The newly appointed commander of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, "General Armageddon", continues as before: Russian troops are again attacking critical infrastructure facilities and residential buildings. The West is now promising Kyiv air defense systems.
According to Ukrainian information, new Russian attacks have again targeted several towns in Ukraine. The deputy head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, told Telegram that critical infrastructure facilities in the region of the capital Kyiv were hit. It was again an attack with Iranian kamikaze drones. They would have happened in the morning.
According to Ukrainian reports, the city of Mykolayiv came under heavy rocket fire during the night. "A five-story apartment building was hit, the top two floors were completely destroyed, the rest is in ruins. Rescuers are working on site," Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said, according to social media. The city in the south of the country near the Black Sea is being "massively shelled". In addition, Russian forces have apparently shelled several settlements in the Kharkiv region in the past 24 hours. Two men were injured, according to oblast governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Ukraine has reported a series of Russian attacks using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones, also known as kamikaze drones, in recent weeks. Iran denies supplying the drones to Russia. The leadership in Moscow did not comment on this.
The intensified attacks are attributed to the newly appointed commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine, "General Armageddon" Sergei Surovikin. Two days after his appointment, the Russian army fired rockets at large areas of Ukraine on Monday - even the center of the capital Kyiv was not spared. A total of 20 people died and more than 100 were injured. "The first day at work is an excellent opportunity to show yourself from your best side. It seems to me that I can handle the task very well," the Russian media quoted the general afterwards as saying.
To prevent such attacks from the air, Great Britain is now promising Ukraine anti-aircraft missiles. "The AMRAAM missiles (...) will be made available in the coming weeks for use with the NASAMS air defense systems promised by the US," said the British Ministry of Defense. The missiles would help protect critical infrastructure in Ukraine, it said. Britain also announced that it would deliver drones to support Ukrainian intelligence services and 18 howitzers, in addition to the 64 guns already delivered. "These weapons will help Ukraine defend its airspace against attacks and (...) strengthen its missile defenses," said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
France had previously promised Ukraine the delivery of air defense systems. "We will deliver radars, (air defense) systems and missiles" to protect the Ukrainians "in particular from drone attacks," President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the France 2 broadcaster. The announcements came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj on Tuesday called on the G7 countries to support his country in setting up an air defense system.
Germany has already delivered the first IRIS-T SLM air defense system to Ukraine, and three more are to follow in the coming year, as Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht confirmed.
