Overnight Strikes in Ukrainian Cities, Russia Prepares for Ukraine counter-attack,Â
In nocturnal strikes on the Ukrainian capital, Dnipro, and eastern regions, Russia launched over 20 drones and ten missiles, which were all shot down by Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials on Friday.
In a statement, the office of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said that oil storage had been struck twice and that machinery for pumping oil products had been damaged. As a result, a fire started on the outskirts of the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
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Drone and Missile Attacks
During the night attacks, Ukrainian air forces claimed to have shot down two reconnaissance drones, 23 Shahed drones built in Iran, and 10 missiles fired from the Caspian Sea.
It stated that 31 drones and 17 missiles had been launched in all during the attacks, which began on Thursday night around 10:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) and lasted until 5:00 a.m. on Friday.
Numerous drones and missiles struck sites in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk districts, although the number of fatalities has not yet been confirmed.
The regional governor of Dnipropetrovsk, Serhiy Lysak said the night was incredibly challenging due to the mass missile and drone attack launched by opposing forces, adding that the region has suffered
According to Lysak, a number of homes, automobiles, and private businesses, including a transportation firm and a petrol station, had suffered damage. There was an injury to a petrol station employee.
According to officials in Kyiv, many cars, a private home, and a shopping mall’s roof were all destroyed.
A number of private homes and commercial buildings were also reported damaged by the governor of the Kharkiv region.
Russia Plans to Thwarth Counter-Attack
Since last October, Russia has conducted hundreds of missile attacks in an effort to destroy vital infrastructure and electrical facilities. Russia started its full-scale invasion 15 months ago.
In order to prepare for an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russia has increased its missile and drone strikes on Ukraine this month, focusing mostly on infrastructure and logistical sites.
Military officials claim that Russia recently has altered its missile strikes, in an effort to thwart any plans of a Ukrainian counter-attack.
Nuclear Weapons Placed in Belarus
The move comes one day after Moscow’s decision to place nuclear weapons in Belarus. Thursday marked the first time since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 that Russia moved forward with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, whose commander claimed the warheads were already in motion.
Despite condemning the deployment strategy, the U.S. State Department insisted that Washington had no plans to change its stance on strategic nuclear weapons and had not observed any indications that Russia was getting ready to use a nuclear weapon.
After the Kremlin leader ordered soldiers into Ukraine 15 months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin claims that the United States and its allies are engaged in an expanding proxy war against Russia.
Putin revealed the strategy for the nuclear deployment in a March 25 interview on state television.
According to the Russian military ministry, Sergei Shoigu, Putin’s defense minister, claimed during a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart in Minsk that “the collective West is essentially waging an undeclared war against our countries.”
Strategic nuclear weapons are intended to destroy American or Russian cities, but tactical nuclear weapons are employed for tactical advantages on the battlefield.
When it comes to strategic nuclear weapons, Russia has a considerable numerical advantage compared to the United States and the NATO military alliance: the United States calculates that Russia has approximately 2,000 such operable tactical warheads.
