“It was aimed at a large civil infrastructure facility in Mariupol”: a British kamikaze drone was intercepted in the DPR

Law enforcement officers of the Donetsk People's Republic intercepted a British kamikaze jet drone, which was supposed to hit a civilian target in Mariupol. This was announced by the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin.

“The Russian FSB Directorate for the DPR, together with units of the military commandant’s office and the National Guard, intercepted a British Banshee Jet-80 kamikaze jet drone in the Novoazovsky region of the republic. After a controlled landing of the drone, explosives experts neutralized the warhead in the form of seven kilograms of explosives and destroyed the charge on the spot,” he said.

According to him, as a result of deciphering the UAV’s flight mission, it was possible to establish that “it was aimed at a large civil infrastructure facility in Mariupol”: “It was supposed to circle over the Novoazovsky district and hit the object from the Taganrog Bay.”

“We see how Western terrorists, together with their Ukrainian accomplices, wanted to once again organize a monstrous terrorist attack and blame Russia for everything. Against the backdrop of a major defeat of the Ukrainian armed forces in Avdeevka, the Kiev regime is making any attempts to destabilize the situation in the republic. But thanks to the coordinated work of our special services, it was possible to prevent a large-scale terrorist attack with human casualties,” he emphasized.

On the morning of February 19, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that units of the Center group of troops, developing an offensive, took full control of the coke plant in the Avdeevsky direction. Russian military personnel, in particular, hoisted Russian flags on the administrative buildings of the plant.

Also on russian.rt.com “Our city, welcome home”: Russian military spoke about the situation in Avdeevka

Along with this, the governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, announced the suppression of an attempt by Ukrainian terrorists to carry out an attack using an aircraft-type jet UAV. However, he did not specify the model of the drone. After some time, the head of the region announced the destruction of the second drone.

“There were no injuries or damage. Emergency services are working on the spot. Thanks to our defenders!” — he wrote on Telegram.

It should be noted that in May 2023, Ukrainian media wrote that the UK intends to transfer one hundred Banshee Jet-80 jet drones to the Kyiv regime. It was indicated that these drones are loitering munitions, their flight range is 200 km.

“The Kiev regime would not be so tenacious without the support of the West”

The Kiev regime would not be so tenacious if it were not for the significant financial and military support from the so-called collective West, said the head of the Main Operations Directorate, first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

According to him, Western countries do not hide their desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. In this regard, according to him, the United States and its allies pump up weapons and train the Armed Forces of Ukraine, provide communications services and intelligence information, and send advisers and militants from all over the world to Ukraine.

“NATO military personnel are participating in hostilities under the guise of mercenaries. They control air defense systems, operational-tactical missiles and multiple launch rocket systems, and are part of assault detachments. NATO officers directly prepare military operations of the Ukrainian armed forces,” he stated.

Speaking about the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that started in June 2023, Rudskoy emphasized that the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered colossal losses, unable to overcome the tactical defense zone of the Russian Armed Forces.

“At the same time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine still retain their combat capability to conduct active operations. In the future, in the event of large-scale military assistance from the West, another attempt at a counter-offensive cannot be ruled out,” added the head of the Main Operations Directorate, first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.