Satellite photos released Thursday show the devastation of Russian air bases in Crimea, suggesting Kyiv has acquired a new long-range strike capability that could change the course of the war.
Photos released by the independent satellite firm Planet Labs show three near-missiles crashing into a building at Russia's Saki Air Force Base precisely. The same crater was shown. A base on the southwestern coast of Crimea suffered extensive fire damage, with the charred shells of at least eight wrecked fighter jets clearly visible.
Russia has denied any damage to the aircraft and said the explosion seen at the base on Tuesday was accidental.
Ukraine has not publicly claimed responsibility for the attack, nor has it stated exactly how the attack was carried out.
"Officially, we are neither confirming nor denying anything. There are numerous scenarios as to what happened. There were multiple blast epicenters at the exact same time. Please keep in mind," Mikhail Podlyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, told Reuters in a message.
Western military experts said the scale of the damage and the apparent accuracy of the attack hinted at powerful new capabilities with potentially significant implications.
14} Russia, which annexed Crimea in 2014, is using the peninsula as a base for its Black Sea Fleet and as a major supply route for invading forces occupying southern Ukraine, which Kyiv plans to counterattack in the coming weeks. there is"I'm not an Intel analyst, but I can't see well," Mark Hartling, a former commander of the US Army in Europe, wrote on Twitter, referring to Russian bases.
"Yes, that's very good," replied his colleague and former CIA and National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden.
How the attack was carried out remains a mystery. Some Ukrainian officials are said to have suggested it may have been sabotage by an intruder. However, nearly identical impact craters and simultaneous explosions appear to indicate that they were hit by Volley, a new long-range weapon capable of evading Russian defenses. It is far beyond the range of the advanced rockets it admits to sending to Ukraine, but within range of the more powerful version Kyiv is seeking.Ukraine can also theoretically hit ground targets. It has its own surface-to-ship missile that can be used for
A NEW PHASE
The war in Ukraine is expected to enter a new phase in the coming weeks. Ukraine drove Russian forces back from the capital Kyiv in March and from the outskirts of its second-largest city Kharkov in May. Russia gained more territory in the east in June in a major battle that killed thousands of troops on both sides.
Since then, the front has moved little, but Kyiv says it is preparing a major push to recapture the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia..
Russia has reinforced these areas, but its defenses have been limited by artillery. It's all about being able to control the supply lines to stock your army with the thousands of rounds a day that your corps are accustomed to firing.
Kyiv hopes last month's arrival of a US rocket system capable of hitting Russian targets behind its front lines could tip the balance in its favor. So far, however, the West has withheld offers of long-range rockets capable of striking deep within Russia itself or attacking Moscow's many bases in annexed Crimea. 36} Russia says its "special military operations" are planned to protect Russian-speaking south and east, which separatists consider to be independent. Ukraine and its Western allies say the aggression failed in its first attempt to overthrow Kyiv's government, and Russia now wants to take as much control as possible, with the ultimate goal of annihilating Ukraine as an independent state.
Tens of thousands died. Since Russia invaded her February 24th, millions of people have fled and cities have been destroyed. The skirmish is still ongoing.
Ukraine reported Russian artillery fire along its entire front line, from around Kharkov in the northeast to eastern Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and the banks of the wide Dnipro River in neighboring provinces.
Dnipropetrovsk Regional Governor Valentin Reznichenko said 120 Grad rockets hit Nikopol on the right bank of the Dnipro River, killing three and wounding seven.
"The enemy is intent on gaining full control over the territory of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions," the Ukrainian General Staff said in an early Thursday report, with more than 60 settlements and military targets. mentioned.
Russian-backed separatists claim to have captured Pisky, a small town on the outskirts of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk.
"Pisky is hot. The town is ours, but there are still scattered resistances to the north and west," separatist official Danil Bessonov told Telegram.
Ukrainian officials denied the town had fallen. Reuters was unable to verify Battlefield's account.
Ukraine's presidential adviser Oleksiy Arrestovich said in an interview posted on YouTube that Russia's "pisky transition" was "not successful."
Ukraine accused Russia on Wednesday of at least 13 dead and 10 injured in rockets fired near Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
"The cowardly Russians can do nothing more, so they ignore and attack the town hiding in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant," said President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff. One Andriy Yermak said on social media.
According to Ukraine, about 500 Russian troops are stationed at the factory, where Ukrainian technicians continue to work. The G7 nations on Wednesday notified Russia to return its nuclear power plants to Ukraine after the United Nations nuclear watchdog warned of a possible nuclear disaster.
