It seems like vulnerabilities in anti-aircraft defenses are being identified ahead of winter.
It looks like it will stockpile missiles and focus on attacking the power grid in the winter.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that Ukrainian officials said that the Russian military carried out the largest drone attack in Ukraine in a week on the night of the 3rd (local time). Officials and military experts said the Russian attack appears to have tested Ukraine’s air defenses ahead of winter.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia attacked with about 40 suicide drones and one cruise missile, and that it intercepted about half of the missiles and drones.
There were no casualties that day, but a large-scale fire broke out as major infrastructure, residential facilities, and administrative buildings were hit by debris.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media, “As winter approaches, Russian terrorists will try to inflict greater damage.” The video he posted shows firefighters extinguishing a large-scale fire. President Zelenskyy added that air defense networks have been activated in 10 regions, including the Lju and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, which are far from the front lines.
Russia has recently significantly increased its drone attacks, carrying out nearly 650 strikes with Iranian-made drones in the past two months, according to Ukrainian military data. There were about 450 drone attacks last July and August.
Military experts and Ukrainian officials tested Ukraine’s air defenses ahead of winter’s attacks from Russia. Ukrainian authorities have warned that Russia will target Ukraine’s power grid this winter as it did last winter.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Inat said on state television last week that Russian drones were searching for anti-aircraft vulnerability areas across Ukraine. “Through exploration, we will determine the force and means our adversaries will use in a specific area to use in future attacks,” he said.
Ukraine does not yet have a sufficient air defense network. For this reason, Western-supported Patriot anti-aircraft missiles have been deployed in the capital Kiiu, and other cities are relatively vulnerable to defense.
Ole Sinevov, the minister of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest eastern city, said the drone attack partially destroyed a school, an auto repair shop and a residential building. Russian drones also struck several facilities in the south and west.
Ukraine is using up its expensive anti-aircraft weapons due to Russia’s relatively cheap Shahed drone attacks.
Ukrainian Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said on the 4th that Shahed drones have been appearing in large numbers in recent airstrikes and that “a battle in the sky is coming.”
Ukraine is also attacking Russia’s advanced air defense weapons with its own drones.
Russian military blogger Ryvar said on the 4th that 15 Ukrainian drones were launched into the Crimean Peninsula.
In an article published this week, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzny emphasized the need to develop drone technology to break the war deadlock.
Commander Zaluzni’s statement that the war situation has reached a stalemate is sparking controversy, with some authorities calling for a change in tactics. On the 4th, President Zelenskyy replaced Special Operations Forces Commander Viktor Korenko with Lieutenant General Serhiy Rupanchuk.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is more concerned about missile attacks than Russian drone attacks. Russia launched 24 missile attacks last month, only a quarter of the number launched in September and August.
Accordingly, there are concerns that Russia is stockpiling missiles to attack Ukraine’s power grid in the winter.
European countries have announced in recent weeks that they will provide additional anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine. Germany and the Netherlands announced last month that they would provide Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.