Russia reports defense

Kiev attacks Crimea again with new US missiles

Test of an ATACMS missile in the USA (archive image)(Bild: AP)

According to Russian reports, Ukraine has once again fired at the Crimean peninsula, which has been annexed by Moscow since 2014, with missiles supplied by the USA. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced early on Saturday that the air defence system had repelled four ATACMS missiles. There was no official statement from the Ukrainian side.

The exact effects of the attack are not yet known. According to unconfirmed reports, large fires broke out in central Crimea during the night as a result of the attack. The Russian side, which has been waging a war of aggression against the neighboring country for more than two years now, often only reports alleged successes of its own air defense in the case of Ukrainian drone or missile attacks.

ATACMS attacks on military bases
On Tuesday, Ukraine had already attacked the Russian military in Crimea with missiles recently supplied by the USA. Independent media reported strikes on three military bases in Crimea. There were several casualties. The attacks were intended to combat Russian air defense systems.

The USA had announced that it would also be delivering longer-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine as part of a new weapons package. In previous deliveries, the range of missiles of this type was limited to 165 kilometers. For the Russian army, Crimea is a deployment zone in the war of aggression against Ukraine. Soldiers, weapons and ammunition are supplied via the peninsula. Ukraine is therefore trying to destroy Russian military targets in Crimea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is aiming to recapture the pen insula.

Large fires in Kharkiv after attacks
Several fires have broken out in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv following night-time Russian attacks with missiles and drones. The largest fire, covering a total area of 3,000 square meters, broke out in storage rooms, the Ukrainian civil protection service announced on Saturday. The extinguishing work continued in the morning. According to preliminary information, four people were injured in the attack, including a child.

According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia deployed 13 Shahed combat drones, as well as four converted S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. While the air force declared that it had intercepted all the drones, the mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, admitted to two drone strikes.

Extinguishing work after the attack on Kharkiv(Bild: AP)

Effects of the attack during the night(Bild: AP)

There were also two casualties from Russian drone attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk region. An object of critical infrastructure and several residential buildings were damaged, wrote military governor Serhiy Lysak on his Telegram channel.

"New phase of the war"
Selensky, meanwhile, warned of an imminent expansion of Russian attacks on his country. "We are facing a new phase of the war," said Zelenskyi on Friday during a tribute to soldiers in the Khmelnytskyi region. "The occupying forces are preparing for attempts to expand their offensive actions. Together we must do everything we can to thwart this Russian plan of attack."

From Ukraine's perspective, the situation on the front is currently very difficult. Only recently, the Ukrainian military confirmed a breakthrough by the Russians not far from the town of Ocheretyne in the eastern Donetsk region.