President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine needs to strengthen its defenses to protect people after its air defense units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight over several regions.
“A weather alert has been sounded almost daily throughout Ukraine this week,” Zelensky said via the Telegram app.
Zelensky said that during the past week, Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles of various types.
“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent country. But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”
The Ukrainian military said earlier on Sunday that air defense units destroyed more than 10 Russian drones targeting Kiev in an overnight attack.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attack, as the military administration in Kiev posted on Telegram.
Reuters witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv while air defense units appeared to be conducting operations.
“The drones were flying in different directions towards Kiev,” said Serhiy Popko, head of the military administration in Kiev.
He added, “The alert for air strikes in the city continued for more than three hours.”
There was no immediate comment from Russia on the attack, although the governor of the region bordering Ukraine said on Sunday that two Ukrainian missiles and 27 drones had been destroyed over Russia’s Kursk region.
It was not immediately clear which missiles were destroyed, and Kursk Region Governor Alexei Smirnov did not provide further details in a post on his Telegram channel.
The Ukrainian military later said on Telegram that its forces had destroyed a Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system in Kursk.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the report.
Air defenses have been a key demand of the Ukrainians for years, and NATO allies have ramped up their deliveries of these systems, although their arrival has been slow.
An air defense missile system it purchased through U.S. companies is finally on the ground in Ukraine, nearly two years after it was first ordered, Canada announced Friday.
Fierce battle in Kursk as Moscow fights to retake it
Ukrainian forces stormed Russia’s western border to Kursk on August 6 and seized part of the territory.
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A senior Ukrainian military source said on Sunday that Moscow had launched waves of counterattacks and regained at least 40 percent of the territory it had captured since then, but Kiev still controlled about 800 square kilometers in the region.
Kiev aimed to stop Russian attacks in eastern and northeastern Ukraine, force Russia to withdraw forces gradually advancing in the east, and give Kiev additional influence in any future peace negotiations.
But Russian forces are still advancing in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main goals are to occupy the entire Donbass region, which consists of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and to expel Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region.
“For Putin, the most important thing is to get us out of the Kursk region. I’m sure he wants to kick us out by January 20,” Zelensky told the media, referring to the date when Donald Trump will be inaugurated as US president.
“It is very important for him (Putin) to prove that he has the situation under control.”
The source in the Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that about 11,000 North Korean soldiers arrived in the Kursk region to support Russia, but the bulk of their forces are still in the process of completing their training.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters was unable to independently verify the numbers or descriptions provided.
Moscow, which occupies about a fifth of Ukraine’s area, did not confirm or deny the presence of North Korean forces in the Kursk region.
Kiev has sought to disrupt Russian logistics and supply chains by striking Russian weapons and ammunition depots, airports and other military targets inside Russia.
First look at the wreckage of a new Russian ballistic missile
After US President Joe Biden allowed Kiev to launch long-range missiles supplied by the United States at targets deep inside Russia, Ukraine last week fired American ATACMS missiles and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles at Russia.
Ukrainian investigators are studying the wreckage of a new Russian medium-range ballistic missile fired at the city of Dnipro on Thursday, the first time such a powerful weapon has been used in war and is seen as a response to Biden’s decision.
Reuters and the Associated Press were among a small group of reporters granted access to the missile wreckage on Sunday. He asked journalists not to reveal the exact location of the site for security reasons.
The burned and crumbled pieces of debris were placed on a hanger at a facility that conducts weapons forensics.
Fragments of a missile that struck Dnipro on November 21 are seen at a forensic analysis center at an undisclosed location, Ukraine, Sunday, November 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka).
Ukrainian experts study such debris to gain insight into Russian military supply chains, production, and how to develop countermeasures.
Russia called the missile “Oreshnik” (Nut Tree), and said it was impossible to intercept with air defenses. Ukraine said the weapon reached a top speed of more than 13,000 kilometers per hour on its way toward Dnipro on Thursday.
The range of medium-range ballistic missiles reaches 5,500 kilometers.
The US military said the missile’s design is based on the longer-range RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. They said that the new missile was experimental and that Russia likely only had a small number of it.
Putin said on Friday that Moscow would continue to test the missile in combat and that its stockpile was ready for use.
Much remains unclear at the moment, including the extent of the damage caused by the missile. Ukraine rarely discloses damage to military targets, fearing such information would help Moscow.
—With additional files from Global News
