Ukrainian authorities reported on Thursday that Russian forces have launched about 7,400 missiles of various types against Ukraine since the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022.
The spokesperson of the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuri Ignat explained that of these approximately 7,400 projectiles, which do not include drones (unmanned aerial vehicles), the Ukrainian army managed to neutralize around 1,600.
“The number of 7,400 includes S-300 and S-400 missiles – about a third of the total -, Kh-22 and ballistic missiles and about 900 Iskander-Ms flew over Ukraine,” the spokesperson told public radio.
On the other hand, Speaking to the Ukrainian agency Unian, Yuri Ignat explained that part of this small number of neutralized missiles is due to the fact that the Ukrainian armed forces initially did not have the Patriot anti-aircraft defense system. who only arrived in Ukraine later, in April.
Ignat also said that most of the launch warnings they receive come from their allies.
“In NATO there is a center where our partners warn us (…). We have our own information, but our partners help us a lot with the Russian missiles towards Kiev,” the spokesperson revealed.
Since autumn, Moscow has stepped up nighttime attacks on Ukrainian cities, similar to what it did last winter, at a time when doubts are being raised over the continued Western military support for Kiev.
In the daily overview of operational activities, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine recorded five Russian missile attacks and 68 air strikes, as well as 88 projectile shots against Ukrainian troop positions and populated areas.
“Unfortunately, there have been civilian casualties as a result of the Russian terrorist attacks. Homes and other civilian infrastructure have been destroyed and damaged.”stated the General Staff, quoted by the Ukrinform agency.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russians attacked Ukraine again using 35 of the so-called Shahed ‘kamikaze drones’ made in Iran, 34 of which were intercepted.
In the city of Toretsk, in the east of the countryThree people were killed and five others injured in attacks on mining companies last Thursday, Ukraine’s Interior Minister announced.
“The Russians bombed the Toretsk mines in the Donetsk region, killing three civilians and wounding five others,” Igor Klymenko said on the Telegram platform.
Toretsk, a pre-war city of about 30,000 inhabitants, is located close to the front in eastern Ukraine, between two flashpoints: Bakhmut, further north, and Avdiivka, further south.
Bakhmut was captured by Russian troops in May after months of particularly bloody fighting. Avdiivka, a Ukrainian stronghold since 2014, has been the target of an offensive by Russian forces since October, who are trying to encircle it.
In the south, two women were killed and a man was injured this morning after the Russian bombardment of Nikopol.
“The Russian army bombarded Nikopol with heavy artillery in the morning,” Dnipropetrovsk region governor Serguii Lyssak said in Telegram.
The attacks caused the deaths of two women, aged 46 and 60, and injured an 86-year-old man, the representative added, specifying that seven buildings were damaged.
On the other hand, in Russia, two people were injured in Ukrainian shelling in a village in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.
Animals from a herd also died or were injured in the attack and a vehicle was damaged, the regional governor, Alexandre Bogomaz, also said on Telegram.
A man was also killed in Ukrainian shelling in the Donetsk region, which has been partly under Russian control since 2014, in eastern Ukraine, local occupation authorities announced.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, on the grounds of protecting pro-Russian separatist minorities in the east and “denazifying” the neighboring country, which has been independent since 1991 after the collapse of the former Soviet Union and has since been away from Moscow’s power. create a space of influence and get closer to Europe and the West.
The war in Ukraine has already caused tens of thousands of deaths on both sides, but no significant progress has been made in recent months, with the two warring sides remaining irreducible to their territorial positions and unopen to negotiating concessions.
Source: DN
