Ukraine strikes Russian drone control center in Kursk Oblast, Ukraine's General Staff says

Ukrainian Air Force struck the control center of Russia's drone units near the village of Tetkino in Russia's Kursk Oblast on May 4, Ukraine's General Staff reported on the following day.

The crews of unmanned reconnaissance and attack drones were based at this location. As a result of the strike, up to 20 Russian soldiers were killed and their equipment destroyed, according to the statement.

The village of Tetkino in Kursk Oblast is less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Before Russia's full-scale invasion, the settlement was home to up to 4,000 people.

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted Russian military and industrial facilities in the rear to undermine Moscow's ability to wage its all-out war.

In the meantime, Russia continues regularly targeting Ukrainian cities and villages with drones, missiles, glide bombs, and artillery, resulting in heavy civilian casualties.

Ukrainian air defense shot down 42 of the 116 attack and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Twenty-one decoy drones disappeared from radars without causing damage, according to the statement.

Who are Russia’s allies, and can Kremlin’s war machine survive without them?

More than three years since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s defense industry has adapted to a new normal. Despite a web of international sanctions designed to cripple military production, factories across the country have been able to keep building bullets and shells, drones and military vehicles.

The Kyiv IndependentKatie Marie Davies