Russia has conducted several drone strikes against Ukrainian ports on the Danube River in an attempt to halt international trading via these ports, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Aug. 4.
The U.K. intelligence report emphasized that the Russian kamikaze drones have struck targets as close as 200 meters from the Romanian border, "suggesting that Russia has evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near NATO territory."
The ministry said that Russia is choosing to use drones in the vicinity of NATO borders in the belief that they are less likely to trigger an escalation than cruise missiles.
Since its unilateral withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia has been systematically targeting Ukraine's ports, agricultural infrastructure, and grain stockpiles.
Russian forces launched Shahed kamikaze drones against Ukrainian Izmail and Reni Danube ports on July 24, sparking condemnations from Bucharest.
Izmail was again targeted on Aug. 2. in a drone strike that caused significant damage to its infrastructure, damaging or destroying a grain elevator, grain warehouses, administrative buildings, a container in one of the loading terminals, and destroying over 40,000 metric tons of grain.
Alexander Query
(Updated: )
