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Ukrainian authorities have declared the start of mass production for a new domestically developed defensive UAV to reinforce its aerial protection systems. Three initial manufacturers have started manufacturing, with an additional eleven preparing to establish production lines, the defence ministry announced on Friday.

'Octopus' Technology Tested in Battlefield Conditions

The drones utilize a nationally created technology known as “Octopus” engineered to neutralize Iranian-made drones. This technology has been tested in actual battle and demonstrated effective “during nighttime, amid electronic warfare and at low altitudes,” officials confirmed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy established a target of manufacturing as many as 1,000 defensive drones daily.

Recent Attack on the Capital Characterized as Deliberate

The Ukrainian president described Moscow's most recent assault against Ukraine as “deliberate, premeditated and wicked” after six individuals lost their lives and many others wounded in a series of nocturnal attacks across Kyiv. Alert systems activated in Kyiv shortly after midnight on Friday, with Shahed drones quickly detected overhead and intensive defensive fire from Ukraine's aerial protection units.

Zelenskyy reported the country was hit by 430 drones and 18 missiles. Those killed were at home in a block of flats on the capital's left bank when it was hit. Dozens of additional structures sustained damage, among them the diplomatic mission of Azerbaijan.

Diplomatic Objection After Diplomatic Compound Destruction

The Azerbaijani government said it delivered a formal objection to the Russian ambassador on Friday after the destruction at its diplomatic compound. An explosion from a Russian Iskander missile destroyed part of the embassy’s perimeter wall and caused significant destruction to the embassy grounds, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry reported. No one injured, and an official representative said the Kyiv embassy was continuing to operate.

Russian Glide Bomb Manufacturing Experiences Major Expansion

Moscow plans to produce up to 120,000 glide bombs this year, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official disclosed, among them 500 of an innovative, longer-range version that is capable of targeting more towns and cities. Russian forces have been launching 200 to 250 glide bombs daily, with last month’s daily average being approximately 170, according to official military statistics.

Ukrainian Strikes Target Russian Energy Infrastructure

Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk temporarily suspended crude shipments this past Friday – representing two percent of worldwide oil production – after a Ukrainian missile and drone attack. Ukraine’s general staff stated its forces had launched domestically produced missiles and used multiple kinds of attack UAVs in the attack on Novorossiysk “as part of efforts to diminish the strategic capabilities of the invading force.”

Ukrainian forces separately struck a processing plant in Russia’s Saratov region and a fuel storage facility in nearby Engels overnight.

International Restrictions Affect Russian Energy Company

The number two oil producer Lukoil announced this past Friday it is negotiating with potential buyers regarding its foreign assets after last month’s restrictions from the UK and the US and the collapse of an agreement with the Gunvor trading house. “Final arrangements are to be disclosed once the final agreements are completed and the necessary regulatory approvals are secured,” the company commented.

Zelenskyy Plans Visit to Spanish Capital

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to travel to the Spanish capital, the Spanish capital, next Tuesday to confer with lawmakers a day after his trip to France, Spanish parliamentary officials announced. Zelenskyy would meet representatives from both chambers of the legislature during his visit, an official announcement confirmed.