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Ukraine Says Russian Drone Barrage Injures One in Kyiv Region

A police officer stands near parts of the drone at the site of a building destroyed by a Russian drone attack, as their attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 14, 2022. The inscription reads "For Ryazan". (Reuters)
A police officer stands near parts of the drone at the site of a building destroyed by a Russian drone attack, as their attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 14, 2022. The inscription reads "For Ryazan". (Reuters)
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Ukraine Says Russian Drone Barrage Injures One in Kyiv Region

A police officer stands near parts of the drone at the site of a building destroyed by a Russian drone attack, as their attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 14, 2022. The inscription reads "For Ryazan". (Reuters)
A police officer stands near parts of the drone at the site of a building destroyed by a Russian drone attack, as their attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 14, 2022. The inscription reads "For Ryazan". (Reuters)

A Russian overnight drone barrage injured one person and damaged five homes in Ukraine's Kyiv region, the regional authorities said on Monday.

Governor Ruslan Kravchenko reported no damage to critical infrastructure in the region surrounding the capital.

Overall, during the attack over the central, northern and southern regions of Ukraine, the air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian drones, according to a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Air defense units destroyed nearly 20 drones that were heading towards Kyiv itself, the Ukrainian military said.

"Russian attack drones were heading to Kyiv from different directions and in different groups," Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on Telegram. "According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage in Kyiv."

Reuters witnesses reported a series of loud explosions in what sounded like air defense systems in operation.

Russia has pummeled Ukraine with missile and drone attacks in its 30-month-old full-scale invasion, dealing significant damage to the power grid and other civilian infrastructure.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russia says its aerial attacks target only infrastructure that is key to Ukraine's war effort.

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Putin Orders Military to Boost Troop Numbers by 180,000 to 1.5 million as Ukraine Fighting Continues

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting with government officials via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, March 22, 2021. (AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting with government officials via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, March 22, 2021. (AP
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Putin Orders Military to Boost Troop Numbers by 180,000 to 1.5 million as Ukraine Fighting Continues

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting with government officials via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, March 22, 2021. (AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting with government officials via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, March 22, 2021. (AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the country’s military to increase its number of troops by 180,000 to a total of 1.5 million, as Moscow’s military action in Ukraine drags on for more than 2 ½ years.

Putin’s decree, published on the official government website, will take effect Dec. 1. It sets the overall number of Russian military personnel at nearly 2.4 million, including 1.5 million troops, and orders the government to provide the necessary funding, The AP reported.

The previous increase in Russian troop numbers came last December, when a decree by Putin set the total number of Russian military personnel at about 2.2 million, including 1.32 million troops.

The most capable Russian troops have been pressing an offensive in eastern Ukraine, where they have made incremental but steady gains in the past few months.

In June, Putin put the number of troops involved in what the Kremlin calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine at nearly 700,000.

After calling up 300,000 reservists in the face of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the fall of 2022, Russian authorities have switched to filling the ranks of troops fighting in Ukraine with volunteer soldiers, who have been attracted by relatively high wages.

Many commentators have noted that the Kremlin has been reluctant to call more reservists, fearing domestic destabilization like what happened in 2022 when hundreds of thousands fled Russia to avoid being sent to combat.

The shortage of military personnel has been widely cited as a key reason behind the success of Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region launched Aug. 6.

The Kremlin has sought to avoid the redeployment of troops from eastern Ukraine and relied on reinforcements from other areas to stem the Ukrainian incursion. The Russian Defense Ministry on Monday reported reclaiming control of two more villages in the Kursk region from Ukrainian forces.