Victorious news of 813th day of war: Ukraine counterattacks near Vovchansk, launches mass production of FPV drones with homing

Ukrainian Armed Forces counterattack near Vovchansk

The Ukrainian Defense Forces counterattacked Russian troops near Vovchansk, Kharkiv region. Ukraine’s General Staff reported the information.

From the beginning of the day, Russian troops had been attacked in the direction of the Starytsia village, Kharkiv direction. They launched missile attacks on Kharkiv and Stara Vodolaha. Russian aircraft targeted the settlements of Vilcha, Vovchansk and Starytsia. In turn, Ukrainian soldiers conducted counterattacks near the city of Vovchansk, the General Staff said in a statement.

Ukrainian intelligence’s drones hit a defense plant in Tula

On May 16, Ukraine’s military intelligence drones attacked Basalt, a state-owned enterprise of the Russian defense complex in Tula. The Russian Defense Ministry reported the operation of air defense in 5 regions.

"As a result of the scheduled work of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, a military facility in Tula was hit on Thursday night. The enterprise directly produces military products for the war against Ukraine," the message reads.

Bazalt is Russia's primary defense enterprise for the manufacture and supply of weapons and ammunition for the ground forces, air forces and navy.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the operation of air defense.

“Last night, another attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using aircraft-type UAVs, Vilkha MLRS and the Tochka-U tactical missile system against targets in Russia was prevented,” the statement said.

Ukraine launches mass production of FPV drones equipped with homing

Ukraine has launched mass production of self-guided FPV drones that use a thermal imaging camera to recognize targets, Oleksiy Babenko, founder and CEO of VYRIY DRONE, told Army Inform.

“This month we will ship several thousand of these drones. Well, maybe we won't be able to ship several thousand, or maybe we will - we'll see. It depends more on the supply of components, but I hope that this month we will have about that many,” he said.

The drones produced by the company use thermal imaging cameras, which makes it much easier for computer vision systems to recognize images.

Previously, several manufacturers have announced the development of homing drones without disclosing technical details. However, only a few examples of such drones were published on the Internet. VYRIY DRONE is one of the largest drone manufacturers in Ukraine.

Danish aid package for Ukraine to bolster air defense

On May 16, the Danish Ministry of Defense announced a new €750 million military aid package for Ukraine, which includes contributions for the soon-to-be-delivered F-16s.

As part of Denmark's 18th package, Ukraine will receive additional funds for the upcoming supply of F-16 fighter jets, artillery maintenance, air defense, and funds to help with artillery, ammunition, and anti-tank mines.

Out of the €750 million, Denmark is allocating €349 million to Kyiv to strengthen its air defense. At the same time, the government will provide additional funds for investment in Ukraine's defense industry.

“As part of the package, the government is also allocating additional funds to invest directly in the Ukrainian defense industry. It makes sense to produce weapons where they are used and by those who use them. It is also about the future defense capability of Ukraine,” said Defense Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.