Russian drones destroy bioethanol plant in Sumy Oblast overnight
Russia attacked infrastructure in the Lebedyn hromada in Sumy Oblast overnight on 4 June, striking a bioethanol production facility. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]
Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration
Details: Early reports indicate that 12 drones hit the facility in one of the hromada's villages. The attack caused a fire.
The aftermath of the attack
Photo: Sumy Oblast Military Administration
"It was a bioethanol production plant. Storage tanks were damaged, and molasses was spilled. Fortunately, there were no casualties," the administration stated.
In addition to the plant buildings, about ten houses were damaged.
Environmental professionals are assessing the consequences of the molasses spill. The full extent of the destruction is being confirmed.
Background: Russia launched 95 Shahed-type attack UAVs and other types of decoy drones against Ukraine on the night of 3-4 June.
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Chicago Tribune
18 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
How the militaries of Israel and Iran compare
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Israeli strikes on Iran on Friday and Tehran's vows of reprisals have brought the two Middle East adversaries closer to an all-out war, which also threatens to draw in the United States, at least to some degree. So how do the militaries of Iran and Israel stack up against each other? Iran boasts a large standing force but also relies on proxies and undercover operations that have been severely disabled in recent months by U.S. and Israeli actions. Israel, meanwhile, relies on both subterfuge and robust regular ground and air forces that are apparently unmatched in the region. Though roughly equal in the number of troops, the two militaries bring strikingly different tactics and firepower. On paper, Iran would seem to have an advantage in numbers, with 88 million people and a land area of 1.6 million square kilometers (618,000 square miles) compared to Israel's 9 million people and 22,000 square kilometers (8,500). Militarily however, those numbers mean little. Iran's troops are divided between the regular armed forces, generally commissioned with guarding Iran's borders and carrying out more conventional military tasks, and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, including the elite Quds Force, the strategic missile command and the cyberforce. The regular forces command the bulk of the troops — around 600,000 men — and standard equipment, while the Revolutionary Guard has about 200,000 personnel split between various divisions. Along with Iran's proxies, its conventional forces are believed to have been heavily degraded by Israeli and U.S. military operations over the past year. Iran's military equipment is a hodge-podge, including some provided by the Soviet Union and others by the U.S. prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, along with more recent Russian additions. With an estimated 350 antiquated planes in its air force, it lags far behind Israel in both quantity and quality. Iran, however, does have the ability to produce a wide range of UAV's and similar equipment, typified by the Shahed attack drones it has sold to Russia in large numbers for use in the war in Ukraine. The security of its top commanders has been a recurring problem from Iran, with the head of the Revolutionary Guards Gen. Hossein Salami and Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, among those who killed in Friday's strikes in Tehran. Top nuclear scientists were also killed. Other senior commanders have been killed in recent strikes around the region. Iran's nuclear program has advanced in recent years, and it is believed to have developed enough uranium enriched to near-weapons grade levels to produce multiple nuclear weapons in a matter of months if it took the decision to do so. But Iran would need even more time to develop a missile or other means of weaponizing them. Israel does not appear inclined to take that chance, however, having already struck facilities manufacturing nuclear material and ballistic missiles. Israel's formidable land, sea and air forces are derived from both the latest U.S. and European technology as well as a robust domestic defense industry that can design, build and sustain a full range of armaments, allowing it to take on opponents on multiple fronts at the same time. For a small nation it also has a considerable supply of troops, with about 170,000 active duty forces and another 400,000 reserves. Though fewer than Iran, Israel's forces have been battle hardened by regional conflicts. One option for Iran's counterstrike may include hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel, though how long that could be sustained is unclear. In October 2024, a massive Iranian missile assault on Israel caused only limited damage, partly because of U.S. help in shooting down Iranian missiles. That defense was made possible by Israel's multi-tiered missile defenses. The sophisticated system, developed over decades with considerable U.S. support, is capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100% guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, though it has never acknowledged having such weapons. Israel also has a steadfast ally in the United States, which has been key in previous conflicts and will likely be crucial in any that follow. The United States has distanced itself from the Israeli actions but could be a target of Iranian retaliation. Among the U.S. assets in the region are an aircraft carrier with about 60 fighters in the Arabian Sea, along with dozens of other jets at bases throughout the region — as well as thousands of troops. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran,' warning Iran not to target U.S. forces in retaliation. In recent days, the U.S. began pulling some diplomats from Iraq's capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of U.S. troops in the wider Middle East. Israel already curtailed Iran's ability to fight back, having decimated Iranian proxies Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah and heavily bombed Iran's air defense systems. Ahead of Friday's strikes, Iran had vowed massive retaliation for any attack, not just against Israel but also U.S. bases in the region, with one official vowing to effectively drive the U.S. from the Middle East through the destruction of its military infrastructure.

