[ad_1]
Kyiv: Russia launched 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets, officials said Friday, killing at least 31 civilians across the country in what an air force official said was the biggest aerial barrage of the war. The Ukrainian military said it had shot down 114 missiles and drones, out of a total of 158.
Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it was “the most massive aerial attack” since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.According to the Ukrainian air force, the previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine. This year, the biggest was 81 missiles on March 9, air force records show.
The aerial attack that began Thursday and continued through the night hit six cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and other areas from east to west and north to south Ukraine, according to authorities. At least 144 people were injured and an unknown number were buried under rubble during the roughly 18-hour onslaught, officials said. Among the buildings reported to be damaged across Ukraine were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks and schools. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia used a variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles and Shahed-type drones. “Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal,” he said
Western officials and analysts recently warned that Russia had limited its cruise missile strikes in recent months in an apparent effort to build up stockpiles for massive strikes during the winter, hoping to break the Ukrainians’ spirit. Fighting along the frontline is largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine’s counteroffensive failed to make a major breakthrough along the roughly 1,000km line of contact.
Ukrainian officials have urged the country’s Western allies to provide it with more air defences to protect itself against aerial attacks like Friday’s one. Their appeals have come as signs of war fatigue strain efforts to keep support in place. US President Joe Biden on Friday said the latest missile barrage is “a stark reminder to the world that, after nearly two years of this devastating war, Putin’s objective remains unchanged”. UK PM Rishi Sunak said the attack should stir the world to further action in support of Ukraine. Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said the scale of the attack should wake people up to Ukraine’s continuing needs.
Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it was “the most massive aerial attack” since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.According to the Ukrainian air force, the previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine. This year, the biggest was 81 missiles on March 9, air force records show.
The aerial attack that began Thursday and continued through the night hit six cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and other areas from east to west and north to south Ukraine, according to authorities. At least 144 people were injured and an unknown number were buried under rubble during the roughly 18-hour onslaught, officials said. Among the buildings reported to be damaged across Ukraine were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks and schools. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia used a variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles and Shahed-type drones. “Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal,” he said
Western officials and analysts recently warned that Russia had limited its cruise missile strikes in recent months in an apparent effort to build up stockpiles for massive strikes during the winter, hoping to break the Ukrainians’ spirit. Fighting along the frontline is largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine’s counteroffensive failed to make a major breakthrough along the roughly 1,000km line of contact.
Ukrainian officials have urged the country’s Western allies to provide it with more air defences to protect itself against aerial attacks like Friday’s one. Their appeals have come as signs of war fatigue strain efforts to keep support in place. US President Joe Biden on Friday said the latest missile barrage is “a stark reminder to the world that, after nearly two years of this devastating war, Putin’s objective remains unchanged”. UK PM Rishi Sunak said the attack should stir the world to further action in support of Ukraine. Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said the scale of the attack should wake people up to Ukraine’s continuing needs.
[ad_2]
Source link