Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia carried out a series of airstrikes against Ukraine using cruise missiles, drones and ballistic missiles, Ukraine’s air force said on Thursday, while the army chief said Russia is increasing its troop build-up in the Kharkiv region. , where Moscow’s forces have made significant gains in a Spring Offensive.
Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence operation claimed that marine drones destroyed two Russian KS-701 patrol boats in the Black Sea off the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. Russian officials did not immediately comment on the claim.
The air force said the night strikes included eight S-300 ballistic missiles, 11 cruise missiles and 32 Shahed drones. All of the drones and seven cruise missiles were shot down, the air force said, but gave no further details.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, seven people were wounded and a municipal services building caught fire in the attacks, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Russian airstrikes were also reported in Khmelnytskyi and Dnipropetrovsk, but there were no injuries.
Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on his Facebook page on Thursday that Russia is bringing army units to the Kharkiv region from other parts of Ukraine to supplement forces in the two main fighting hotspots, the cities of Vovchansk and Lyptsi. Syrskyi said Ukraine has also moved reserve troops to the area.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down eight US-made ATACMS missiles over the Sea of Azov, which borders Russia and Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory.
One person was injured by a drone explosion in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Kharkiv and suffers daily attacks from the Ukrainian side.
A lengthy delay in U.S. military aid and inadequate Western European military production have delayed crucial battlefield deliveries for Ukraine, and Russia has taken advantage of the delays to make gains in the Kharkiv region.
Russian missiles and bombs have also hit Ukrainian military positions and civilian areas, including the power grid.
The US Secretary of State on Thursday attacked Russian attempts to sow discord in democracies with misinformation after suggesting that the Biden administration could soon allow Ukraine to use US-supplied munitions to attack inside Russia.
In Prague, for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Blinken cited Moscow’s use of misinformation and disinformation, calling it “poison” and signing an agreement with the Czech government to combat it.
A day earlier, Blinken said U.S. policy on how Ukraine deploys American weapons is constantly evolving, suggesting Washington could rescind an unwritten ban on Ukraine using them for attacks on Russian territory.
Although U.S. officials insist there is no formal ban, they have long made clear that they believe the use of U.S. weapons to attack targets inside Russia could provoke a stepped-up response from Moscow, something Russian President Vladimir Putin said. Has promised.
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