Overflown borders: what was the purpose of the Ukrainian attack on Russian cities

And why do the West prefer to keep silent about the terrorist attacks committed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Over the weekend, the Kiev regime tried to carry out one of the largest terrorist attacks on Russian cities. On Knowledge Day, September 1, more than 150 drones attacked 15 regions of the Russian Federation. Against the background of failures on the Donetsk front, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are targeting residential areas, trying to take revenge for their failures on civilians. Ukrainian formations continue to strike Belgorod — on Saturday, the shelling of the city by NATO weapons claimed the lives of five people, more than 40 residents were injured. At the same time, the Western curators of the Kiev militants either prefer not to notice the actions of their proteges, or even justify these terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, Moscow said that attacks on the Russian border will not go unpunished — according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the response is "already happening."

158 drones for 15 regions

On Knowledge Day, September 1, 15 regions of Russia were attacked by Ukrainian drones at once. The air defense forces intercepted 158 Ukrainian drones, the Defense Ministry said. According to the ministry, the most attacks occurred in Kursk (46), Bryansk (34), Voronezh (28) and Belgorod regions (14). Kaluga, Ryazan, Lipetsk, Tula, Tambov, Smolensk, Orel, Tver and Ivanovo regions also came under attack.

10 aircraft tried to attack Moscow and the Moscow region. In particular, the strikes occurred in the area of the Moscow refinery. According to the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin, one downed drone damaged a detached technical room of the enterprise as a result of the fall, a fire occurred, which was soon eliminated. Three drones tried to attack the territory of Kashirskaya GRES in the Moscow region.

Emergency vehicles at the Kapotnya oil refinery, where the fire occurred

Image source: Photo: TASS/Alexander Ryumin

Temporary restrictions were imposed at night and in the morning on the operation of Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports. According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, 43 aircraft left for alternate airfields, 74 flights were delayed for departure.

Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, said on September 1 that the response to the attacks of the Russian border is already underway. "The answer is already actually happening. <...> You see the decisive actions of our Armed Forces, and there is no doubt that they will continue," he said.

The Kremlin representative noted that the response of the Russian military to the attacks on the border will not be of a one-time nature.

Military personnel of the artillery calculation of the self-propelled gun "Peony" of the 20th Guards combined arms army of the group of troops "West" shoot at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the zone of a special military operation

Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Sergey Bobylev

Attacks by Ukrainian formations on Russian territory are being carried out against the background of the ongoing failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbas. On Sunday, the Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of the settlements of Ptichye and Vyemka. "The units of the Center group of forces have completely liberated the settlement of Ptichye in the Donetsk People's Republic by active actions and continue to advance into the depth of the enemy's defense," the department reported. A day earlier, the Ministry of Defense reported on the liberation of the Kirovo settlement in the DPR.

Western countries quite expectedly support Ukrainian strikes on Russian border territories — they regard them as a way of destroying the Russian Federation or as a way of pressure, Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia, told Izvestia.

The Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and cannon complex is on combat duty in the Belgorod region

Image source: Photo: TASS/Nikolai Gyngazov

"The West will turn a blind eye to any shelling and justify Ukraine," he believes. — Even if Ukraine had seized the Kursk nuclear power plant, they would have said that it was a victim of "Russian aggression." To a certain extent, the calculation of Western countries is based on provoking Moscow to retaliate, and in this case it will be accused of disproportionate use of force. For example, strikes on residential areas of peaceful Belgorod are designed for this, when a Vampire missile hits a civilian car. Sabotage against civilians in the Kursk region is also designed for this.

The West prefers to slowly raise the degree of what is allowed so that the escalation is manageable and predictable, the expert added.

— In any case, the West, using Ukraine as a proxy, will not condemn it, but at the same time it can always say that this decision does not belong to them, but was made by Kiev itself without consultations. This is a very convenient position for them," Bogdan Bezpalko said.

