Russia thwarts Ukraine’s land, drone attacks as West running out of ammo

Russia says it has thwarted a land attack and intercepted dozens of drone strikes launched by Ukrainian forces, as the US-led NATO warns it is running out of ammo in its full support of Kiev against Moscow.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that it had repelled a landing attempt by Ukranian forces on Crimea, a Ukrainian region that was annexed by Russia following a referendum in 2014.

It added that troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces onboard a “fast military boat and three jet skis” were heading toward Cape Tarkhankout, in the northwest of the Black Sea peninsula.

Moscow claims that it has destroyed, during this summer, several Ukrainian military boats in the Black Sea that were sailing toward Crimea.

The ministry further said Russian air defense units also managed to intercept 31 Ukrainian drones over the regions of Russia’s Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk bordering Ukraine, declining to comment on possible casualties or damage.

Ukraine launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive in June, but it has proved to be slow and grinding. Moscow accuses Kiev of attacking Russian territory almost every day - be it with drones, missiles or artillery – since the beginning of the counter-offensive.

Separately, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Moscow had no plans for new mobilization in Russia as hundreds of thousands have signed up already this year.

“There are no plans for an additional mobilization. The armed forces have the necessary number of military personnel to conduct the special military operation,” he noted.

According to Shoigu, more than 335,000 people have entered military service under “volunteer formations,” with 50,000 signing contracts in September alone.

Moscow is trying to boost its armed forces as the war grows ever more attritional with Ukraine.

Russia plans funneling massive resources into Ukraine offensive to fight ‘hybrid war’

Russia has unveiled its plan to massively increase spending on its Ukraine offensive to fight what it calls a ‘hybrid war.’

Earlier on Wednesday, Western allies of Ukraine said that they were running out of their stocks of ammunition as most of the thousands of shells Ukraine fires every day come from NATO, which has been pouring weaponry into Ukraine since February last year when Russia launched its war on the ex-Soviet republic.

“The bottom of the barrel is now visible,” Admiral Rob Bauer, the US-led military alliance's most senior military official, told the Warsaw Security Forum, adding that governments and manufacturers must “ramp up production in a much higher tempo.”

“We need large volumes. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things - but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing,” he further said.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Western leaders against the continued supply of weapons and munitions to Ukraine, pointing out that such measures will not stop Russian troops from defending its objectives and that arming Kiev would only prolong the war. 

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