Russian missile strikes set stage for fresh offensive

Kyiv — Russia battered Ukraine with multiple missile strikes as its troops sought to advance in the east, Kyiv said, while Western allies pledged even more military aid for an intended Ukrainian counter-offensive in the northern hemisphere spring.

Russia launched 32 missiles in the early hours of Thursday, following a pattern of heavy aerial bombardment at times of Ukrainian battlefield or diplomatic advances, Ukraine's Air Force said.

Half of them were shot down, it added, a lower rate than normal.

Among them, air defences in the south downed eight sKalibr missiles fired from a ship in the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials said. Other missiles struck northern and western Ukraine as well as the central regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad.

Bolstered by tens of thousands of reservists, Russia has intensified ground attacks across southern and eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, and a major new offensive appears to be looming as the first anniversary of its February 24 invasion nears.

“The enemy’s offensive continues in the east, with round-the-clock attacks,” Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said. “The situation is tense.”

There was no comment from Russia on the overnight bombardment. On Wednesday, it said Ukrainian forces were retreating in parts of the eastern province of Luhansk.

Luhansk and Donetsk provinces make up the Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial heartland, which is now partially occupied by Russia. It wants full control of the Donbas and its present focus is on taking the small city of Bakhmut in Donetsk.

Ukrainian military analysts said Russian troops had launched several unsuccessful attacks on villages to the north and south of Bakhmut over the past day. “Things are very difficult for our forces there as Russian troops are being sent into the area en masse,” analyst Oleh Zhdanov said.

Reviving momentum

Bakhmut’s capture would give Russia a stepping stone to advance on two bigger cities, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk further west in Donetsk, which would revive Moscow’s momentum in the lead-up to the February 24 anniversary.

In a bid to counter that, Nato alliance nations are stepping up production of artillery munitions in efforts to keep pace with Ukraine’s rapid use of them. It has received billions of dollars in military aid, particularly from the US, which has committed more than $27.4bn since the conflict began.

Senior US officials have advised Ukraine to hold off an attack until the latest supply of weaponry is in place and training has been provided.

“We have to ensure that this spring it is truly felt that Ukraine is moving towards victory,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening address.

Russia says the invasion is a “special military operation” against security threats and has cast deliveries of heavy weapons to Ukraine as proof that the West is escalating the war.

Kyiv and its allies call Russia’s actions a land grab.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen was set to meet Zelensky in Kyiv, the latest of a stream of foreign dignitaries to visit Ukraine and the first such visit from a senior Israeli official since the war began.

Israel, which co-ordinates with Russia on strikes against suspected Iranian targets in Syria, has stopped short of pledging any direct weapons supplies to Kyiv.

Reuters