KYIV: Ukraine said Tuesday that it launched its biggest aerial assault on Russian territory in the almost three-year conflict overnight, striking energy and manufacturing facilities hundreds of miles away from the front line.
The Russian military declared that one of the strikes would “not go unanswered” and accused Kyiv of employing missiles supplied by the United States and the United Kingdom.
Russian officials said at least nine airports in central and western Russia momentarily suspended traffic, and schools in the southwestern Saratov region were forced to close due to the onslaught.
Ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, Moscow and Kyiv have increased their attacks on one another in an effort to gain leverage in future talks to end the nearly three-year conflict.
In a social media post, Ukraine’s General Staff stated, “The Ukrainian defense forces carried out the most massive strike against the occupiers’ military facilities, at a distance of 200km to 1,100km deep into the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Additionally, it stated that facilities “in the Bryansk, Saratov, Tula regions and the Republic of Tatarstan were hit.”
According to Russia’s defense ministry, it destroyed six British Storm Shadow cruise missiles and six US-supplied ATACMS missiles that Ukraine had launched during the assault on the Bryansk area. Kyiv’s forces on the front line are facing a challenging time as a result of the overnight Ukrainian attacks.
