Ukraine is struggling to cope with Vladimir Putin’s increasing reliance on glide bombs, which Volodymyr Zelensky said have become “practically the main instrument of Russian terror”.
“There can be no alternative. Ukraine needs systems and tactics that will allow us to protect our positions, our cities and our communities from these bombs,” he said.
Putin’s forces used more than 3,200 guided bombs against Ukrainian targets throughout April, along with more than 300 missiles and about 300 Shahed-type drones, Mr Zelensky said, adding that his forces are a long way from effectively countering these munitions.
Russia has used glide bombs – Soviet-era bombs fitting with small wings that allow them to be guided towards targets – to strike schools, museums, universities, hospitals and maternity wards where no soldiers were present, killing thousands of civilians since its February 2022 invasion.
Mr Zelensky’s comments came as Ukrainian forces said they had downed yet another Russian warplane in Donetsk’s Pokrovsk front, the fifth Russian Su-25 jet Ukraine claims to have shot down this month.
Shapps warns lethal equipment being flown from China to Russia into Ukraine
China is providing Russia with lethal aid for use in its war against Ukraine, Grant Shapps has warned.
The defence secretary suggested that British and US intelligence contradicts Beijing’s previous attempts to present itself as a moderating influence on Moscow and President Xi’s government is instead helping to arm Russia.
Mr Shapps used a speech at the London Defence Conference to reveal China’s collaboration as he argued Nato needs to “wake up” and bolster defence spending alliance-wide.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain23 May 2024 07:00
Russia claims it has destroyed 35 rockets, three drones launched by Ukraine
Russia has said its air defence systems in the southern region of Belgorod destroyed three Olkha and 32 Vampire rockets in the early hours today.
Another three drones were also destroyed in the aerial attack, the Russian defence ministry said, blaming Ukraine.
The regional governor of Russia’s frontline city said earlier that no casualties were reported.
Arpan Rai23 May 2024 06:53
Russia begins nuclear drills in response to ‘provocative statements’
Russia’s Defense Ministry has said it began a round of drills involving tactical nuclear weapons.
The exercises were announced by Russian authorities this month in response to remarks by senior Western officials about the possibility of deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine.
It was the first time Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain23 May 2024 06:00
Glide bombs, missiles and drones: The aerial bombardment raining down on Ukraine’s troops around Kharkiv
Russian forces initially overcame weak Ukrainian fortifications, penetrating a few miles and capturing two pockets with a total area of about 50 square miles.
They took a string of villages before Ukrainian reinforcements stemmed their advance.
On a visit by The Independent to the area, a Ukrainian army vehicle, with only three wheels, clattered to a halt on the road. As one of his comrades pulled out tools and started work repairing the vehicle, a soldier codenamed “American” explained what had happened to the wheel: “A Russian drone with a bomb spotted us on the road. We were racing as fast as possible but couldn’t outrun it. It dropped its bomb but luckily, it hit the asphalt, not us. But it still destroyed our wheel.”
Read more from Askold Krushelnycky’s ground report:
Arpan Rai23 May 2024 05:47
Blasts hit Russia’s Belgorod after missile attack warning
A series of blasts could be heard in the Russian city of Belgorod after a missile attack warning this morning, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.
Belgorod, a frontline Russian city, has been under a series of Ukrainian attacks for months now and has seen heavy casualties.
Ukraine has launched frequent drone and shelling attacks on Belgorod and other Russian regions on its border.
Arpan Rai23 May 2024 05:27
Ukraine says it has downed another Russian warplane in Donetsk
Ukrainian forces have managed to down another Russian warplane in Donetsk’s Pokrovsk front, senior military officials said yesterday.
This is the fifth Russian Su-25 jet Ukraine claims to have shot down this month.
“According to the information available, Ukrainian troops destroyed a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft,” Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said, refering to aerial combat between Russian forces and Ukraine’s air defence unit on the Pokrovsk front in the country’s east.
