"Massive" wave of Russian attacks / Ukraine repels an attack on the airport

2023-06-23 09:59:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

"Massive" wave of Russian attacks / Ukraine repels an attack on the

Ukraine's military said it repelled an attempted airstrike by Russian forces on a Ukrainian airport on June 23. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said it was part of another "massive" wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine overnight.

Russia has drastically increased the frequency and intensity of airstrikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and cities, particularly Kiev, since the beginning of last month. These attacks have resulted in numerous civilian casualties and great material damage.

Ukraine's air defense said it shot down 13 cruise missiles launched by Russia in an overnight attack on a military airport in the central Khmelnitskiy region. In the statement released on June 23, the military added that the attack was carried out around midnight by strategic aircraft coming from the direction of the Caspian Sea.

"In addition, the air defense destroyed a drone of an unknown type," the published statement said.

Meanwhile, another air strike alert was sounded for several hours overnight across Ukraine after Russian forces attacked with a large number of missiles and drones, the General Staff reported, adding that the consequences of the "massive" strikes were still unclear.

In the previous wave of attacks, on June 22, Russia had used three Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, the General Staff said.

On the battlefield, Russian forces continued their efforts to attack Ukrainian positions in the eastern region of Donetsk, the General Staff reported. Fierce fighting was reported in Lyman, Bahmut, Avdijivka and Maryinka, where more than 30 battles took place over the past 24 hours.

Russia's latest wave of attacks came a day after a key bridge linking Russia-annexed Crimea with the occupied part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region was damaged after being hit by what Moscow said were donated Storm Shadow missiles. from Great Britain.

The attack was carried out on the bridge known as the "Gate of Crimea", the shortest route from the Crimean Peninsula to the front line in southern Ukraine. This was seen as a key link for Russia's supply line.

Officials appointed to the region by Russia said the road on the bridge was damaged but there were no injuries, adding that alternative transport routes had been opened.

Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Ukraine has vowed to take it back.

Since the start of its long-awaited counteroffensive, the Ukrainian army has managed to recapture several villages in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine.

On June 22, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal predicted that the counteroffensive would bring results, but was quoted by Ukrinform as saying that "Ukraine values ??the lives of its soldiers, so it does not plan to lead them into the fire without thinking." ".

"We work according to NATO standards," Shmyhal said, speaking at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London.

"We protect each of our soldiers and move forward. It will take time, but we intend to move forward and we are moving forward with a counter-offensive. We all have to be patient and see the results".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that progress on the counteroffensive has been slower than desired, but said Kiev will not be pressured to speed it up.

"Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results immediately. It's not like that," he told the BBC in an interview earlier this week. "What is at stake are people's lives"./ Rel