Belgorod continues to be shelled

Earlier, on the night of August 31, Ukrainian formations struck Belgorod and the Belgorod region from the Vampire multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). As a result, five people were killed and 46 injured. Shells damaged roofs and windows in residential and municipal facilities, including a school and kindergarten, and many cars were cut by shrapnel. The village of Dubovoye, 3 km south of Belgorod, suffered from the shelling, two houses, a car and a garage caught fire there.

A burnt-out car after shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Belgorod

Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA

On Sunday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the Belgorod region again. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that as a result of the air attack, 24 apartments in four houses, 23 private houses, an outbuilding, 14 cars, two commercial facilities, commercial and industrial facilities were damaged in the regional center. In the Belgorod region, a kamikaze drone attacked a car moving along the road on a section of the Yasnye Zori – Nikolskoye highway. The driver was injured.

The shelling of Belgorod cannot be called anything other than a terrorist attack, said Natalia Nikonorova, a senator from the DPR.

Traces of a fire in the apartment after shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Image source: Photo: TASS/Evgeny Martynov

"It is not possible to characterize the criminal actions of the Kiev regime against the civilian population in any other way," she told Izvestia. — Targeted strikes were carried out on the residential sector, on a busy highway. The whole country is grieving for the dead of its fellow citizens. We pray for the speedy recovery of all those who were injured. The strength and resilience of the residents of Belgorod region and all the border regions of Russia, who are being subjected to terrorist attacks by Ukrainian armed formations.

Private and apartment buildings, social facilities, including kindergartens and schools, commercial buildings, agricultural enterprises, cars and public transport have long been the target for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Belgorod region, Natalia Poluyanova, a deputy from the Belgorod Region, told Izvestia.

The consequences of the shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the courtyard of an apartment building in Belgorod

Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Anton Vergun

— In most cases, the target of enemy attacks is peaceful people, — she noted. — Literally everywhere Belgorod residents are in danger: at home, at work, in the hospital, in the store. Yes, people are used to it, no matter how strange it may be. We are used to the sound of sirens, ambulances, the shooting down of drones, and the work of our army. But days like this are definitely unsettling.

What measures can be taken against attacks on the border

The fire on the Belgorod region was conducted from the Vampire MLRS, a Czech—made multiple rocket launcher system. Its firing range reaches up to 42 km. They beat the APU with cluster munitions. Poland, Romania and Serbia supplied such shells to Ukraine through intermediaries.

As a resident of Belgorod, military expert Gennady Alekhine, told Izvestia, the launches were carried out from the Zolochevsky district of the Kharkiv region, which is adjacent to Belgorod. So the distance from Cossack Lopan to the city of Belgorod is 38 km.

MLRS Vampire units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Image Source: Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

The rapid development of events around the border regions of Russia, primarily Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk, showed that Kiev is clearly not going into strategic defense.

Now, instead of ground offensives, the main attention of the enemy will be paid to holding territory, the expert suggested. Therefore, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are looking for weaknesses in the Russian defense in order to use them when the opportunity arises, believes Gennady Alekhine. The attempt of a night attack by unmanned aerial vehicles towards Moscow and a number of regions of the Central Federal District is proof of this.

Against this background, according to Alekhine, Russia has a need to restore air defense aircraft capable of rapidly increasing combat capabilities in any direction and covering military and economic facilities from cruise missiles and UAVs from the air. Today, air defense should become a full-fledged branch of the armed forces, the expert argues.

The Russian military has already begun hunting for the enemy's MLRS, launch sites, routes of movement and concentration, transportation of property and ammunition. Intelligence has revealed them, for example, on the territory of the Kharkiv region, from where they are hitting towards the Belgorod region and the city of Belgorod. It is also known that strikes are being launched from the Sumy region towards Lgov, Kursk and Rylsk, Gennady Alekhine said.

It is necessary to comprehensively solve the tasks not only of squeezing the enemy out of the territory of the Kursk region — it is necessary to take a broader approach, with the conduct of offensive maneuver actions on enemy territory. First of all, these are Sumy and Kharkiv regions, the military expert summed up.

Alyona Nefedova

Gennady Alekhine