Ukraine strikes Russia overnight, claiming largest attack of war so far
Ukraine struck multiple targets in Russia on Tuesday in what it said was the “largest” attack of the war so far.
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, ammunition depots and chemical plants were attacked in several regions, some hundreds of kilometers from the border.
Sources in Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency told the BBC the overnight attack was a “painful blow” to Russia’s ability to wage war.
Russia says it was shot down Atacms missiles provided by the United States and British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, and vowed to respond to the attack.
At least nine airports in central and western Russia temporarily halted traffic, while the strike closed schools in the southwestern Saratov region.
Ukrainian security sources told the BBC that the attack in the Bryansk border area caused explosions at an oil refinery, ammunition depot and a chemical plant that allegedly produces gunpowder and explosives.
But Kiev’s strikes also reached deeper into the country, with the General Staff claiming to have hit targets within 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) of the border.
In the western region of Saratov, officials reported a “large-scale” drone attack.
Two factories were damaged in the cities of Engels and Saratov, regional governor Roman Busargin wrote on Telegram.
Students were taught online on Tuesday after local schools closed.
Last week, Kiev said an oil storage facility in Engels had been attacked, triggering days of firefighting operations and Busakin declaring a state of emergency.
Officials in the western Tula region also reported nighttime attacks, with regional governor Dmitry Milyaev Russian saying air defense forces shot down 16 drones.
He said there were no casualties, although falling debris damaged some cars and buildings.
A drone attack hit a natural gas storage facility near Kazan in the southwestern region of Tatarstan, local officials said, but no casualties were reported.
Ukraine said that Russia launched dozens of drones over Ukraine overnight, and air raid warnings were issued multiple times in Kiev and surrounding areas.
According to statistics, all but one of the planes were shot down or missing.
Some are fake or decoy drones used to try to overwhelm air defense systems.
Last night, when air raid sirens sounded over Kiev, a drone flew back and forth for a while, its activities tracked by various Telegram groups.
One user joked that it would be a “good idea” to send air force units operating air defense systems to the front lines as infantry.
Today, Ukrainian Pravda newspaper quoted sources as saying that more than 5,000 troops will be transferred from the air to ground forces on the order of General Alexander Silsky.
The acting commander of the Air Force responded by insisting that experts who are “objectively difficult to replace” will not be transferred, especially those who have received training in foreign-supplied weapons and equipment. This presumably includes F16 aircraft and Patriot air defense systems.
The General Staff also stated that the situation on the front line was “not easy” and that there was a lack of infantry in “many areas”.
“The decision to strengthen frontline ground brigades at the expense of servicemen of other types of units and branches of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is a coercive measure taken by the military leadership to strengthen our defenses,” a statement said.
It was a hot night, Ukraine said.
Video posted online appeared to corroborate at least part of the account – although the Russian Defense Ministry said US- and British-made missiles were shot down over Bryansk and the Black Sea.
The BBC asked Ukraine’s General Staff to comment on Russia’s claims that it shot down 14 Western-made missiles overnight.
Spokesman Bohdan Senyk said his office was “not aware of the information you have asked for.”
With a week to go before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, Ukraine is doing all it can to push back against Russia’s military advances there.
Kiev authorities are under pressure from the U.S. government to lower the draft age so that more soldiers can be sent to the front lines.
Trump’s national security adviser Mike Walz recently told ABC News that Ukraine should address its troop shortages and that it needs to “fully support democracy” if it wants the United States to “fully support” Ukraine.
The comments were harsh given the high price Ukraine has paid to defend itself and NATO’s eastern flank, and seemed to herald a change in tone in Washington as Trump returns to the White House.
On Tuesday, Zelensky again said in Kiev that there was no point in lowering the conscription age from 25 to 18 when already deployed Ukrainian troops lacked weapons.
“We have more than 100 brigades on the battlefield, and each of them needs daily supplies and equipment,” Zelensky said.
Kyiv often claims its allies have been slow to send the weapons it has promised, including air defense systems and missiles.
Trump has said he is Prepare to meet Vladimir Putin upon his return to the White House — and make ending the war in Ukraine a priority.
He has not yet made clear how he plans to do that.
