Russia batters Ukraine with missile strikes

GBNEWS24DESK//

Russia battered Ukraine with multiple missile strikes yesterday as its troops sought to advance in the east, Kyiv said, while Western allies pledged to keep military aid flowing for an intended Ukrainian spring counter-offensive.

Following a pattern of heavy bombardments at times of Ukrainian battlefield or diplomatic advances, Russia launched 32 missiles in the early hours, Ukraine’s Air Force said.

Half were shot down, it added, a lower rate than normal.

Among them, air defences in the south downed eight Kalibr missiles fired from a ship in the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials said. Other missiles struck northern and western Ukraine as well as the central regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad.

Russia has usually carried out its heaviest strikes in daylight, targeting energy facilities. But Ukrainian officials said the overnight bombardment had no major impact on power.

They believe Moscow is adapting strategy, including using air balloons for reconnaissance.

“The Russians have changed their tactics somewhat. They conduct active reconnaissance, use false targets,” Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential staff, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine did not say why fewer missiles had been knocked out than usual but it has previously reported lower success rates when Russia fired Soviet-era Kh-22 missiles.

Bolstered by tens of thousands of reservists, Russia has intensified ground attacks across southern and eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, and a major new offensive appears to be shaping as the first anniversary of its February 24 invasion nears.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, pulverised Ukrainian cities, destabilised the global economy just as it was recovering from the Covid pandemic, and uprooted millions of people from their homes.

Showing the scale of the humanitarian disaster, Germany said 1.1 million people arrived from Ukraine in 2022, exceeding an unprecedented migrant influx in 2015-16.

Russia did not immediately comment on the overnight bombardment, though on Wednesday it was touting Ukrainian retreats in parts of the eastern province of Luhansk.

As Ukraine burns through munitions fast and clamours for heavier firepower, including tanks and fighter jets, Nato alliance nations are ramping up production and promising more.