As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued to keep the region on edge, diplomatic unease seems to have emerged as Moscow on Saturday demanded explanations from the US and Turkey over reports of a potential transfer of substantial US weapons held by Turkey to Kyiv.
Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, said that Russia has sought an explanation from both countries, the US and Turkey, over the reports of possible plans to transfer to Kyiv a "substantial arsenal" of US weapons and ammunition held by Turkey, as reported by Reuters.
The spokeswoman said in a statement that the transfer would cause harm to their bilateral ties.
Such a transfer would cause "serious harm ... to our bilateral relations with Washington and Ankara," the spokeswoman said.
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Ukrainian attack on Russia's Samara industrial site
Simultaneously, the Russia-Ukraine war flared up as Kyiv reportedly stepped up its long-range aerial attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities.
{{/usCountry}}Simultaneously, the Russia-Ukraine war flared up as Kyiv reportedly stepped up its long-range aerial attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities.
{{/usCountry}}According a report by AP, a Russian official said that Ukrainian forces executed a large-scale strike against industrial infrastructure in Russia’s southwestern Samara region.
Ivan Noskov, head of the city of Samara, confirmed that air defense units repelled a "massive" missile barrage that caused "localized damage" to industrial sites and left several individuals injured.
A large-scale Ukrainian attack struck industrial infrastructure in Russia’s southwestern Samara region Saturday, a Russian official said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on social media, stated that the attack struck the Samara Progress Center, a facility operating under Russia's space agency Roscosmos.
"In Russia’s Samara region, one of the key enterprises within Roscosmos – the Progress Center, which was involved, among other things, in electronics production – was hit. Flamingo missiles were used. A good achievement," he posted on X.
The Ukrainian leader said Russia's Savasleyka air base, around 700 kilometers from the front line, was also struck.
"The distance from our border is about 900 kilometers. Our long-range sanctions also reached the Savasleyka airbase, where the carriers of Russian missiles that strike our cities and villages are based – about 700 kilometers from Ukraine. We also have confirmation of the damage we were aiming to inflict at an oil facility in Ust-Luga – more than 800 kilometers from our border," he added.
“Peace is needed, and this must be evident in Russia – through concrete damage to specific facilities,” Zelenskyy also noted.
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Ukraine's long-range strikes
AP further reported that, according to data from the independent conflict monitor ACLED, Ukraine's long-range strikes (exceeding its usual 200-kilometer range) have surged; it launched three times as many of those strikes in July as it did in January.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense on Saturday claimed it intercepted 598 Ukrainian drones across 19 Russian regions, the Black and Azov Seas, and Crimea.
In the Moscow region, Governor Andrey Vorobyov said that two people, including a nine-year-old child, were wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a private home in Shatura.
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Casualties and port strikes in Ukraine
In southeastern Ukraine, a Russian strike on an apartment block killed an infant and injured 11 people, according to officials.
Ukraine's Air Force said that it shot down 124 of 152 drones launched by Russia on Saturday. Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defense stated that it had targeted warehouses and infrastructure at Ukrainian ports.