Ukraine war latest: Russian helicopters struck in Russia's Voronezh Oblast, Ukraine's elite drone unit says
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Key developments on April 29:
- Russian helicopters struck in Russia's Voronezh Oblast, Ukraine's elite drone unit says
- Ukraine hits Russia's 'shadow fleet' oil tanker near Tuapse, General Staff says
- Ukraine confirms drone strikes on Russian air defense system, oil depot in occupied Crimea
- Belarus bars Russian conscripts from leaving country
Ukrainian drones struck two Russian helicopters in Russia's Voronezh Oblast, more than 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the front line, Ukraine's 414th Separate Unmanned Strike Aviation Systems Brigade reported on April 28.
Four Russian helicopters were conducting rapid refueling and technical checks when the long-range Ukrainian drone attack hit two of them: a Soviet-designed Mi-28 and a Mi-17, according to the 414th Brigade, better known as Magyar's Birds.
The unit said the strikes, carried out by drone pilots from several units, including the 429th Achilles Brigade, hit the rear central part of the engine compartment, killing at least one helicopter maintenance specialist.
"To be continued…" Magyar's Birds wrote in its X post.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on Magyar's Birds' statement by the publication time.
Ukraine hits Russia's shadow fleet oil tanker near Tuapse, General Staff says
Ukrainian forces have struck a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker sanctioned by Ukraine and other countries, Ukraine's General Staff reported on April 29.
According to the report, the tanker MARQUISE was struck by two kamikaze drones launched by a Ukrainian Navy unit.
The tanker, operating in the Black Sea, was flying under the Cameroonian flag and was unloaded, it added. The vessel's cargo capacity is over 37,000 tons.
At the time of the strike, the vessel was approximately 210 kilometers (130 miles) southeast of the Russian city of Tuapse, Krasnodar Krai, without an automatic identification system (AIS) signal, and was likely awaiting loading at sea from another vessel, the report said.
The General Staff added that the extent of the damage was being determined.
The vessel is considered part of Russia's "shadow fleet" and is operated by Lidoil DMCC (UAE), according to Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) report on its War & Sanctions portal.
Ukraine confirms drone strikes on Russian air defense system, oil depot in occupied Crimea
Ukrainian drones struck a Russian air defense system and oil depot in occupied Crimea overnight on April 29, the General Staff reported.
Other targets included a MR-10 radar station, an air defense command post, and a Patrol 4 ground-based radar interrogator at an airfield in Sevastopol, on the southern coast of occupied Crimea, according to the General Staff.
The General Staff also reported conducting long-range strikes against Russian logistics facilities, including an ammunition depot in the Pervomaiske area in northern Crimea and the TES oil depot in Simferopol in the central-southern part of the peninsula.
"Key elements of the enemy's air defense and radar systems were struck," the General Staff said in its Telegram post.
Sevastopol's Russian-installed proxy head, Mikhail Razvozhayev, claimed that its air defense repelled "a combined attack" by Ukrainian forces, claiming that Russian air defenses shot down 23 Ukrainian drones over the city and destroyed three more considerably farther from the coast. Moscow had not reacted to the Ukrainian General Staff's claims at the time of publication.
The General Staff also reported striking a Tor Russian surface-to-air missile system, among other targets, in the occupied parts of southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Belarus bars Russian conscripts from leaving
Belarusian authorities have announced that Russian citizens who have received draft notices will be barred from traveling abroad via Belarusian territory, as reported by the independent outlet Belsat on April 29.
According to the report, Belarus and Russia share conscription databases, giving Belarusian security services access to the records and allowing them to detain people listed in them.
The Belarusian State Border Committee replied to a Belsat correspondent that a man with Russian citizenship who has received a draft notice cannot leave either Russia or Belarus.
"If leaving is prohibited, then all questions should be directed to the Russian Federation. If the person is on the (draft) list, they will not be allowed to leave. If they are not on the list of those restricted from leaving, we will let them go," the State Border Committee said.
"If the Russian Federation hasn't issued a travel ban against him and his documents are in order, then he'll be allowed to leave (Belarus)," it added.
Earlier, Russian human rights defenders, the Movement of Conscientious Objectors, reported on April 27 that a conscript from Russia's St. Petersburg, who had been barred from leaving Russia, was prevented from leaving Belarusian territory.
