Russia strikes Ukraine with missiles, presses for the capture of the city of Bakhmut

Russia hit Ukraine with several rocket strikes on Thursday as its troops tried to advance east, Kiev said, as Western allies pledged to keep military aid flowing for a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Russia fired 32 missiles in the early hours of the day, the Ukrainian air force said. Half were slaughtered, he added, at a lower rate than usual.

Among them, air defenses in the south shot down eight ship-launched Kalibr missiles in the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials said. Other missiles hit northern and western Ukraine, as well as the central Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad regions.

Russia usually carries out its heaviest attacks in broad daylight, targeting power plants. But Ukrainian authorities said the nighttime shelling had little impact.

They believe Moscow is adapting strategy, including using hot air balloons for reconnaissance.

“The Russians have changed their tactics a bit. They conduct active reconnaissance, they use false targets,” wrote Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential team, on messaging app Telegram.

Ukraine has not explained why fewer missiles were shot down than usual, but it has reported lower success rates when Russia fired Soviet-era Kh-22 missiles.

Backed by tens of thousands of reservists, Russia has stepped up ground attacks in southern and eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, and a major new offensive appears to be brewing as the first anniversary of its Feb. 24 invasion approaches.

The conflict has already killed tens of thousands, pulverized Ukrainian cities, destabilized the global economy as it recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, and displaced millions from their homes.

Showing the scale of the humanitarian disaster, Germany said 1.1 million people arrived from Ukraine in 2022, surpassing an unprecedented migrant influx in 2015-2016.

Russia did not immediately comment on the overnight shelling, although it reported on Wednesday of Ukrainian withdrawals in parts of the eastern province of Luhansk.

Luhansk and Donetsk provinces make up Donbass, the industrial heartland of Ukraine, which is now partly occupied by Russia. The Russians want full control of Donbass and their current goal is to encircle and take the small town of Bakhmut in Donetsk.

Bakhmut’s capture would give Russia a boost to push into two larger cities, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, further west towards Donetsk to regain momentum from Moscow before the 24 February anniversary.

Source: Terra

Rose

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