staromaiorske. Congratulations again, guys!” he said in his nightly address.

This comes as Western nations have indicated of a major warfare taking place.

Ukraine’s military had earlier said it was “solidifying positions” it had reached in the same area, east of the city of Zaporizhzhia.