KYIV: Ukraine said on Monday it had shot down all Russian drones in a massive wave of attacks, after Moscow launched an unprecedented third straight night of air strikes against civilian targets, intensifying its air war for the New Year holiday.
Russian officials meanwhile were reeling from reports that 63 freshly mobilised Russian troops had been killed in a strike on a college converted to a barracks in occupied Ukraine, where soldiers were housed with an ammunition dump.
A source close to the Russian-installed authorities told Reuters dozens had died.
Russia has seen in the new year with nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, hundreds of kilometres from the front lines.
That marks a change in tactics after months in which Moscow usually spaced such strikes around a week apart. After firing dozens of missiles on December 31, Russia launched dozens of Iranian-made Shahed drones on January 1 and January 2. But Kyiv said on Monday it had shot down all 39 drones in the latest wave, including 22 shot down over the capital. Kyiv said the new tactic was a sign of Russia’s desperation as Ukraine’s ability to defend its air space had improved.
Russia had been trying to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for months but had failed as Ukraine obtained better defences, presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.
“Now they are looking for routes and attempts to hit us somehow, but their terror tactics will not work. Our sky will turn into a shield.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised Ukrainians for showing gratitude to the troops and one another and said Russia’s efforts would prove useless.
“Drones, missiles, everything else will not help them,” he said of the Russians. “Because we stand united. — Reuters
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