Russia fires 81 missiles at Ukraine

It is an attack the likes of which has not been seen in a long time: Russia has fired rockets at Ukraine 25 times since October last year, but there have rarely been as many as last night in this war. The Russian armed forces used 81 rockets and eight kamikaze drones. 34 missiles and four drones were intercepted before hitting their target. According to Ukrainian authorities, at least six people were killed near Lviv when a rocket hit a residential area.

The air alert in many cities across the country began at midnight, and the sirens wailed for hours. In the capital Kiev, the alarm was only ended after seven hours. All regions of the country were affected by the shelling, in addition to Kiev, for example, the Black Sea port city of Odessa, the second largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, but also Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia and Rivne in the west or Dnipro and Poltava in the middle of the country.

In many places, the target of the attacks was the electrical infrastructure of Ukraine, in some regions there were power and heating failures. As a result of the attacks, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was also cut off from the regular power supply. An emergency supply for the plant in the city of Enerhodar was ensured via diesel generators. The operator said there was enough fuel for ten days.

Moscow continued in the attack Shahed-Drones and missiles of every available type, including those that cannot be intercepted by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses: modern cruise missiles of the type KH-22 for example and six kinshah-hypersonic missiles. The Russian armed forces had not previously used this missile on this scale in a single attack, they only have a limited number. According to Russian information, it can reach ten times the speed of sound and still remain manoeuvrable.

Russian missile tactics seem less effective

Also because of the use of this weapon, the proportion of missiles that could be intercepted was relatively small this time. While in the past it was often 50 percent, sometimes even 75 percent and more, this time the rate was just over 30 percent. Apart from the missiles used, this is mainly due to a change in Russian tactics. Currently, the attacks are less frequent than they were from October to January, but they are again carried out with a larger number of missiles. In February there were a good 70 pieces, now, a month later, even almost 90.

Thus, the Ukrainian air defense system was overwhelmed in some regions. But not in the capital. The military administration in Kiev stated that except for one kinshah-missile intercepted all kamikaze drones and missiles intended to hit Kiev.

In the past, Ukraine has usually been able to quickly repair infrastructure damage caused by rocket attacks. The effects were therefore less than feared during the winter. Now that temperatures are about to rise again, Russian missile tactics, which have little military use but are aimed at wearing down the Ukrainian population, seem even less effective.

The Russian units make little progress – but suffer heavy losses

In doing so, it fits into a series of dubious military decisions being made on the Russian side. A good five weeks ago, the Russian armed forces began an offensive on the front in eastern Ukraine and were able to regain the initiative there. Despite this, the severity of the attacks so far has been less than what most observers had expected. The Russian units make little progress – but suffer heavy losses.

In Bakhmut, which has been contested for nine months, the deployment of elite troops and experienced mercenaries from the “Wagner Group” has recently gained territory, but Russia has not yet taken the city in the Donbass. And the Russian losses are horrendous. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has therefore not yet ordered a withdrawal. He wants to inflict as many casualties as possible on the opponent in Bachmut, weaken his fighting power and then launch a counter-offensive.

Elsewhere on the front Moscow has suffered crushing defeats. In Wuhledar, south of Bachmut, for example, Russian armored units were repeatedly ambushed. More than 130 Russian tanks destroyed Ukrainian forces there. In Kiev, officials speak of the largest tank battle of the war. At least there the Russian offensive has probably already passed its peak, at other points on the front it is likely to be the case soon. According to observers, a new one is hardly possible without another wave of mobilization in Russia.

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