Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow launches 948 drones in 24 hours in largest aerial attack since war began

Russian ⁠air ‌defence units ‌have downed 389 ‌Ukrainian ⁠drones overnight, including over ‌the ​Moscow region, officials at the Russian defence ministry said.

A Ukrainian soldier fighting near the city of Lyman in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region has said Russian forces have intensified assaults in recent days but failed to achieve a breakthrough, despite increasing bombardments and repeated ground attacks.

Lyman’s complete capture is one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s main strategic goals.

Russian troops had earlier sought to isolate Lyman by targeting logistics routes before escalating their offensive, according to the soldier, who gave only his call sign King, in keeping with the rules of the Ukrainian military.

Ukrainian units repelled initial assaults, destroying advancing Russian columns and inflicting significant losses in terms of both armoured vehicles and personnel, he said.

In response, Russian forces have increased airstrikes on the town, including the use of powerful glide bombs.“The situation is tense, but not critical,” King said.

A fire has broken out at Russia’s ⁠Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga following a drone ⁠attack, the governor ​of Leningrad ⁠region ‌said on Telegram this morning.

Alexander Drozdenko said the fire was being tackled and that 33 drones have been shot down over the north-western region of Russia.

He said ‌no one ​has ‌been reported injured due ⁠to ⁠the attacks.

Myanmar’s military is using Russian intelligence and imported weapons to gain an edge on the battlefield against rebel forces, according to experts monitoring the growing ties between Yangon and Moscow.

Russian weapons in the hands of Myanmar’s military have been used to “devastating effect” against not just rebel targets but also civilian sites like schools and hospitals, said Ian Storey, senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

Moscow is also offering airpower and battlefield tactics it has gained from its war against Ukrainian forces.

“The death toll has been appalling,” he told Al Jazeera.

The Myanmar generals have also adopted Russia’s “meat assaults” tactics and are reportedly throwing waves of infantry at their enemy’s defensive lines without consideration for the casualties, he said.

“The junta has copied Russian tactics, using conscripted soldiers in human wave attacks against rebel forces,” Storey said.

Moldova’s parliament approved the introduction of a 60-day energy state of emergency after Russian attacks in neighbouring Ukraine put out of action a power line providing the bulk of the country’s energy needs.

Deputies approved the measure, introduced by Moldova’s pro-European government, with 72 votes in favour in the 101-member chamber yesterday. The opposition Socialists and Communists refused to support the measure.

The Issacea-Vulcanesti line carries power from Romania to Moldova, passing through 40km (25 miles) of Ukrainian territory.

Russia carried out a rare day-long aerial attack on Ukraine yesterday, officials said, firing 948 drones over a 24-hour period and killing at least seven people.

The assault began in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with Ukraine’s air force confirming at least 392 drones were fired from Russia overnight.

Russia also launched 23 cruise missiles and seven ballistic missiles at Ukraine during the night, hitting at least 10 locations across the country, according to Ukraine’s air force.

The major onslaught was followed by another 556 drones in the daytime, a pattern rarely seen during the four-year war, and making it possibly the largest aerial attack in a single day so far.

Russia launched swarms of Iranian-designed Shahed drones, hitting at least seven cities, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.

Kyiv says a long-awaited spring offensive by Russia is now under way along parts of the roughly 1,250-kilometre (750-mile) frontline snaking along eastern and southern Ukraine.

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russian troops have in recent days made simultaneous attempts to break through defensive lines in several strategic areas.

“Fierce fighting unfolded along the entire line of contact,” Syrskyi reported on Monday, saying Russia had launched 619 attacks in four days.

“The occupiers are attempting to bring up new units and are preparing to continue attacks,” Syrskyi said, adding that Ukraine had deployed reinforcements to counter the assaults.

It was not possible to independently verify the battlefield claims.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Syrskyi’s report backed up its assessment that Russia’s spring-summer offensive is now underway.

Russia escalated its strikes from 17 March and has moved heavy equipment and more troops to the front line, the ISW said late Monday.

Libyan authorities were towing a Russian tanker drifting in the Mediterranean for the past three weeks, after the vessel was damaged in a suspected sea drone attack, officials said Tuesday.

The Arctic Metagaz is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet transporting fossil fuels in violation of international sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

Libya’s coast guard said that the tanker, which carries liquefied natural gas, was being towed to a safe zone off the town of Zuwara on Libya’s western coast.

Read the full article here:

Russia has announced the launch of 16 low-orbit satellites, signalling its ambition to create a competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink network.

The aerospace firm Bureau 1440, which is developing a low-Earth-orbit system for global broadband data, confirmed it deployed its initial batch of operational satellites on Monday.

Despite this step, Russia remains significantly behind Starlink, which has amassed over 10,000 satellites in orbit since its first operational launch in 2019.

Read the full article here: