Kyiv: Russia used strategic bombers, hypersonic cruise missiles and killer drones in a wave of fresh attacks across Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 9 people, while Kiev says Moscow’s military pressure is increasing in eastern regions. is catching up to speed. One year anniversary of its invasion. Ukraine’s military chief General Valery Zaluzny said Russian forces have launched 71 cruise missiles, 35 S-300 missiles and seven Martyr drones since late Thursday. He said the Ukrainian army shot down 61 cruise missiles and five drones.
The cruise missiles were launched from Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers and Russian Navy ships in the Black Sea, Zaluzhnyi said, while the S-300 missiles were launched inside Russia from the Belgorod region and the occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region. I went.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said Moscow once again targeted power supplies in “another attempt to destroy the Ukrainian energy system and deprive Ukrainians of light, heat, water”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has campaigned for more Western support, said, “This is terror that can and must be stopped.”
The Ukrainian military said the Kremlin’s forces focused on Ukraine’s industrial east, especially the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces that make up the industrial Donbass region, where recent fighting has been most intense. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces there since 2014.
But the barrage went further, targeting Kiev and Lviv, the capital near Ukraine’s western border with Poland. It also affected critical infrastructure in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city in the northeast. Regional governor Oleh Sinihubov said seven people were injured, two of them in serious condition. Air raid sirens sounded in most parts of the country.
Moscow is planning a ground offensive in the east
Kiev believes Moscow is planning a ground offensive in the east, where the Kremlin is attempting to secure territories it has illegally occupied and which it claims Welcome to his rule. In the Donetsk region, local Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces deployed additional troops and launched offensive operations. Gov. Pavlo Kirilenko said, “There is a daily escalation and Russian attacks are activating throughout the region.”
In Luhansk province, according to regional government Serhiy Haidai, Russian forces are trying to push through Ukrainian defences. Haidai said, “The situation is deteriorating, the enemy continues to attack and the Russians are bringing in large quantities of heavy equipment and aircraft.” The situation on the battlefield has changed little in the weeks since.
On Friday, Moldova’s defense ministry said a missile was detected from its airspace near the border with Ukraine.
Moldova’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the Russian ambassador in Chisinau has been summoned for talks over the “unacceptable violations”.
The ministry said the missile was spotted over its airspace at around 10 a.m. and flew over two border villages before heading towards Ukraine. Ukraine’s air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said another missile crossed the airspace of NATO member Romania.
Romania’s Ministry of Defense denied this, however, saying that the missile had come at a distance of 35 kilometers (20 mi) from Romanian airspace.
Ukraine’s power supply affected
Ukraine’s energy company Ukrainergo said high-voltage infrastructure facilities were affected in eastern, western and southern regions, resulting in power outages in some areas. The company said this was the 14th round of a massive strike on the country’s electricity supply. The last time it happened was on January 26 when Moscow tried to demoralize Ukrainians by leaving them without heat and water in the bitter winter.
Anatoly Kurtiev, secretary of the Zaporizhzhya City Council, said the city was hit 17 times in an hour, which he said was the most intense period of attacks since the start of the full-scale offensive on February 24, 2022.
Ukraine strikes back
According to the Kiev city administration, Ukraine’s air force shot down 10 Russian missiles over Kiev. Shrapnel from one missile damaged two cars, a house and power lines. There was no information about any casualty. The Ukraine Air Force said Russia launched S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles over Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhya provinces. Those missiles can’t be destroyed by air defense in mid-air, but they have a relatively short range, so the Russians have used them for attacks on areas not too far from Russian-controlled territory.
According to the regional government, Serhiy Hamali, Khmelnitsky province in western Ukraine was also hit by drone drones. According to Western analysts, Russia has in the past used Iranian-made Shaheed drones to attack key Ukrainian infrastructure and instill fear among civilians. They are known as suicide drones because they penetrate the target and explode on impact like a missile.
A Russian rocket landed in Ukraine’s Lviv province near Poland but did not explode. He said in a telegram that there were no casualties when the rocket fell near the bus stop in the village.
Military analysts say Moscow’s ambitions have narrowed since it launched its full-scale offensive when the capital Kiev and the installation of a puppet government was one of its goals. It is now focusing its efforts on gaining full control over Donbass. Several battlefield setbacks, including in the initially occupied eastern regions, have embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin.