NATO fighters were scrambled over Lithuania on Saturday after a suspected kamikaze drone was feared to have entered its airspace. Residents in Vilnius were urged to take precautions as the country shares borders with Russia and its ally Belarus. The alert was triggered by a 'radar signal characteristic of unmanned aerial vehicles.' Later, authorities suggested the incursion might have been a weather balloon, but the incident coincides with a Russian blitz on a Ukrainian market.
Russian attack on Ukrainian market
Russia launched a dozen cluster bombs on the Dnipropetrovsk region, striking the town of Vasylkivka. At least one person was killed and 13 wounded in the attack. A residential building was partially destroyed, and shops and other businesses sustained damage.
NATO plans to empower commander against drones
NATO is preparing to give its Commander-in-Chief in Europe greater authority to shoot down drones without consulting national governments. The proposal will be discussed at the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8.
Rising civilian casualties in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin's forces are killing Ukrainian civilians at the highest rate in four years. UN statistics show 274 civilians were killed and 1,763 injured in Ukraine in May. 'The documented harm to the civilian population was not limited to settlements near the front line,' said Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. 'In cities throughout Ukraine, repeated attacks with missiles and aerial bombs resulted in the deaths and injuries of civilians far from the areas of active ground combat.' This is the highest number since April 2022.
Ukraine strikes back
Ukraine hit multiple military targets overnight, including again striking bridge access to the Crimean Peninsula in a further blow to Putin. Kyiv seeks to impose a blockade on the occupied territory. Drones hit the Crimean Titan plant in occupied Armiansk, the region's largest chemical plant and a manufacturer of titanium oxide. A power plant was also struck.
Separately, there were strikes on the port of Taman as Ukraine consolidated its growing advantage in the war. New footage showed panic as Ukraine earlier hit the Taneko oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, one of the largest in Russia, in an 800-mile drone strike. The Russians hit Kherson city with airstrikes, setting warehouses ablaze. Earlier, they killed one person and injured 15 in attacks on the region. Residential buildings, infrastructure, and equipment were damaged.
