SAMY, Ukraine – A Russian drone at a transport facility here killed one civilian worker early on Thursday. This is just 18 miles from where Ukrainian forces continue to hold territory in the Kremlin's Kursk region, despite the US suspending military aid and information sharing with Kiev.
It was the second attack by Iranian-made Shahed drones on Smie's private infrastructure after Russia struck a children's hospital near the town centre early Tuesday, local authorities told the Post.
Both Shahedes have been made in the past two months, officials said, indications that Russia has largely run out of its own ammunition and is heavily dependent on other American enemies for its weapons.
In addition to Sumy Attack, four more people have been killed, with more than 30 injured in Shahed Strike in a hotel about 325 miles south of Sumy in Kryvyi Rih, home to Ukraine's hometown of Volodymyr Zelensky.
“At the very last minute of the attack, volunteers from humanitarian organisations, citizens from Ukraine, the US and the UK checked into the hotel,” Zelensky said in a post to X.
“We must not pause the pressure on Russia to stop this fear of war and life,” he added.
The transport facility was smoking and was still smoking when the postreporter visited about 10 hours after the strike.
I could see fragments of the drone, including internal electronics, wings with Cyrillic language and heavy steel structures.
A fragment of Shaede that struck a Children's Hospital – which did not explode, caused damage to the building and began to cause fires – stayed on the roof of the facility two days later.
The air raid alarm rang intermittently, warning of an ongoing threat from above.
This time last year, the Smie region was barely mentioned by Russian troops three years ago.
It changed in August 2024, shocking the world with Kiev's army launching a surprising attack that successfully crossed the border and succeeded Kursk.
The invasion forced Moscow to redirect its troops from attacks on Ukraine's strategically important southeastern regions, extending thousands of miles to the frontline.
However, this week's US intelligence report sharing and suspension of already paid military aid has shaken Kiev's strength, particularly its ability to attack Russia, Ukrainian intelligence reporting agency and military officials said.
“After the suspension of US intelligence reporting assistance, we will lose our ability to hit enemy territory deeply,” said Ukrainian reconnaissance officer Dennis Jaroslavsky, but he added that he “does not affect” the situation on the front line.
But defense experts at the Washington-based War Institute say the suspension encourages Russians to use more powerful weapons, as Moscow can bring planes closer to Ukraine.
“The inability of Russian air defense systems within Russia and the inability of occupied Ukrainian ATACM and Himaa to strike is likely to be willing to operate and expand its ability to effectively use glide bombs both in frontline areas and near the rear Ukrainian cities,” the institute said Wednesday.
“Suspension of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine will undermine Ukraine's ability to protect itself from continuing Russian attacks on military and civilian targets.”
Moscow officials are currently using the suspend to share intelligence to openly debate its advantages. On Wednesday, Russian Security Council vice-chairman Dmitry Medvedev said the Kremlin's “main challenge” is “inflicting the greatest damage to Ukraine.”
Most Ukrainians who spoke to the post express confusion rather than looking like faces.
“I don't know what [Trump] I'm doing it. I like him, but this doesn't make sense,” one Sumy Local said of the pause. “I hope he has a bigger secret plan that he uses against Russia.”
Others, including Jaroslavsky, said current tensions could have been avoided “if Zelensky's team had properly negotiated.” Last week's shocking oval office challenged Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
“Many mistakes have happened, so Trump made this decision,” he said. “We predicted this and proposed to President Zelensky that after Trump's victory, the negotiation team should be replaced by a team that is more suitable for the new administration.”
