Russia has launched a huge wave of nearly 1,000 drones at Ukraine, killing at least seven people, as Moscow appears to be stepping up a spring offensive intended to break Ukrainian resistance along the front.
Ukrainian officials said Moscow fired nearly 400 long-range drones and 23 cruise missiles overnight, followed by another 556 drones in an unusual daytime assault on Tuesday, hitting cities across the west of the country.
Taken together, the barrage marks one of the largest aerial bombardments of Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion more than four years ago.
One Russian drone struck the Bernardine monastery, a 16th-century church in Lviv’s Unesco-listed medieval centre, causing damage, local authorities said.
READ MORE
Dramatic footage circulating online showed a large kamikaze drone hitting a busy street in Lviv.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the barrage had caused damage in 11 regions and he renewed calls for allies to urgently supply Kyiv with more air defence munitions.
He has said repeatedly that Ukraine, which relies on the US for systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, faces looming shortages as Washington’s attention remains focused on the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Neighbouring Moldova also said a key power line linking it to Europe had been damaged in overnight Russian strikes, and urged citizens to reduce electricity use during peak hours.
After enduring a winter of widespread power and heating cuts, Ukraine is braced for a renewed Russian push. Moscow’s war of attrition typically intensifies in the spring as weather conditions improve. Russian forces, who outnumber Ukrainian troops by roughly three to one, are seeking to make gains along the eastern and southern fronts.
Russian troops have continued a slow advance in the eastern Donetsk region during the winter, edging closer to the key city of Sloviansk from the north and east. They hold positions about 20km from its outskirts. Open-source analysts also report Russian gains near Zaliznychne in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The Kremlin had moved heavy equipment and additional troops to the frontline, the Institute for the Study of War said late on Monday.
Ukraine has also had a notable boost on the battlefield this year, retaking roughly 388sq km of territory in southern Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces had previously been advancing. February was the first month since 2023 in which Kyiv regained more territory than it lost, according to military analysts.
The counteroffensive was aided by Elon Musk’s decision in February to switch off Russian forces’ access to Starlink internet connections, disrupting a key line of communication for the troops.
Ukraine is still in a precarious position, however, with much of the world’s attention focused on the war in the Middle East, raising concerns that US Patriot missile interceptors, the backbone of the country’s air defences, could run out.
Ukrainian and US delegations held two days of talks in Florida over the weekend intended to find a path to ending Russia’s full-scale invasion, but no breakthrough was reported. A key sticking point remains the Donbas, which Moscow wants Kyiv to cede in full.
On Tuesday Zelenskiy wrote on X: “We had a detailed discussion on the outcomes of the meetings in the United States. It is telling that while our negotiators were reporting, Russia launched a new wave of ‘shahed’ drones against Ukraine.
“The geopolitical situation has become more complicated due to the war against Iran, and unfortunately, this is emboldening Russia.”
The well-sourced outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that the US had put pressure on Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region during the Florida talks, saying Washington could step back from peace negotiations and shift its focus further to the military operation in Iran.
Zelenskiy has repeatedly said any discussion of a voluntary withdrawal would only be possible if Ukraine first received ironclad security guarantees from the west.
The Kremlin, which has benefited from an unexpected economic windfall driven by a surge in global energy prices, said last week that talks between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv on ending the war in Ukraine were on a “situational pause” because of the conflict in Iran. – The Guardian
