Ukraine war: Russia launches ‘massive missile attack’, hits critical infrastructure

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

Russia once again launched missile strikes across Ukraine on Thursday. Officials in Ukraine said air defences in the south downed eight Kalibr missiles fired from a ship in the Black Sea. However, other missiles that could not be intercepted struck northern and western Ukraine as well as the central regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovograd. The fresh Russian attack comes as Western allies pledged to ramp up military aid to the Ukrainian armed forces. "The enemy's offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks," Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Wednesday.

"The situation is tense. But our fighters are not allowing the enemy to achieve their goals and are inflicting very heavy losses on them," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

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During the massive attack on critical infrastructure facilities, at least 32 missiles were fired, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a post on Telegram. Of these, at least 16 missiles were destroyed. Some of the Kh-22 cruise missiles were able to reach their targets, "hitting critical infrastructure", the post said.

Also Read |President Zelensky calls for faster military aid, says situation in east difficult

One of the Russian missiles that struck an industrial site in the western city of Lviv resulted in a fire which was soon brought under control, authorities said.

As the Ukraine war approaches the one-year mark, Moscow is trying to push ahead with the help of tens of thousands of reservists drafted in December. The ground attacks have intensified across southern and eastern Ukraine in the recent weeks. Ukraine is preparing to face a major new offensive as the first anniversary of its February 24 invasion draws close.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had retreated in the Luhansk region following Russian operations in the region. However, the reports remain unverified. "During the offensive...the Ukrainian troops randomly retreated to a distance of up to three km (two miles) from the previously occupied lines," the ministry said on Telegram.

On Wednesday, three people were killed and 11 wounded in a Russian attack in the town of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. "Four multi-storey buildings and a school were damaged due to the attack," the head of the Donetsk region military administration Pavlo Kyrylenko informed on Telegram.

Russian spy balloons over Ukraine?

Ukraine has claimed that six Russian spy balloons were spotted over Kyiv and most of them were shot down. Russia has not commented on the allegation yet. Ukraine has also not given any details about when were the said spy balloons spotted.

Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said Russia might be using balloons to preserve its stocks of reconnaissance drones. "Reconnaissance drones like the Orlan-10 are now being used more sparingly (by Russia), and they thought 'Why don't we use these balloons?' So they are using them," Ihnat told Ukrainian television.

(With inputs from agencies)

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