Russia fires nearly 400 drones in deadly Ukraine attack
A massive Russian drone and missile attack on civilian areas of Ukraine has killed four people and injured at least 27, officials say, while Moscow’s military is stepping up efforts to break through Ukraine’s front-line defenses in an action that could be the beginning of an expected spring ground offensive.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired nearly 400 long-range drones into Ukraine overnight in its biggest attack in weeks.
While dozens of drones targeted the capital Kiev during the day, the attack continued until Tuesday morning.
Russia also launched 23 cruise missiles and seven ballistic missiles into Ukraine overnight, hitting at least 10 sites across the country, according to the air force.
Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless barrages since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago.
U.S.-brokered talks between Moscow and Kiev last year stalled after Russia rejected Ukraine’s ceasefire offer, and the Iran war in recent weeks has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.
On a nearly 1,250km front line stretching across eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, short-handed defenders are preparing for a new offensive by Russia’s larger army as the weather improves.
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Russian troops have made simultaneous attempts to break through the defense lines in many strategic regions in recent days.
“There were violent clashes along the entire line of contact,” Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app on Monday, with Russia carrying out 619 attacks in four days.
“The invaders are trying to form new units and are preparing to continue the attacks,” Syrskyi said. He added that Ukraine sent reinforcements against the attacks.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Syrskyi’s report supported its assessment that Russia’s spring-summer offensive is now underway.
Russia has stepped up its attacks since March 17 and moved heavy equipment and more soldiers to the front lines, the institute said.
As the weather improves each year, Russia gears up its war of attrition.
However, he failed to capture the cities and only made incremental gains in rural areas.
Russia occupies 20 percent of Ukraine.
This includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia captured in 2014.
Ukraine has developed advanced drone technology to close the infantry gap.
Amid the Middle East conflict, Kiev is offering Ukraine’s battle-tested drone defenses to the United States and Gulf partners, hoping to exchange that know-how for the small number of Patriot air defense missiles it needs to fend off Russia’s barrages.
Ukraine has also used domestically produced long-range drones to strike areas of Russia that support Moscow’s war effort.
The Russian defense ministry reported that Russian air defense intercepted 55 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.
