Russian military plant on fire after Ukrainian drone strike
Ukrainian forces hit a Russian military plant in an overnight drone strike, the regions governor has said.
In a statement on Telegram, governor Alexander Bogomaz, whose Bryansk region borders both Ukraine and Belarus in the far west of Russia, said that the workshops and administrative buildings of the factory in the village of Suzemka had been destroyed.
The plant is believed to produce radar and electrical equipment for the Russian military.
🔥 Military plant in Russia’s Bryansk region is currently burning, eyewitnesses report.
“Strela” plant produces radar equipment, electronics for Russian military industrial complex. pic.twitter.com/YRQ9n6mSNI
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) May 4, 2025
Russia’s air defence units destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Rostov, Belgorod and Bryansk regions, Moscow’s defence ministry said on Sunday on social media.
Ukraine said it had shot down 69 drones overnight although fires were reported in Kyiv.
On Saturday, Ukraine a Russian Su-30 fighter jet using a missile fired from a seaborne drone, Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency said on Saturday, in what it said was the world’s first downing of a combat plane by a maritime drone.
Its statement on social media said the fighter had been shot down by a military intelligence unit called Group 13 on Friday over waters near Novorossiysk, a major Russian port city on the Black Sea.
Outmanned and outgunned by its larger, wealthier Russian adversary, Ukraine has turned to drone warfare in the air and at sea as a way to fight back throughout the three years of full-scale war.
For the first time in warfare history, a fighter jet was shot down by a naval kamikaze drone equipped with missiles
Yesterday, a Ukrainian 🇺🇦 USV shot down a $50 million Russian Su-30 fighter jet over the Black Sea, +500km from Odesa, using a reconfigured R-73 air-to-air missile pic.twitter.com/OtHYsQdt1e
— Ukraine Battle Map (@ukraine_map) May 3, 2025
Ukraine’s seaborne drones, which are much cheaper and smaller than conventional ships, have wrought havoc on Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
Ukraine has previously said it shot down a Russian military helicopter in December 2024 using a missile fired from the same type of seaborne drone.
The mayor of Novorossiisk declared a state of emergency on Saturday after local authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack had damaged a grain terminal and several residential buildings, injuring five people.
Zelensky rejects truce and issues warning over May Day parade
Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a three-day ceasefire from 7-9 May.
“This is more of a theatrical performance on his part. Because it is impossible to build any plan for the next steps to end the war in two or three days,” Zelensky added.
As he rejected the truce, Zelensky also warned that he could not guarantee the safety of world leaders who will travel to Russia to mark celebrations.
“Our position is very simple towards all countries that have travelled or are travelling to Russia on 9 May, we cannot take responsibility for what is happening on the territory of the Russian Federation. They are ensuring your safety.”
Chinese premier Xi Jinping has confirmed he will attend the May Day celebrations.
Among the other invited guests are leaders from EU member Slovakia, EU candidate Serbia, India, and Brazil.
Trump meeting at the Vatican the ‘best yet’ says Zelensky
Zelensky has said his meeting with Donald Trump at the Vatican was the “most substantive” conversation the two have had so far.
The pair reportedly covered a wide range of topics, from Russian sanctions to a proposed 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, during their 15-minute meeting on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral last week.
“I believe our conversation with President Trump was the best we’ve had so far,” Zelensky told reporters on Saturday, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
“It may have been the shortest, but it was the most substantive.
“With all due respect to our teams, I think the one-on-one format worked best. We had the right atmosphere for a real dialogue.”
The discussion at St Peter’s Basilica marked the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since their heated exchange at the White House in February.
