Newspaper Page Text
4A Tuesday, December 27, 2022
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
WORLD
Russia says it shot down Ukrainian drone near air base
Associated Press/Libkos
Ukrainian soldiers fire a French-made CAESAR self-
propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Avdiivka,
Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, Dec. 26.
BY E. EDUARDO CASTILLO
AND HANNA ARHIROVA
Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine — The
Russian military reported
Monday that it shot down a
Ukrainian drone approach
ing an air base deep inside
Russia, the second time the
facility has been targeted
this month — again reveal
ing weaknesses in Russia’s
air defenses.
Russia’s Defense Minis
try said debris killed three
servicemen at the Engels
air base, which houses
Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-
capable strategic bomber
planes that have struck
Ukraine with missiles in the
10-month-old war.
Russia’s Baza news
outlet reported that four
people were wounded and
said a fire had broken out,
with explosions, sirens
and flashes on a video it
posted on its Telegram
channel. The Defense Min
istry claimed no Russian
aircraft were damaged. It
wasn’t clear whether the
drone had been launched
from Ukraine or Russian
territory.
If the drone had been
launched from Ukraine, it
would have traveled more
than 370 miles to reach
Engels, located in Rus
sia’s Saratov region on the
Volga River. Shooting the
drone down after such a
long trip inside Russia again
raises questions about the
effectiveness of Russia’s
air defenses, particularly
those intended to protect
its most strategic military
assets such as warplanes
capable of carrying nuclear
weapons.
In keeping with the Kyiv
government’s long-standing
practice of not confirming
cross-border attacks but
welcoming their results,
Ukrainian air force spokes
person Yurii Ihnat didn’t
directly acknowledge his
country’s involvement in
Monday’s incident in an
interview on Ukrainian tele
vision, but said: “These are
the consequences of Rus
sian aggression.”
He added: “If the Rus
sians thought that the war
wouldn’t affect them deep
behind their lines, they
were deeply mistaken.”
Russia has suffered
numerous cross-border
attacks during the war on
its main territory, as well as
on the Crimean Peninsula,
which it illegally annexed
in 2014. The incidents have
outraged Russian military
bloggers who say they show
the country’s weak air
defenses and security sys
tems in general.
In another cross-border
incident that couldn’t be
independently confirmed,
Russia’s Tass news agency
reported Monday that the
country’s security forces
had killed four Ukrainian
saboteurs attempting to
enter the Bryansk region
from Ukraine. The report
claimed the infiltrators
carried explosive materi
als when they were caught
Sunday.
The cross-border attacks
on Russian military
and other strategic sites
prompted Russian Presi
dent Vladimir Putin to order
almost weekly missile and
weaponized drone attacks
on Ukraine’s energy infra
structure, causing wide
spread blackouts that also
knocked out heating and
water supplies in increas
ingly frigid weather. The
attacks, which began in
October across much of the
country, have been occur
ring as ground fighting
focused on Ukraine’s south
ern and eastern regions.
In eastern Ukraine on
Monday, Luhansk’s Ukrai
nian governor, Serhiy
Haidai, said Russian forces
have withdrawn from their
military command opera
tions post in the town of
Kreminna as Ukrainian
forces were approaching
after months of intense
fighting. Russia’s Defense
Ministry didn’t comment on
the withdrawal claim.
Russian forces relocated
to Kreminna and several
other areas in September
after they pulled back from
the Kharkiv region in east
ern Ukraine. Kreminna is in
the eastern Luhansk region,
which is almost entirely
under Moscow’s control,
and is on an important sup
ply route for Russian forces
and serves as a gateway
for movement into other
strategic positions. Earlier,
Haidai reported that Russia
had withdrawn its occupy
ing government administra
tion from Svatove, 31 miles
north of Kreminna. Presi
dent Volodymyr Zelenskyy
said in his nightly video
address Monday that “the
situation there is difficult,
painful. The occupiers are
expending all the resources
available to them — and
they are considerable
resources — to squeeze out
at least some advance.”
Haidai told Ukrainian
television on Monday that
Russian forces in the region
are “suffering huge losses
and medical facilities are
overwhelmed with wounded
soldiers.” The Russian army
is redeploying paratroopers
from the Kherson region to
the area, he added.
In neighboring Donetsk
region, partially occupied
by Russia, fierce battles
continue around the city of
Bakhmut, which Russian
forces have been trying to
seize for weeks to consoli
date their grip on Ukraine’s
east. Zelenskyy said last
week Bakhmut was the hot
test spot on the war’s 800-
mile front line.
