Ukraine suffered from another deadly missile attack. An attack in Dnipro killed eight people, including two children. Dozens of civilians were reported to have been wounded by the attack. Zelenskyy held a meeting in Dnipro, in light of the multiple recent attacks on the city. Zelenskyy said the purpose of the meeting was to try to find ways to better protect both the city and the wider oblast. The status of the city's infrastructure and repair efforts were also discussed. This is particularly relevant thanks to Russia's missile strikes on major dams and hydroelectric plants situated on the Dnipro river several weeks ago. As the name suggests, the river runs right through the city.
Ukraine claims to have shot down a Tu-22M3 bomber hundreds of kilometers into Russia. Footage confirms that the plane was downed, making it the first known loss of this type over the course of the war. Russia claimed a technical malfunction, but the plane falling with no forward momentum confirms that it was struck. Ukraine claimed it was a joint operation involving their intelligence, and compared it to their claimed downing of an A-50 earlier this year. The Ukrainian claim was that they used modified S-200 air defense missiles for these operations, and a heavily censored video that the HUR published does appear to show the I side of an S-200 module. However, I am still sceptical of Ukraine's claims with these, but there is certainly starting to be a pattern of long distance downings of valuable Russian planes. Ukraine is facing off against Russian close air support at the front lines currently, particularly around Chasiv Yar where Russian jets can operate directly over the front with near impunity due to Ukrainian shortages, yet Ukraine claims to have the means to knock down Russian planes hundreds of kilometers away with precision. If Ukraine is responsible for these downings, they are using their extremely limited stocks to take out the most valuable of Russian warplanes, but it is coming at a very steep cost at the front. It's a difficult decision for them to make, and I'm not sure I'd make the same choice. Given the overall failure of Ukraine's offensive last year and the continued strengthening of Russia's fortifications, every bit of land that Ukraine loses for any sustained amount of time will likely be quite difficult to reclaim, and Russian missiles continue to terrorize Ukrainian cities and do heavy damage to Ukraine's energy grid. My assessment is that it would be more valuable to use these missiles defensively, for the time being. But given footage of Russia firing upon one of their own A-50s which was in direct eyesight, it's also very possible that they shot down their own Tu-22M3 today.
An American citizen by the name of Russell Bentley served in various units affiliated with the DPR beginning in 2014. He recently went missing, and turned up dead according to his wife. Many Russian milbloggers claim that he had been kidnapped and killed by Russian troops. Some Ukrainian sources have stated that this is the beginning of a purge, and that there will be more attacks on high profile foreigners fighting for Russia, though there's no publicized evidence yet to back this claim. As a rather rare and valuable propaganda piece for Russia, due to his being an American who echoed Russian propaganda about Ukraine, I'm a bit sceptical that he would be the first target of a purge. More likely, I feel he either did something that crossed a line with a higher up in Russia, or he was randomly victimized by a Russian unit that opted to turn to pillaging and terror tactics. But this is certainly a story to keep an eye on, as it could evolve into a bit of a rift between different competing Russian factions.
It has been discovered that over half of a British fund earmarked for Ukraine has yet to be put to use. The International Fund for Ukraine, a military fund set up by the United Kingdom and administered by its Ministry of Defence. Of the £900 million pounds which were committed to the fund, around £500 million of which came from other countries, roughly £500 million has yet to be used. Bureaucratic delays have been blamed for why the money remains unused.
After the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting today, the Netherlands announced a new commitment of €210 million to bolster Ukraine's air defenses. €150 million is to go directly into a German initiative to improve Ukraine's air defense capabilities, while the remaining €60 million is being committed to purchase short range air defenses for Ukraine.