Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit committed suicide by shooting himself on Monday. According to a report by Russia’s TASS news agency, President Vladimir Putin had dismissed him from his post a few hours earlier without giving any reason. He was accused of corruption. Officials said Starovoit was found dead in Odintsovo near Moscow. At present, full information about the incident is being gathered. Russia’s Investigative Committee said Starovoit’s body was found in his car. A former governor Andrei Nikitin has been appointed temporary Transport Minister in place of Starovoit. Starovoit was the governor of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine for five years before becoming Transport Minister. Starovoit accused of corruption According to Russian media reports, the reason for Starovoit’s dismissal is believed to be the Ukrainian drone attacks on July 5-6. About 300 flights were canceled across the country due to Ukrainian drone attacks. A tanker also exploded at Russia’s Ust-Luga port in the Ukrainian attacks. The explosion caused ammonia to leak on July 6, which further increased the problems. At the same time, Starovoit’s dismissal is also being linked to corruption cases in Kursk. A few months after Starovoit left the post of governor in Kursk, Ukrainian troops attacked there, which was the largest foreign attack in Russia since World War II. At the same time, Starovoit was accused of corruption. After Starovoit, the new governor of Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, was accused of money laundering in April. Russia attacks Ukraine with 550 missiles and drones Russia attacked Ukraine with 500 missiles and drones on the morning of July 4. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that 270 of these missiles were shot down in the air. Apart from these, there were also 330 Shahed drones. Of these, 208 drones were jammed through electronic systems. These drones are made in Iran. The biggest target of this attack was the capital Kiev. Apart from Kiev, Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and surrounding areas were also damaged. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 23 people were injured in this attack. Of these, 14 people had to be hospitalized. This attack has damaged apartment buildings, shops, a school, a hospital, railway lines and other important structures in many areas of Kiev. According to the Kiev Independent, the sounds of explosions were heard from 10 pm on July 3 and continued till the morning of July 4. In retaliation, Ukraine also carried out drone attacks on several Russian targets on July 5-6, in which the Russian port was targeted. Ukraine claims – 41 Russian planes destroyed Ukraine had destroyed 41 Russian fighter planes in June. According to the report of Ukrainian website Kyiv Independent, Ukraine targeted Olenya Air Base in Murmansk, Belaya Air Base in Irkutsk, Ivanovo Air Base in Ivanovo and Amur and Dyagilevo Air Bases in Russia. Russia’s Belaya Air Base is more than 4 thousand km away from the Ukrainian border. It is located in Siberia region of Russia. According to the report, Ukraine’s Security Agency (SBU) carried out this attack, in which FPV (First-Person-View) drones were used. Strategic bombers like A-50, TU-95 and TU-22 were targeted in this. An SBU official said that they have carried out this attack in self-defense, as these Russian aircraft often drop bombs on Ukrainian cities. Russia has confirmed this attack. According to initial estimates, the cost of damage could be US $ 2 billion (more than Rs 17 thousand crores). —————————————– Read this news too… Australia can ask for its port from China: Given on a 99 year lease in 2015, PM Albanese promises to take it back Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is going to China next week. Its date will be announced soon. Meanwhile, according to Hong Kong’s newspaper South China Morning Post, Albanese can ask for the Darwin Port back from China. Read the full news…