Ukrainian officials have
maintained ambiguity
over previous high-profile
attacks, including drone
strikes on Russian military
bases earlier this month.
On Dec. 5, unprecedented
drone strikes on Engels and
the Dyagilevo base in the
Ryazan region in western
Russia killed a total of three
servicemen and wounded
four others. In retaliation,
Russia launched a massive
missile barrage in Ukraine
that struck homes and build
ings and killed civilians.
Elsewhere on the battle
field, at least four civilians
were wounded in Russian
shelling of five Ukrainian
southeast regions over
the past 24 hours, accord
ing to the deputy head of
Ukraine’s presidential
office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
Overall, the intensity of the
shelling from Sunday night
into Monday was signifi
cantly lower.
a Apartments
FOR RENT
RPC Partners
2 Bedim Apartments
Gainesville, Oakwood & Flowery Branch
$ 300 Move in Special
Plus Deposit
770-654-2807
NOW HIRING
Off-Road Truck Drivers, Scraper Operators,
and CDL Drivers/Heavy Equipment Operator
Competitive pay, Great Benefits
(401 k, Health Ins., Vacation)
Apply in Person
1364 Candler Rd. Gainesville, Ga 30507
Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm
770-536-4731 Ext. 1
divisions OF GEORGIA'S FINEST PINE STRAW & MULCH
INDUSTRY PARTNER
North Georgia B.F D S
Make your woods look like a park
Corp Approved Lake Paths and Steps • Trenching
Grading/Landscaping • Retaining Walls
Timber and Beautiful Anchor Diamond Walls
SMALL JOBS O.K.
Drainage/Erosion Problems
Semi-Retired • Affordable
Mike 678-410-1375
WE ARE DEDICATED TO EXCELLENT SERVICE, QUALITY WORK & CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Far m
ch r 5u red and Split Firewood
■ r©Sll wOQ • 8FT Railroad cross ties
TifTuf Bermuda
Rebel Fescue
TifBlair Centipede
Zeon Zoysia
Marvel Zoysia
PrmitmTQp'
Check in Today
for our
New
8FT Railroad cross ties
• 8FT 6x6 Pressure Treated Posts
• 10FT 6x6 Pressure Treated Posts
• 12FT 6x6 Pressure Treated Posts
TIFTUF Rebel
HfBkrir c
Georgia Chapter
(g@M[§ ^®(g^ wwm m%
All Varieties of Rock now Available
Sand * Rip Rap Stone * 57 Stone • River Rock-all sizes
Field Stone • Flag Stone • River Rock Boulders
Field Stone Boulders • Ashlan • Tumbles Cobble Stone
[
MI DffigflML MM ©HUMS
Pine straw and mulch year round
Double Ground Hardwood Mulch Erosion control
mats and
New Crop long needle pine straw super red s j| t f ences now
Bag & Bulk Hardwood Mulch in available!
red, black, brown, mini pine nugget & top soil.
ule Trailers
We Sell • We Service • We Finance
Equipment Hauling Trailers - Enclosed Cargo
Vans - Landscape Trailers • Dump Trailers
We have full service repair shop for all types of trailers. Monday-Friday 8-5 and Saturday 8-2 pm.
Also we have a parts department for all trailer needs
Open Monday-Friday 7am-5pm & Saturday 7am-2pm
770-287-8300
2650 Browns Bridge Road * Gainesville, GA 30504 • www.georgiasfinestpinestraw.com
WE DELIVER!
your
service
PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
AND SERVICE GUIDE
Customer Pick-Up is also available
We Accept All Major Credit Cards
1364 Candler Rd
Gainesville, Ga 30507
770-534-6928
770-536-4731
ROOFING 8. RESTORATION
OUR SERVICES
Roof Inspections
Free Replacement Estimates
General Roofing & Installation
Additions
Storm Restoration
Inspections
Consultations
Insurance Claims Specialists
Repairs & Restoration
Ventilation
hopewell-roofing.com
j:E9 ffl>
678-771 -5372
Chimney Caps
Siding and Painting
Gutters, Downspouts
Leaf Protection
Soffit and Fascia Repair
Attic Insulation
Storm damage assessment
Quick weather-related response
Debris removal and related repair
Extended warranties
Fully bonded and insured
Standing Seam Metal Roofing
Mulch • Gravel • Sand
River Rock • Fill Dirt
Top Soil • White Marble
Red Rock & More