It added: “The number of attacks on the Pokrovsk front has risen to 25. In particular, the enemy is trying to break into our combat formations using assault groups and equipment. The situation remains tense, with nine combat clashes still ongoing.”
Arpan Rai23 May 2024 05:08
Ten wounded as Russia strikes cafe in Kharkiv
A Russian airstrike on Ukraine‘s northeastern city of Kharkiv on Wednesday destroyed a cafe, damaged a nearby residential building and set a petrol station ablaze, and local officials said ten people were wounded, at least one severely.
“I’ve been left with nothing,” owner Vahe Ohandzhanian told Reuters in the ruins of his cafe, which had a large chunk torn out of it by the blast, scattering corrugated iron roof panels and bricks dozens of metres away.
A 12-storey high rise across the road had nearly all its windows blown out. About 50 metres away, a green trolleybus also had all its windows blown out and its rear side covered in a vast spatter of blood that pooled in a puddle on the asphalt.
Regional prosecutors said the trolleybus driver had both legs amputated. Russia had used a UMPB D-30 guided bomb launched from bordering Belgorod region, prosecutors added on Telegram.
Three more people were hospitalized, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Kharkiv, Ukraine‘s second largest city, and the surrounding region have been targeted by Russian attacks since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain23 May 2024 05:00
What we know about Russia’s 1,500kg ‘building destroyer’ glide bomb
A conflict video from Krasnohorivka shows its effectiveness: a winged bomb that is seen hurtling towards a multi-storey building in this Ukrainian stronghold less than 20 miles from the eastern city of Donetsk.
The 1,500-kilogram explosive hits the structure, erupting into a fireball before engulfing the whole building in a plume of grey and black smoke.
The camera, filming from several hundred metres away, shakes as the ground beneath it rocks from the aftereffects of the explosion.
When the smoke subsides, the building has been completely destroyed.
Here’s all you need to know about the glide bombs:
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
Winged explosives weighing up to 1,500 kilograms – and nicknamed the ‘building destroyer’ – have had a devastating impact wherever they have been used, writes Tom Watling. Kyiv is battling them as best it can but needs Western allies to step up and provide more weapons, air defences and ammunition
Arpan Rai23 May 2024 04:39
Ukraine needs system to defend against Russia’s glide bombs, says Zelensky
Ukraine now needs to protect itself from Russia’s glide bombs, “ the main instrument” of Vladimir Putin’s aerial attacks, president Volodymyr Zelensky said last night as he issued a fresh plea seeking top-tier defence systems.
Ukraine is a long way from effectively countering these Russian bombs, Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address, even as he praised his country’s progress in developing electronic weaponry.
“There can be no alternative. Ukraine needs systems and tactics that will allow us to protect our positions, our cities and our communities from these bombs,” he said.
“This is now practically the main instrument of Russian terror and in the occupiers’ advances,” he said.
Mr Zelensky has long called for improved air defences as Russia intensifies its assaults on energy and other infrastructure.
Russia has hit schools, museums, universities, hospitals, maternity wards where no soldiers were present, killing thousands of civilians since its February 2022 invasion.
Earlier this month, Mr Zelensky said Russia had used more than 3,200 glide bombs against Ukrainian targets throughout April, along with more than 300 missiles and about 300 Shahed-type drones.
These bombs help Russia in bombarding Ukrainian cities, including those away from the war’s frontline, as they have a great destructive potential and pose fewer risks to air crews delivering them.
Arpan Rai23 May 2024 04:08
As Russia’s forces edge ever closer, Kharkiv’s mayor has a defiant message for Putin
Exclusive: Mayor of Kharkiv Igor Terekhov tells The Independent that Russian forces are trying to ‘destroy’ his city, home to some 1.4 million civilians.
Tom Watling has more here:
Maryam Zakir-Hussain23 May 2024 04:00
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