Business Insider
a day ago
- Business Insider
The Israel-Iran conflict is likely bad news for Russia's reliance on Shahed drones, UK intel says
As aerial strikes between Iran and Israel continue, Russia may be feeling the ripple effects across the Black Sea. "The conflict will likely negatively impact the future provision of Iranian military equipment to Russia," the UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update on Thursday. The UK MOD said that "Iran has supplied significant quantities of one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems" to Russia, as well as having provided "extensive support" to its production of these drones. For the Kremlin, the timing of the latest Middle East conflict isn't entirely unwelcome; with global attention shifting to the Iran-Israel standoff, pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine could ease. However, the conflict could also spark long-term issues for Russia, which continues to depend on Iran for Shahed drones and their parts. Iran has also supplied Russia with ballistic missiles and other munitions, the MOD said. Iran's Shahed drones have become a key weapon in the war in Ukraine. The Shahed-136, an Iranian-designed weapon that Moscow now also produces, has been at the heart of Russia's drone attacks on Ukraine, being used against cities and critical infrastructure. These drones can fly at speeds of over 115 mph with a nearly 90-pound explosive warhead. It's not clear what percentage of the drones Russia now produces itself, and how much it still relies on those coming from Iran. Friends in need The war in Ukraine has dragged on for more than three years, with Western nations continuing to funnel weapons and aid to Kyiv. Meanwhile, Iran has been one of Russia's most important military partners, and Tehran has played a crucial role in helping Russia scale up its domestic drone production, providing both equipment and technical expertise. A wide-ranging strategic partnership deal signed between Russia and Iran in January strengthened cooperation in areas like defense, energy, and trade, but it didn't commit either side to come to the other's aid in a conflict. That stands in sharp contrast to Russia's mutual defense arrangements with countries like Belarus and North Korea. If Iran becomes increasingly bogged down in a direct confrontation with Israel, its ability to keep any supply lines open to Russia would likely be compromised. A full-blown war might stretch Iran's military production capacity or expose it to international sanctions and strikes that disrupt its defense industry sector. Russia has already been weaning itself off Iran's Shaheds. Business Insider has reported on multiple attempts by Russia to build Shahed-like drones domestically. These include Russia's Geran-2 drones, which are similar to Shahed-136s but made with different materials, researchers at Conflict Armament Research told The New York Times last year. For now, the Kremlin is staying quiet — a likely sign it's trying to keep its options open. But as the latest Middle East conflict heats up, Russia may soon find that one of its closest alliances is less helpful than it once was.

Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
What North Korea's New Russian Weapons Tech Means for South Korea
It's not just Ukraine that is now facing the low, buzzing hum of Iranian-designed explosive drones. It is the U.S.'s key allies in Asia, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has declared. "This must be addressed now—not when thousands of upgraded Shahed drones and ballistic missiles begin to threaten Seoul and Tokyo," the Ukrainian leader said on June 10. Shahed drones, a brainchild of Tehran, have borne down on Ukrainian air defenses since the early months of the full-scale war Russia launched in February 2022. While slow-moving, the uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as Geran drones, are difficult for Ukraine's strained air defenses to detect. They're known for their low and distinctive buzzing sound that signals they're closing in on a target, ferrying along warheads that can shatter or explode. The scale of attacks on Ukraine varies, but Kyiv said Moscow launched 479 UAVs, including Shaheds, at the country in one night earlier this month. Russia has now agreed to help North Korea set up sites on the divided peninsula to manufacture Shahed drones, said Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Kyiv's GUR military intelligence agency. "It will for sure bring changes in the military balance in the region between North Korea and South Korea," the intelligence chief told The War Zone outlet. Experts agree. "This is gravely concerning," William Alberque, a visiting fellow at the Henry L. Stimson and a former director of NATO's Arms Control, Disarmament and WMD Non-Proliferation Center, previously said. Drones aren't the only thing North Korea is getting from Russia. Becoming embroiled in the Ukraine war—and turning into the only country outside the two warring nations to commit troops to the front line—has bought North Korea an economic and military hand-up from Russia, observers say. Western intelligence suggests North Korea is receiving help with its advanced missiles, space and nuclear programs from Russia, on top of Ukraine's assessment of new drone factories. Russia and North Korea announced a mutual defense pact in June 2024, which was inked in November. While South Korea is not yet prepared for this new threat from its northern neighbor, it won't be long before Seoul gets there, analysts say. North Korea has contributed three major things to Russia's war effort against Ukraine: Troops, ammunition and missiles. Pyongyang sent roughly 11,000 of its troops to Russia's western Kursk region late last year to help push Ukrainian forces that controlled a chunk of territory over the border back to Ukrainian soil. U.K. military intelligence assessed this month that the North Korean forces were replenished with some limited reinforcements, but that more than 6,000 of the soldiers had been killed or injured. Assessments of how well the troops performed varied wildly. Some reports suggested the