President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a strengthening of his country’s air defense, following the latest Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
“We are working with our partners as actively as possible to make the protection of our skies even more reliable,” Zelenskyy said on Monday in his nightly video address.
“Last night alone, from midnight to seven in the morning, we managed to shoot down 15 Russian missiles,” Zelenskyy said. “But unfortunately not all of them”.
Zelenskyy’s statements come after a series of Russian attacks with cruise missiles and rockets hit several parts of Ukraine on Sunday night.
The Ukrainian leader said there would be retaliation in response to the attacks. “For every such attack, the Russian invaders will receive our response,” he said.
Russia does not have enough ammunition to make decisive progress in offensives in Ukraine, the British Defense Ministry said in its latest intelligence update. Moscow continues to give the highest priority to mobilizing its defense industry, but it is still failing to meet wartime demands, it said.
According to the UK update, Russia’s political leaders persist in demanding success on the battlefield, while logistics professionals are stuck in the middle.
As an example, the British ministry cited the recent dismissal of Russian Deputy Defense Minister Mikhail Mizintsev, who was responsible for the material and technical supplies of the army for eight months.
The shortage of ammunition is also leading to internal disputes, especially between the army and the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the update added.
Ukrainian forces shelled a village in the Russian Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, the local governor said in a social media post.
“In the morning, the Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled the village of Kurkovichi in the Starodubsky municipal district,” Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on his Telegram channel.
“There were no casualties. As a result of the shelling, a fire broke out in one of the households. All emergency services are on site,” he added.
Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. The military, however, reports daily on activities and troop movements in battlefield areas.
Ukraine’s hopes for a more concrete prospect of joining NATO are in danger of being dashed for the time being.
According to information from the German dpa agency, NATO members such as the United States and Germany have recently made it clear behind closed doors that they do not want to make any commitments for the time being that go substantially beyond a vague NATO declaration from 2008.
This declaration stated that Ukraine and Georgia should join NATO, but it did not give a specific timeline for membership.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently called on NATO to clear the way for his country to join the military alliance at its next summit in July.
The work of the German War Graves Commission has continued in the midst of the ongoing war in Ukraine, recalling the horrors of World War II in that country. Ukrainian soldiers have helped report new findings.
Ukraine is preparing for what could be a decisive counteroffensive to liberate territories occupied by Russia. The longer Kyiv waits, the better its chances seem to get. DW takes a look at the goals, opportunities and risks of Ukraine’s long-planned counterattack.