WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian drones attack city near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, officials say

Russia-installed officials in Ukraine's partly-occupied Zaporizhzhia region said Ukrainian drones on Wednesday attacked Enerhodar, a city serving the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Russia seized the nuclear plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, in the early days of the war and each side has since accused the other of staging periodic attacks on the facility. Russia-installed local officials have reported attacks on Enerhodar, particularly on two electricity substations nearby.

Russian media quoted the city's authorities as saying at least four drones had attacked Enerhodar. It said there were no casualties and no details on damage were provided.

"This is a terrorist act," Russia-installed Acting Mayor Maksim Pukha told Russia's RIA news agency, saying civil infrastructure and residential areas had been targeted.

"Peaceful residents should in no way be targets of such an attack."

Each side has accused the other of risking a nuclear catastrophe by attacking the station. Monitors from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, are permanently stationed at the plant.

The governor of the part of Zaporizhzhia region held by Ukraine, Ivan Fedorov, said five drones had attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia, located about 60 km (35 miles) northwest of the plant, across a large reservoir on the Dnipro River.

He posted a picture on Telegram of a large fire he said had been triggered by the attack.

Vladimir Rogov, a senior Russia-appointed official in Zaporizhzhia region, said the attack had disrupted power and water supplies in the city.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian flamethrowers rake Ukrainian positions

The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday released a new video showing heavy thermobaric TOS-1A Solntsepyok systems attacking Ukrainian positions in a border area of Kursk Region.

The nighttime video shows the launchers firing multiple projectiles at the Ukrainian forces. The hits were observed by a surveillance drone equipped with a thermal camera, footage shows.

While designated as a heavy flamethrower in Russia, TOS-1A is effectively a multiple rocket launcher system, designed to fire massive 220mm thermobaric projectiles. The munitions, also known as aerosol or vacuum explosives, disperse a cloud of high explosive gas or liquid that is then ignited, producing a powerful blast with extreme temperatures and pressure.

The system has proven to be an important tool in Russia’s arsenal, capable of obliterating heavily fortified positions. A lighter, wheeled version of the system, known as TOS-2 Tosochka, has also been introduced in the course of the Ukraine conflict.

The Russian military continues its effort to fully dislodge the Ukrainian force from the part of Kursk Region invaded by Kiev early last August. Over the past 24-hours, Ukrainian insurgent forces have lost some 390 servicemen, as well as four tanks and other hardware, the Russian military said in its daily briefing.

According to the latest estimates from Moscow, the Ukrainian invasion force has sustained extremely heavy casualties since the beginning of the attack on Kursk Region.

Up to 54,000 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed or wounded, with more than 300 tanks, over 230 infantry fighting vehicles and nearly 180 armored personnel carriers destroyed. The invasion force has lost other assorted high-value assets, including over a dozen US-supplied M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS launchers.

Reuters/RT