The Ukrainian Air Force reported on Tuesday that Russia launched 188 drones in a nighttime assault targeting most regions of Ukraine, marking it as a record number of drones used in a single attack.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, most of the drones were intercepted; however, several apartment buildings and critical infrastructure, including the national power grid, were damaged in the attack.
No casualties have been reported so far from the 17 regions that were targeted.
In a rare move, the Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged that its assets were recently targeted on Russian soil by U.S.-made ATACMS missiles, following President Joe Biden's authorization for Ukraine to use the longer-range weapons to strike deeper into Russia.
Since the middle of the year, Russia has intensified its bombardment of civilian areas in Ukraine, launching increasingly heavy attacks using drones, missiles, and glide bombs.
Meanwhile, Russia's military has maintained control of the battlefield initiative for the past year, intensifying its efforts in the eastern Donetsk region, where it is reportedly making significant tactical gains, according to Western military analysts.
Ukraine is bracing for a challenging winter, grappling with concerns over the reliability of its electricity supply amid ongoing Russian attacks. Additionally, there are uncertainties about the level of U.S. support it can rely on in the coming year, particularly after President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that five U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles were launched at one of its air defense missile systems in the Kursk border region of Russia on Saturday.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that three of the missiles were intercepted by Pantsyr short-range air defense systems guarding the position, but two others struck their target, injuring an unspecified number of servicemen and damaging the system’s radar.
In another ATACMS strike on Monday, eight missiles were fired at the Kursk-Vostochny military air base near Khalino. According to the ministry, seven of the missiles were intercepted, while one struck the facility, injuring two servicemen and causing minor damage.
The ministry stated, “Preparations for retaliatory action are under way,” but provided no further details.
A U.S. official confirmed on November 19 that ATACMS missiles had been fired at targets inside Russia for the first time.
Late Monday, Russian Shahed drones dispersed across Ukraine, prompting an air raid alert in the Kyiv region that lasted over seven hours overnight. According to military analysts, Russia's strategy aims to unsettle civilians and erode their resolve as the war approaches its third year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted that each Shahed drone contains 85 foreign-made components, which Russia has acquired by evading international sanctions.
He said on the Telegram messaging app that “we need more joint effort so that the sanctions work and force Russia to stop this war.”
On Tuesday, Ukraine's General Staff reported that nearly half of the fighting over the past 24 hours took place along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, with intense clashes near Pokrovsk and Kurakhove in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine is facing a severe manpower shortage on the front lines, and while Russian forces have made only gradual advances, their momentum is steadily building as Ukrainian troops are forced to relinquish territory.
The Russian advance is now jeopardizing key supply routes in Donetsk, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War reported late Monday.
However, the think tank stated that Ukrainian defenses in Donetsk are not at risk of being overwhelmed. It also pointed out that Russia would need to capture over 8,000 square kilometers (3,000 square miles) of territory to fulfill the Kremlin's objective of taking control of all of Donetsk.
In other developments, a court in Russia's Kursk region has ordered the detention of a British national fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, pending investigation and trial.
Court officials announced on Tuesday that a ruling had been made the previous day to detain James Scott Rhys Anderson, a British national fighting alongside Ukraine. The decision, identified by state news agency Tass and other media outlets, comes as part of an ongoing investigation and trial.
The hearing was held behind closed doors at the Leninsky District Court in Kursk. The statement did not clarify the charges against Anderson or whether Russian authorities consider him a prisoner of war.
The British national was reportedly captured in the Kursk region, an area where Ukrainian forces gained ground after a rapid offensive in August.
(Source: NEWARAB)
BD-Pratidin English/Mazdud
