NewsRussian drones strike again as Ukraine's air defences struggle

Russian drones strike again as Ukraine's air defences struggle

Ukrainian air defence in action
Ukrainian air defence in action
Images source: © Getty Images | Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy
ed. WJR

18 May 2024 17:04

Russian kamikaze drones once again struck accurately during the night from Friday to Saturday in Ukraine, targeting another energy infrastructure facility.

For over a month, Putin's troops have been shelling power plants and other energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. On Friday night, they recorded another hit.

"Russians still attack Poltava region. At night, hostile kamikaze drones damaged energy infrastructure in one of the districts of the Poltava region. There were no casualties," reads the statement of Filip Pronin, head of administration in the Poltava region.

Russia exploits weakened air defence

After the massive drone attack on Ukraine during the night from May 7 to May 8, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russia continues to exploit the fact that Kyiv's air defence is degraded due to shortages of supplies from the West. 

The target of last week’s Russian strike was Ukrainian energy infrastructure. It was the fifth massive missile-drone attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure since March 22 of this year, according to ISW. The institute predicts that the Russian army will continue these attacks until new air defence resources arrive, aiming to cause long-term damage to the energy system.

In addition to energy, the target is transport infrastructure, which, according to analysts, is intended to disrupt Ukrainian land communication lines and hinder the delivery of American aid to the front.

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