KYIVAfter a weekend of travel mayhem in which Russian airports suspended hundreds of flights on fears of Ukrainian drone strikes, the Kremlin fired more than 100 drones over civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, according to authorities on Monday.
According to Ukrainian officials, Russian attacks within the past 24 hours have killed at least 10 civilians and injured 38 others, including three children.
Following more than three years of conflict, Russia has recently increased the frequency of its airstrikes against civilian targets. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia has launched around 1,270 drones, 39 missiles, and nearly 1,000 potent glide bombs at Ukraine in the last week.
At certain locations along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukrainian soldiers are severely outnumbered, Russia’s larger army is also making a concerted effort to breach the line.
Ukraine has been forced to request additional military assistance from the United States and Europe due to the strain of containing Russia’s invasion and the failure of indirect peace talks.
In order to increase drone manufacturing and guarantee Kyiv receives hundreds of thousands more this year, Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that Ukraine had signed agreements with European allies and a top U.S. defense corporation.
The key to saving lives is air defense, Zelenskyy stated on Telegram on Monday.
According to him, this includes creating and producing interceptor drones that can thwart Russia’s long-range Shahed drones.
Ukraine has also been able to make up for its front-line personnel shortages by using drones extensively.
During midnight drone assaults, Ukrainian officials said that one person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, 27 were injured in northeastern Kharkiv, and falling drone debris damaged two districts of the capital, Kyiv.
In the northern Sumy region, Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two more, according to officials. One location where Russia has concentrated a significant number of troops is Sumy.
Additionally, regional governor Vadym Filashkin reported that seven people were killed and nine injured in the eastern Donetsk region. He didn’t say what kind of firearms were utilized.
Russia’s defense ministry reported on Monday that its forces had shot down 91 Ukrainian drones during the course of the night in 13 Russian areas, as well as over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, which Russia has seized.
Roman Starovoyt was fired by the Kremlin on Monday, according to an order posted on the Kremlin website.
No explanation for Starovoyt’s termination was provided in the announcement. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at the airports in Sheremetyevo, Moscow, and Pulkovo, St. Petersburg, over the weekend. Ukrainian drone assaults also caused difficulties at other airports in central and western Russia.
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This report was written by Katie Marie Davies of the Associated Press in Manchester, England.
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Visit https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine to follow AP’s coverage of the conflict in Ukraine.
