Ukraine faces missile shortages amid intense Russian attacks on multiple cities
Russia carried out one of the largest aerial attacks since the start of its war on Ukraine, launching 948 drones in a 24-hour period as it moved troops and equipment to the front line in a new offensive.
The daytime attacks killed two people in Ivano-Frankivsk and one in Vinnytsia, while footage from Lviv showed a drone crashing near a historic church, damaging part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site around St Andrew’s Church. “Russia is attacking a crowded city centre in broad daylight,” said Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
Overnight strikes across 11 regions killed five more people, including casualties in Poltava, Zaporizhia, Kherson, and Kharkiv.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine faces a missile deficit, relying heavily on U.S. air defence systems, which are now partly focused on the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. He appealed to allies to ensure timely delivery of air defence munitions and emphasized the need for security guarantees to help Ukraine withstand further attacks.
In eastern Ukraine, fighting continued along the front line. General Oleksandr Syrskii, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, reported simultaneous Russian attempts to break through defensive positions. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) confirmed that these troop movements and attacks signal the start of Russia’s new offensive, which has intensified as spring weather improves conditions for combat operations.
Despite the scale of the assault, Russia has struggled to capture major cities, making only incremental gains in rural areas while occupying roughly 20% of Ukraine.
Source: Al Jazeera