Russia fires nearly 400 drones at Ukraine
Kyiv (AP): A major Russian drone and missile attack on civilian areas of Ukraine killed four people and injured at least 27, officials said Tuesday.
Moscow's army stepped up efforts to break through Ukrainian front-line defence in what could be the start of an anticipated spring ground offensive.
Russia fired almost 400 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said, in its biggest attack in weeks.
The onslaught continued into Tuesday morning as dozens of drones targeted the capital Kyiv during daylight.
Russia also launched 23 cruise missiles and seven ballistic missiles at Ukraine during the night, hitting at least 10 locations across the country, according to the air force.
Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless barrages since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour more than four years ago.
US-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraine's offer of a ceasefire and in recent weeks the Iran war has diverted international attention from Ukraine's plight.
On the roughly 1,250-kilometer front line snaking along eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, the short-handed defenders have been bracing for a new offensive by Russia's bigger army as the weather improves.
The Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's armed forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russian troops in recent days have made simultaneous attempts to break through defensive lines in several strategic areas.
"Fierce fighting unfolded along the entire line of contact," Syrskyi said Monday on messaging app Telegram, with Russia launching 619 attacks in four days.
"The occupiers are attempting to bring up new units and are preparing to continue attacks," Syrskyi said, adding that Ukraine had deployed reinforcements to counter the assaults.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Syrskyi's report backed up its assessment that Russia's spring-summer offensive is now underway.
Russia has escalated its strikes since March 17 and has moved heavy equipment and more troops to the front line, the ISW said late Monday.
Each year, as the weather improves, Russia has moved its grinding war of attrition up a gear. However, it has been unable to capture cities and has made only incremental gains across rural areas. Russia occupies about 20 per cent of Ukraine. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.
Ukraine has developed advanced drone technology to make up for its shortage of infantry.
Amid the Middle East conflict, Kyiv is offering Ukraine's battle-tested drone defence to the US and Gulf partners, hoping to trade that know-how for scarce Patriot air defense missiles it needs to fend off Russia's barrages.
Ukraine has also used its domestically produced long-range drones to hit areas of Russia that support Moscow's war effort. Russian air defence intercepted 55 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea, the Russian Defence Ministry reported Tuesday.
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3 officials of private banks arrested in Gujarat in Rs 2,500 crore cyber fraud; 20 held so far
Rajkot (PTI): Three officials of leading private banks were arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the number of those held so far in the case to 20, police said on Monday.
Those arrested were identified as Maulik Kamani, a personal manager at Yes Bank in Padadhari; Kalpesh Dangariya, a manager at Axis Bank in Jamnagar; and Anurag Baldha, a personal banker with HDFC Bank, Rajkot (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vijay Gurjar said.
Dangariya and Baldha were previously employed with Yes Bank, he added.
Kamani allegedly assisted the earlier arrested accused in opening and managing suspicious accounts. He also helped bypass banking alerts triggered by high-value transactions by submitting additional documentation to keep accounts active, the SP said.
Kamani was allegedly involved in cash withdrawals that were later routed through hawala channels (illegal money transfer system), supported by digital evidence recovered from his mobile device, he added.
Dangariya is accused of facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts using fake or misrepresented identities, police said.
He also assisted in structuring documentation, including Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)-related papers, to prevent transactions from being flagged as suspicious, they said.
On the other hand, Baldha opened new accounts after verification and certification processes as part of the racket, Gurjar informed.
All the three accused are in police custody, while others are in jail under judicial remand, SP said.
So far, police have identified 85 bank accounts linked to the racket with 535 complaints filed on the cyber crime portal.
The total transaction linked to the cyber fraud exceeds Rs 2,500 crore, police said.
The earlier fraud amount was pegged by police at Rs 1,500 crore.
