Ukraine destroys 44 Russian drones

Officials in northeastern Ukraine said Thursday a Russian drone attack injured at least 14 people in the town of Konotop.
The attack targeted energy and civilian infrastructure facilities, the officials said.
Russian forces also directed drone attacks at the Kherson region, where officials said Thursday that Ukrainian air defenses shot down four drones.
Ukraine’s military said it shot down a total of 44 of the 64 drones Russia used in attacks across Ukraine.
In addition to Sumy and Kherson, intercepts also took place over the Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Poltava and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it shot down three Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod region, two drones over Kursk and another drone over Bryansk.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting Thursday with officials to discuss U.S.-Poland defense cooperation and support for Ukraine.
The visit comes a day after Blinken announced more than $700 million in new aid to Ukraine as he visited Kyiv along with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
The package includes $325 million to help repair Ukraine’s energy and electric grid amid ongoing Russian attacks, nearly $290 million in humanitarian aid and $102 million for demining efforts to remove landmines and unexploded ordnance left by Russian forces across Ukraine.
“Support for Ukraine will endure because it doesn’t depend on any one country, any one party, any one election,” Blinken told reporters at a joint news conference with Lammy and Ukraine’s new foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha.
“We’ve seen Russia now pursue and indeed escalate its attacks inside Ukraine, on civilians, on energy infrastructure, as well as on the Ukrainian military that’s defending its country,” Blinken added.
Lammy announced more than $780 million in aid and loan guarantees. He said the package would address humanitarian, energy and reconstruction needs.
He added that the United Kingdom is speeding up military deliveries with air defense missiles, additional artillery ammunition and more armored vehicles to Ukraine by the end of this year.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.