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Azerbaijan Sails Through Drone Attacks as Russia Escalates Black Sea Strikes
Confirmed
In Short: Two Azerbaijani sailors died in drone attacks on a tugboat in the Black Sea, while Russia intensifies its use of jet-powered drones in Ukraine, according to reports.
Two Azerbaijani sailors were killed in a series of drone attacks on a tugboat in the Black Sea, near Odesa, according to reports from AzerNews. The vessel, carrying four Azerbaijani citizens, was initially targeted by drones and later came under further attacks while en route to Romania.
The attacks, which have not yet been attributed to any party, occurred as Russia escalates its use of jet-powered drones, according to BBC Verify. These munitions, with a shorter range and smaller warheads, are proving difficult for Ukraine's air defenses to counter.
BBC Verify also reports that Russia is redesigning facilities to host these jet-powered drones, with new bases emerging, and is conducting complex attacks involving hundreds of drones and missiles weekly.
Ukraine's military data shows a significant increase in the use of these advanced drones, with attacks growing from 350 in June to 2,800 in August, prompting President Zelensky to condemn the situation as a 'horror' over Kyiv's skies.
What's confirmed
- Two Azerbaijani sailors were killed in a series of drone attacks on a tugboat in the Black Sea, near Odesa, according to reports from AzerNews. The vessel, carrying four Azerbaijani citizens, was initially targeted by drones and later came under further attacks while en route to Romania.
- The attacks, which have not yet been attributed to any party, occurred as Russia escalates its use of jet-powered drones, according to BBC Verify. These munitions, with a shorter range and smaller warheads, are proving difficult for Ukraine's air defenses to counter.
- BBC Verify also reports that Russia is redesigning facilities to host these jet-powered drones, with new bases emerging, and is conducting complex attacks involving hundreds of drones and missiles weekly.
- Ukraine's military data shows a significant increase in the use of these advanced drones, with attacks growing from 350 in June to 2,800 in August, prompting President Zelensky to condemn the situation as a 'horror' over Kyiv's skies.
What's still developing
- The attacks resulted in the deaths of two Azerbaijani sailors, Aslan Aliyev and Asim Gasimov.
- The circumstances surrounding the attacks, including the parties responsible, have not been established in the information currently available.
- Russia fired its new rapid, jet-powered drones against Ukraine every day throughout August, BBC Verify analysis of Ukrainian Air Force data has found, escalating its use of a weapon that Kyiv's air defences are struggling to deal with.
- It said the munitions have a shorter attack range, carry much smaller warheads and are more susceptible to jamming systems.
- Meanwhile, satellite images appear to show Moscow is redesigning key facilities dedicated to fighting the war in Ukraine to host jet-powered drones, with longer rails associated with the munitions visible at an entirely new base at Tsymbulova in the Oryol region.
- The increase in the size of the strikes is being powered by Moscow's shift towards combining a "greater variety of munitions" - including jet-powered and decoy drones - with expensive ballistic missiles that are extremely difficult to intercept, analyst Michael Bohnert of the RAND think tank told BBC Verify.
- It marked the first time that daily attacks by Moscow's new upgraded Geran drones were recorded in Ukrainian Air Force data.
- The growing use of jet-propelled and other varieties of drones prompted President Volodymyr Zelensky to condemn what he called an unfolding "horror" over the skies of Kyiv.