At least three folks died and dozens had been injured after Russia unleashed considered one of its fiercest aerial assaults on Ukraine because the full-scale invasion started greater than three years in the past, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Friday.
Zelenskyy known as for stronger worldwide stress on Moscow following the in a single day assault that struck “almost all” of Ukraine, affecting 9 areas.
“Russia must be held accountable,” he wrote on X, urging Europe, the United States and different nations to “act decisively” to finish the battle.
He warned that those that fail to use sufficient stress are complicit in Moscow’s aggression.
Ukraine’s air pressure stated Russia deployed 407 drones in a single evening – the best quantity because the invasion started in February 2022.
Zelenskyy additionally reported that greater than 40 missiles and cruise missiles had been fired.
The Ukrainian navy stated it intercepted 30 of 36 Kh-101 cruise missiles launched from Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers – the identical Russian plane focused by Ukrainian drones in a serious June 1 strike.
Four of six Iskander-M ballistic missiles and two Iskander-Okay cruise missiles had been additionally downed.
In complete, Ukrainian forces stated they shot down 199 fight drones and electronically disabled or compelled down one other 169 unarmed drones used as decoys to overwhelm air defenses. The earlier document was 355 drones, detected May 26.
While the figures couldn’t be independently verified, analysts say they mirror the dimensions of the assaults. Military specialists consider nightly assaults involving 500 or extra drones could quickly develop into routine as Russia ramps up manufacturing.
The Russian Defense Ministry described the drone and missile assault as retaliation.
“The armed forces of the Russian Federation have delivered a massive blow in response to terrorist acts by the Kiev regime,” the ministry stated.
It remained unclear whether or not the operation was Moscow’s anticipated response to latest Ukrainian strikes on Russian airfields that took out navy plane.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has additionally lately accused Ukraine of “terrorism,” citing practice crashes in Russia believed to have been brought on by sabotage.
In Ukraine, air raid sirens sounded throughout all areas in a single day.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated early Friday that no less than 4 folks had been killed within the capital alone, with 20 injured. It was not instantly clear why his demise toll differed from Zelenskyy’s, who stated three folks had been killed within the nation.
The Kyiv City Military Administration reported that drones struck a number of residential buildings and brought on important injury to a fuel station within the metropolis’s Dniprovskyi district.
In northwestern Ukraine, no less than 5 folks had been injured in assaults on Lutsk. Mayor Ihor Polishchuk stated 15 drones and 6 missiles hit town, damaging an house constructing, automobiles, companies and a authorities establishment.
Ukraine has been defending itself in opposition to a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022. Efforts to finish the battle by way of negotiations have to this point made little progress, with either side sustaining sharply divergent calls for.
Source: www.dailysabah.com