Ukraine needs better air defense, says Zelenskyy after Russian drone attack – National
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Ukraine needed to strengthen its defenses to protect civilians after its air defenses shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight in several areas.
“The wind warning sounded almost every day across Ukraine this week,” Zelenskyy told the Telegraph messenger.
In the past week, Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 drones, and more than 20 missiles of different types, Zelenskyy said.
“Ukraine is not a weapons testing ground. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent country. But Russia continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us,” he added.
Ukraine’s military said on Sunday its air defenses had destroyed more than 10 Russian warplanes targeting Kyiv in a nighttime attack.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the attack, Kyiv military officials wrote on Telegram.
Reuters witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv in what sounded like air defense units.
“UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were flying in different directions towards Kyiv,” said Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration.
“The air raid warning in the city lasted more than three hours.”
There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attack, although the governor of a region bordering Ukraine said on Sunday that two Ukrainian missiles and 27 drones had been destroyed in Russia’s Kursk region.
It is not clear which missiles were destroyed and Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov did not provide further details in a post on his Telegram channel.
The Ukrainian military later said on Telegram that its forces had destroyed a Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system in Kursk.
Reuters could not independently verify this report.
Air defense has been a key demand of the Ukrainian people for years, and NATO allies have stepped up delivery of those systems, although they have been slow to arrive.
Canada announced on Friday that the air defense missile system it bought from American manufacturers was finally in Ukraine, almost two years after it was first ordered.
Battle rages in Kursk as Moscow fights to take it back
Ukrainian troops stormed Russia’s western border into Kursk on August 6 and took over half of the area.
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Moscow launched waves of attacks and has since retaken at least 40 percent of the territory it captured, but Kyiv still controls about 800 square kilometers of the region, a senior Ukrainian military source said on Sunday.
Kyiv aimed to end Russia’s offensive in eastern and northeastern Ukraine, force Russia to gradually withdraw its forces from the east and give Kyiv more leverage in any future peace talks.
But Russian forces are still advancing in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Zelenskyy said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions were to take over the entire Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and expel Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region.
“For Putin, the most important thing is to get us out of the Kursk region. I am sure that he wants to take us out on January 20,” Zelenskyy told the media, talking about when Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the president of the United States.
“It is very important for him (Putin) to show that he is in control of this situation.”
A source from the Ukrainian General Staff source also revealed that approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers have arrived in the Kursk region to support Russia, but that the bulk of their forces were still completing their training.
Russia’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the figures or explanations provided.
Moscow, which occupies a fifth of Ukraine, has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops in the Kursk region.
Kyiv has sought to disrupt the supply of Russian goods by striking Russian arms and ammunition depots, airfields, and other military targets inside Russia.
First look at the debris from Russia’s new ballistic missile
After US President Joe Biden authorized Kyiv to fire US long-range missiles at targets inside Russia, Ukraine last week fired US ATACMS missiles and a British Storm Shadow cruise missile at Russia.
Ukrainian investigators are examining debris from a new Russian missile that was fired in the city of Dnipro on Thursday, the first time such a powerful weapon has been used in combat and seen as a response to Biden’s decision.
Reuters and the Associated Press were among a small group of journalists given access to the missile sites on Sunday. Journalists have been asked not to reveal the exact location of the place for security reasons.
Burned and disintegrated pieces of debris were placed in a hanger at the weapons research facility.
Fragments of a rocket that hit Dnipro on November 21 are seen at an intelligence research center in an undisclosed location, Ukraine, on Sunday Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka).
Ukrainian experts are studying such waste to gain insight into Russian military supply chains, production and how to develop countermeasures.
Russia called the missile Oreshnik (Hazel Tree) and said it was impossible to intercept with air defenses. Ukraine said the missile reached a speed of more than 13,000 km/h on its way to Dnipro on Thursday.
Intermediate-range ballistic missiles have a range of up to 5,500 kilometers.
The US military said the missile’s design is based on the RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The new missile was experimental and Russia may have a few of them, they said.
Putin said on Friday that Moscow will continue to test the missile in combat and has a stockpile ready for use.
Much remains unclear at this time, including the extent of the damage caused by the missile. Ukraine rarely discloses damage to military targets, fearing that such information could help Moscow.
-With additional files from Global News
