Russia conducted a heavy aerial attack on Ukraine for the third time in four days Thursday, again launching missiles and scores of drones that mostly were intercepted, Ukraine’s air force said. Russian forces fired five missiles and 74 Shahed drones at Ukrainian targets, an air force statement said. Air defenses stopped two missiles and 60 drones, and 14 other drones presumably fell before reaching their target, it said.
Quick Read
- Russia launched a heavy aerial attack on Ukraine for the third time in four days, targeting Ukrainian infrastructure with missiles and drones, most of which were intercepted by Ukraine’s air defenses.
- Russian forces fired five missiles and 74 Shahed drones at Ukrainian targets, with Ukraine’s air force claiming to have stopped two missiles and 60 drones, while 14 drones presumably fell before reaching their targets.
- In Kyiv, debris from destroyed drones fell in three districts, causing minor damage to civilian infrastructure but no reported injuries.
- Russia’s ongoing long-range strikes on civilian areas have been a persistent aspect of the conflict since the invasion began in February 2022.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his calls for Western allies to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to target locations inside Russia with long-range weapons.
- Zelenskyy argued that lifting these restrictions would help end the war more swiftly and fairly for Ukraine and the world.
- The European Union’s top diplomat supported Zelenskyy’s push for international backers to end their limits on Ukraine’s use of long-range strikes.
- Ukraine has been using domestically produced drones to carry out strikes inside Russia.
- The Russian military claimed to have thwarted an overnight Ukrainian attack on Crimea, destroying three Ukrainian sea drones and additional aerial drones aimed at the Black Sea peninsula.
- Ukraine’s Army General Staff confirmed involvement in strikes on oil depots deep inside Russia this week, targeting logistical infrastructure supporting Russia’s military efforts.
The Associated Press has the story:
Russia launches a heavy missile & drone bombardment of Ukraine for the 3rd time in 4 days
Newslooks- KYIV, Ukraine (AP) —
Russia conducted a heavy aerial attack on Ukraine for the third time in four days Thursday, again launching missiles and scores of drones that mostly were intercepted, Ukraine’s air force said. Russian forces fired five missiles and 74 Shahed drones at Ukrainian targets, an air force statement said. Air defenses stopped two missiles and 60 drones, and 14 other drones presumably fell before reaching their target, it said.
Authorities in the capital, Kyiv, said debris of destroyed drones fell in three districts of the city, causing minor damage to civilian infrastructure but no injuries. Russia’s relentless and unnerving long-range strikes on civilian areas have been a feature of the war since it invaded its neighbor in February 2022.
Ukrainian officials have recently become more vocal in their long-standing insistence that Western countries supporting their war effort should scrap restrictions on what Ukraine is allowed to target inside Russia with long-range weapons they have provided.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his pleas for Western allies to untie his hands in deciding what to strike on Russian soil. “All our partners should be more active — much more active — in countering Russian terror,” Zelenskyy said late Wednesday. “We continue to insist that their determination now — lifting the restrictions on long-range strikes for Ukraine now — will help us to end the war as soon as possible in a fair way for Ukraine and the world as a whole.”
The European Union’s top diplomat on Thursday backed Zelenskyy’s push for international backers to end their limits. Ukraine has deployed domestically produced drones to strike Russia. The Russian military said Thursday it had thwarted an overnight attack on Crimea. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces destroyed three Ukrainian sea drones aimed at the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The Russia-installed governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev added that four Ukrainian aerial drones and three sea drones were destroyed “at a significant distance” from the peninsula’s shore. In the meantime, Ukraine’s Army General Staff acknowledged Thursday Ukraine’s involvement in strikes this week on oil depots deep inside Russia, where blazes broke out. The attacks in the Rostov and Kirov regions were part of Ukraine’s effort to disrupt logistical infrastructure supporting Russia’s war machine.
