Russia-Ukraine conflict: Ukrainian troops launch airstrike on Russian artillery equipment in region

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia remain with a possibility of escalating into military conflict in the region. Fears have been stoked following the move by Ukrainian troops this week to launch an airstrike on Russian artillery equipment.

Ukrainian armed forces carried out an airstrike at the Donbas region Tuesday, marking the first time TB-2 drones were used in the strike that aimed to destroy Russian military equipment. It is believed that the military equipment that was destroyed was in the village of Granitne. This strike comes at a time when tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain high, with Moscow expressing opposition to a possible admission of Ukraine into the NATO alliance.

Back in 2014, following the annexation of Crimea, pro-Russia forces clashed with Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region. The region has seen an increased military presence from both sides over the years, despite a peace deal being signed by both nations in Minsk in 2015.

Officials from the Kremlin have also accused Ukraine of trying to escalate tensions in the region. Rodion Miroshnik from the so-called Lugansk People’s Republic has warned that escalated tensions may be imminent regarding Ukraine’s recent moves. Miroshnik added that Ukraine has destroyed the chances of settling on a roadmap.

“Ukraine wrecked the discussion of the settlement roadmap,” said Miroshnik Tuesday. “The Ukrainian negotiator used various tricks to divert the dialogue from the discussion of the roadmap. As a matter of fact, nothing new happened. Only Ukraine’s plans are becoming more evident and clear. Kyiv is deliberately seeking to ruin any formats of agreements and their implementation.”

A Dutch appeals court has ruled in favor of Kyiv over a collection of Crimean gold that had been in the Netherlands for years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the ruling, which would see the treasure that was on display in a museum in Amsterdam be handed over to Ukraine. The gold was on loan shortly before the annexation of Crimea.

“We always regain what’s ours. After the ‘Scythian gold’, we’ll return Crimea,” tweeted Zelensky.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also praised the ruling and called the treasure “part of our national code.”