soldiers were little more than "cannon fodder" and ill-prepared for drone-heavy combat, while others described the fighters hailing from a heavily militarized society as disciplined, in good shape and adept with weapons. Either way, Pyongyang is learning in a way Seoul is not. "The South Korean military's relative lack of combat experience has to be mentioned, especially given that North Korean forces are now gaining meaningful experience fighting a well-equipped conventional enemy in Ukraine," said Jacob Parakilas, research leader for defense strategy, policy and capabilities at the European branch of the Rand think tank. The combat experience and the technological expertise North Korea is thought to be accruing "pose a new challenge to South Korea," added Ramon Pacheco Pardo, professor of international relations at King's College London. This will "accelerate North Korea's development of its own military capabilities, and even though South Korea is already working on its own preparedness against them, it lacks the battlefield experience that the North Korea army is gaining," he told Newsweek. Missiles North Korea has supplied short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, keeping up the stockpiles to fire on Ukraine. Ukraine's air force frequently reports the use of North Korea's KN-23, also known as Hwasong-11, short-range ballistic missiles, in overnight strikes. Ukrainian officials had described the earlier iterations of the KN-23 as deeply unreliable and unable to strike its targets consistently. But the Hwasong-11 of mid-2025 is an "absolutely different missile," and much more accurate, Budanov said. The KN-23 is similar to Russia's SS-26 ballistic missile, "so it makes sense that Russia is able to rapidly fix shortcomings in North Korea's designs," Alberque told Newsweek. SS-26 is the NATO moniker for Moscow's Iskander-M mobile short-range ballistic missile system. North Korea's improved designs are "concerning," he added, despite South Korea's strong web of air defenses. Air defenses can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers of incoming threats if there are more targets to intercept than interceptor missiles in launchers. Some of North Korea's factories, mainly those producing weapons and ammunition, are operating at "full capacity," South Korea's then-defense minister, Shin Won-sik, said in February 2024. "If the North Korean missiles that make it through are more accurate and capable, it's a fairly substantial problem for the South," Alberque said. Drones The Ukraine war has been a crucible for drone advancement. "The longer this war continues on our territory, the more warfare technologies evolve, and the greater the threat will be to everyone," Zelensky said earlier this month. "As of today, North Korea likely has [the] advantage, and that advantage will grow exponentially over the next year," Alberque added. Pyongyang has already sent drones over the border and into South Korea's airspace. Seoul established a drone-focused command in September 2023, not long after five drones made it into the South's territory in late 2022. South Korea's military later said one of the drones had made it into a no-fly zone around the presidential office in the capital. "I do not believe that South Korea is ready right now, but they are taking some steps, including creating structures and working with industry, and they do have time to study and prepare; however, not too much time," Alberque said. "South Korea has a lot of work to do." Experts say Seoul should be paying close attention to how drones have been used in Ukraine, as well as in the Middle East. Any information funneled from Ukraine can feed into South Korea's defenses, Alberque added. Pyongyang has adopted an increasingly belligerent tone toward South Korea, sharply departing from the long-held policy of reunification with the south and doubling down on anti-Washington rhetoric. North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, put the country's industry on a war footing, pumping out weapons as Pyongyang committed to building a large, modern military. South Korea has very capable forces in its own right, supported by a defense industry that is rapidly making a name for itself. It's got a very clearly defined purpose, too. "The South Korean armed forces have one primary mission and focus, which is maintaining the ability to win a war with the North," said Parakilas. Analysts say there are some areas where South Korea has the upper hand. "South Korea still has a technological advantage over North Korea plus the support of its ally, the U.S., which Russia cannot match in terms of technological development," said Pacheco Pardo. How the U.S. slots in has a significant impact on how South Korea would fight the North, said Alberque. "Whether or not they have the full support of the American military makes a pretty substantial difference to planning," he added. Another of South Korea's strengths is its navy. Seoul's capabilities outweigh Pyongyang's, Parakilas said, adding North Korea won't be able to pull any real naval experience from the land war in Ukraine. "Of the capabilities that Moscow seems to be helping Pyongyang with, the surface fleet is probably the least worrisome," said Parakilas. In May, North Korea tried to launch a new destroyer at its northeastern Chongjin port—an ill-fated attempt state media reported ended in a "serious accident." The 5,000-ton warship was damaged "due to inexperienced command and operational carelessness," state media reported. It was an unusually candid public assessment for a country seeking to exude military strength. Kim, who was present for the bungled launch, irately denounced the incident as "criminal." At least four North Korean officials were arrested. North Korea said in mid-June the formerly capsized ship had been successfully relaunched. Related Articles US Stages Air Combat Drills With Allies Amid North Korea ThreatUS Ally Reveals Chinese Military Activity Near American BaseDonald Trump Issues Next Trade Deal Update After ChinaUS Ally Seeks China's Help in Dealing With North Korea 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.