Ukrainian air defences downed 32 of 35 Shahed exploding drones launched by Russia early on Tuesday, most of them in the Kyiv region, officials said, in a bombardment that exposed gaps in the country’s air protection. Russian forces mostly targeted the region around the Ukrainian capital in a nighttime drone attack lasting around three hours, officials said, but Ukrainian air defences in the area shot down about two dozen of them.
The attack was part of a wider bombardment of Ukrainian regions that extended as far as the Lviv region in the west of the country, near Poland. The Shahed drones made it all the way to Lviv because of the inability of air defence assets to cover such a broad area, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said. Air defence systems are mostly dedicated to protecting major cities, key infrastructure facilities, including nuclear power plants, and the front line, he said. “There is a general lack of air defense assets to cover a country like Ukraine with a dome like Israel has,” he said, in a reference to Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defence system.
In the Lviv region, the Russian strike hit a critical infrastructure facility, starting a fire, according to Lviv Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi.
Russia also struck the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine with ballistic missiles. Ukraine’s air defences have been reinforced with sophisticated weapons from its Western allies, allowing it a higher success rate recently against incoming drones and missiles.
In the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Russia’s winter bombardment had previously damaged Ukraine’s power supply, but the repairs were quickly made to minimize the impact of the Kremlin’s efforts. Currently, Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive to reclaim the territories occupied by Russian forces since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. However, the Ukrainian forces are encountering significant challenges, including heavily mined terrain and reinforced defensive fortifications. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, reported these obstacles during his visit to the front-line positions, where he was accompanied by other senior officers. Additionally, Russia has mobilized a large number of reserves to support its forces.
The situation remains tense as Ukraine’s counteroffensive faces strong resistance and obstacles on the ground. The conflict has been ongoing for a considerable period, with both sides employing various tactics and strategies. The Ukrainian armed forces are determined to dislodge the occupying Russian forces and regain control of the occupied territories.
