Russia has used 83 missiles and 17 Iranian-made drones in the bombings carried out today against several Ukrainian citiesaccording to a report by Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.
According to a spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, quoted by the Kyviv Independent daily, 43 of the launched missiles were shot down by Ukrainian defenses.
Ukraine’s deputy defense minister also confirmed the use by Russian forces of 17 Shahed-type drones, manufactured by Iran, launched from Belarus and Crimea.
The launch of the missiles against kyiv, Lviv, Pryluky, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipro, Nizhyn, Zhytomyr and Kharkov were made from the Caspian Sea and the regions of Nizhni Novgorod, a city located in western Russia, according to information provided by the Ministry of Ukrainian defense and cited by the country’s media.
The large-scale Russian bombardments launched this Monday against Ukrainian cities have caused an as yet undetermined number of deaths, while the population seeks protection in shelters. In kyiv, according to the authorities, at least eight people were killed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today in a message to the Ukrainian people that the massive attacks in various regions of Ukraine are aimed at damaging energy infrastructure and causing casualties among the civilian population.
“The morning is hard. We are dealing with terrorists. Dozens of missiles, Iranian “Shaheds”. They have two objectives,” Zelensky said.
The first, he indicated, is the power facilities throughout the country.
The second objective, he added, “is the people”, and stressed that “a moment like this and targets like this have been specially chosen to cause the greatest possible damage.”
The Shaded 136 drone (“witness” in Persian) is a remote-controlled and unmanned aerial device, developed by the HESA company and which entered service in 2021. With an action range of 2,500 kilometers, the “Shaded 136” are used exclusively for targeted attacks and the explosives they can carry detonate on impact with their target.
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin today threatened kyiv with more “firm” responses, such as the missile attacks on Monday “in case of continuing attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on our territory.”
The resurgence of these bombings takes place after the explosion that on Saturday caused damage to the Crimean bridge, a setback for the fragile war logistics of Moscow, which transported through this infrastructure heavy military equipment and supplies to troops in southern Ukraine, an action he called a terrorist act by kyiv.
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