Russia, Ukraine Trade Drone Attacks    07/07 06:15

   

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of 
Ukraine overnight, authorities said Monday, as the Kremlin dismissed the 
country's transport chief after a weekend of travel chaos when Russian airports 
grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks.

   At least 10 civilians were killed and 38 injured, including three children, 
in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said.

   Russia recently has intensified its aerial strikes on civilian areas after 
more than three years of war. Over the past week, Russia launched some 1,270 
drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, Ukrainian 
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.

   Russia's bigger army is also trying hard to break through at some points 
along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620 miles) front line, where Ukrainian 
forces are severely stretched.

   The strain of keeping Russia's invasion at bay, and the lack of progress in 
direct peace talks, has compelled Ukraine to seek more military help from the 
U.S. and Europe.

   Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukraine had inked deals with European allies 
and a leading U.S. defense company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv 
receives "hundreds of thousands" more this year.

   "Air defense is the main thing for protecting life," Zelenskyy wrote on 
Telegram on Monday.

   That includes developing and manufacturing interceptor drones that can stop 
Russia's long-range Shahed drones, he said.

   Extensive use of drones has also helped Ukraine compensate for its troop 
shortages on the front line.

   One person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, 27 were injured in 
northeastern Kharkiv and falling drone debris caused damage in two districts of 
Kyiv, the capital, during nighttime drone attacks, Ukrainian authorities said.

   Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two others in 
the northern Sumy region, officials said. Sumy is one of the places where 
Russia has concentrated large numbers of troops.

   Also, nine people were injured and seven killed in the eastern Donetsk 
region, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said. He didn't specify the type of 
weapons used.

   Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said Monday that its troops shot down 
91 Ukrainian drones in 13 Russian regions overnight, as well as over the Black 
Sea and the Russian-annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

   The Kremlin dismissed Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt on Monday, an order 
published on the Kremlin website said.

   The announcement did not give a reason for Starovoyt's dismissal. Over the 
weekend, hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo 
and St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airports. Other airports in western and central 
Russia also faced disruptions because of Ukrainian drone attacks.