Ukraine hits deep inside Russian territory with 2,000-mile drone strike

Ukraine hits deep inside Russian territory with 2,000-mile drone strike Ukrainian special forces celebrated reaching further into Russian territory than at any point of the war so far - but Putin has already hit back with bloody attacks on civilians Ukraine has launched a record-breaking drone attack on natural gas plants in Arctic Russia, striking almost 2,000 miles deep inside Kremlin territory. The overnight attack was answered by bloody Russian strikes on Sumy and Mykolaiv, in Ukraine, which killed nine and injured 43. Kyiv’s long range strike operation was controlled by Ukraine’s secretive Special Operations spies and sparked a fire at at least one of the crucial gas plants in the Yamalo-Nenets region of Siberia. It is being celebrated in Kyiv as a major blow to Putin’s ability to pay for his full-scale invasion. Even though Russian officials have denied the raid was a severe bombing, imagery shows black smoke above the plants and it is symbolic in sending a message to Russian civilians that they are entrenched in warfare. A number of deadly explosive drones were used in the Ukrainian operation hitting their targets in Russia ’s arctic region. Ukraine’s defence manufacturer Fire Point appeared to claim involvement, posting: "Guess who covered more than 3,300 km and successfully hit the target." In another escalation a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was delayed by a Russian drone this week as his jet prepared to take off from Moldova to fly to Oslo. Zelensky and his wife Olena were on their plane at Chisinau, ahead of Wednesday's funeral of Norway's King Harald V when the unmanned Russian aircraft crossed over the Moldovan border. The drone prompted an immediate airspace shutdown and Zelensky's jet was left on the runway for around an hour before it was cleared for take off. Today Mr Zelensky touched down for a three-day visit to Canada. Describing the nation as one of Ukraine's closest partners, Zelensky said meetings and agreements planned during his visit - including with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney - would shape their relationship "for years to come". He added: "The main focus will be on supporting Ukraine in protecting our skies and preparing for the winter. We will discuss how to strengthen our resilience, support our people, and ensure that Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself." Speaking at Joint Base Andrews US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had just spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested both Moscow and Kyiv may be prepared to negotiate. He said: "We had a great conversation. He is wanting to make a deal. And if Zelensky is wanting to make a deal, that would be very nice.” Asked by reporters what was holding up an agreement, Trump pointed to the personal animosity between the two presidents saying they were "two people that hate each other." He added: "These are two people that are tired of fighting.” But Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukrainian civilians in recent weeks, stepping up ballistic missile attacks to take advantage of a Kyiv shortage of defence weapons. And the escalation is taking a terrible toll. The United Nations said last month Russian attacks killed or wounded more Ukrainian civilians in July than in any month since March 2022. As many as 437 were killed and more than 2,600 wounded. More than 16,800 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and over 51,000 wounded since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied deliberately targeting civilians and says its strikes are aimed at military and military-related facilities.