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Russia on Monday carried out its largest airstrike ever on Ukraine.
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The attack involved 28 Kalibr missiles, fired from Russian naval vessels in the Black Sea.
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The Russian Black Sea Fleet has suffered heavy losses, but the attack shows that there is still a threat.
Russia fired hundreds of missiles and attack drones into Ukraine on Monday, targeting critical infrastructure and other locations in the country in what Ukraine called the largest aerial bombardment of the war.
Ukraine’s air force said it had detected 127 missiles fired by Russian aircraft, ground forces and warships, and another 109 drones. Kiev said it had destroyed 102 missiles and 99 drones in the massive barrage.
At least seven people were killed and dozens injured in the attack, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported Monday evening local time.
The Russian attack involved several types of weapons, including 28 Kalibr cruise missiles fired from “surface” and “underwater aircraft carriers in the eastern part of the Black Sea,” the Ukrainian air force said. indication of launches of surface warships and submarines.
The involvement of the Russian Black Sea Fleet shows that it is still capable of carrying out large-scale attacks on Ukraine, despite the heavy losses it suffers.
Ukraine claims it sank, damaged or destroyed a ship at least a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet since the beginning of the war — a remarkable success considering that Kiev has no good navy of oneself.
The Ukrainian military and security services rely heavily on domestically produced weapons. navy drones And anti-ship missiles to wage an asymmetric war and contain the Russian naval threat.
The Ukrainian campaign eventually forced the Black Sea Fleet spread from its headquarters in the southwestern corner of the occupied Crimean peninsula and move them to the eastern part of the region, closer to Russia, from where the Kalibr missiles were fired on Monday.
Despite these significant setbacks for the fleet, a Ukrainian Navy spokesman said said earlier this year that Russia has a serious presence in the Black Sea, including a combination of missile launchers, submarines and patrol vessels.
Three Russian cruise missile submarines were spotted in the vast Black Sea region a few weeks ago.
On Monday, Russia also launched ballistic missiles and cruise missiles from other platforms during its massive bombardment campaign, including Tu-95 strategic bombers, Su-34 fighter-bombers and Su-57 fifth-generation aircraft, Ukraine reported, adding that its forces shot down 201 of the 236 airstrikes.
Business Insider was unable to verify Ukraine’s claims.
Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said in a proposition that “all available weapons and equipment were used to repel the air strike: aircraft, air force anti-aircraft missiles, mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and electronic warfare units.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. is focused on delivering critical air defense systems and interceptor missiles to Ukraine to defend itself against such attacks in the future.
“Their air defenses performed really well during these attacks,” he told reporters Monday. “Obviously some things got through. But they knocked most of it out of the air, and we need to make sure they can continue to do that.”
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