🔗 Share this article

Ukraine has announced the start of large-scale manufacturing for a new domestically developed defensive UAV to reinforce its air defences. Three initial manufacturers have started production, with an additional eleven preparing to establish production lines, the defence ministry announced on Friday.

Advanced 'Octopus' System Tested in Combat Situations

The drones will be based on a nationally created system called “Octopus” designed to intercept Shahed drones. This technology has been tested in actual battle and demonstrated effective “during nighttime, under jamming and flying low,” officials confirmed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy established an ambitious goal of manufacturing up to 1,000 interceptors daily.

Recent Attack on the Capital Described as Calculated

Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s latest attack against Ukraine as “intentional, premeditated and wicked” after six people were killed and dozens wounded in a wave of night-time strikes across Kyiv. Air raid sirens sounded in the capital shortly after 12 AM on Friday, with enemy UAVs soon detected overhead and intensive defensive fire from Ukraine's aerial protection units.

Zelenskyy reported the nation was targeted by hundreds of UAVs and multiple missiles. Those killed had been inside their residences in an apartment building on Kyiv’s left bank during the strike. Numerous of other buildings were damaged, among them the diplomatic mission of Azerbaijan.

International Objection After Embassy Damage

Azerbaijan said it delivered a formal objection to the Russian ambassador on Friday following the embassy damage. The blast from a Moscow's missile demolished part of the embassy’s perimeter wall and caused serious damage to the diplomatic compound, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry stated. No one was hurt, and an official representative said the diplomatic mission in Ukraine was continuing to operate.

Moscow's Glide Bomb Production Sees Significant Increase

Russia plans to manufacture as many as 120,000 guided aerial bombs this year, a high-ranking Ukrainian defense official disclosed, including 500 of an innovative, longer-range version that can reach more towns and cities. Russian forces were firing 200 to 250 aerial bombs per day, with last month’s daily average standing at approximately 170, according to official military statistics.

Kyiv's Strikes Target Moscow's Energy Infrastructure

Russia’s Black Sea port of the port city halted for a period oil exports on Friday – equivalent to two percent of global supply – after a strike by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine’s general staff said its forces had fired domestically produced missiles and used multiple kinds of attack UAVs in the assault against Novorossiysk “as part of efforts to diminish the strategic capabilities of the invading force.”

Ukrainian forces additionally targeted a processing plant in Russia’s Saratov region and a fuel storage facility in nearby Engels overnight.

Global Restrictions Impact Moscow's Oil Producer

The number two oil producer Lukoil said on Friday it is negotiating with interested parties concerning its international holdings after last month’s sanctions from the UK and the US and failure of a deal with the Gunvor trading house. “Final arrangements are to be disclosed once the final agreements have been reached and the necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained,” Lukoil stated.

Zelenskyy Schedules Visit to Spain

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to travel to the Spanish capital, Madrid, on Tuesday to confer with lawmakers a day after his trip to France, Spanish parliamentary officials announced. Zelenskyy will convene with deputies from both chambers of the legislature during his visit, an official announcement said.