According to Xinhua News Agency, on the 29th, many places in Ukraine were attacked by Russian missiles and drones. The commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny posted on social media that the number of attack drones and missiles used by the Russian army in air strikes that day reached 158, of which the number of missiles of various types exceeded 120.
Ukrainian officials said that from the evening of the 28th to the early morning of the 29th, the Ukrainian capital Kyiv (a northern city), the southern city of Odessa, the western city of Lviv, and the eastern cities of Kharkiv and Dnipr were all attacked. The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Nikolai Oreshchuk, called it the "largest airstrike" since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed on the 29th that Russia carried out 50 concentrated strikes and 1 large-scale strike on Ukraine's military industrial facilities, military airports, armories, weapons depots, Ukrainian army and foreign mercenary sites in a week, and all intended targets were hit.
On the 29th, the city of Dnieper was subjected to an air strike
According to Zaluzhny, infrastructure and military facilities have been targeted. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had "used almost all types of weapons" in the airstrike, and that the Ukrainian military would respond. On the same day as the airstrike, Zelensky also visited a forward command observation post of the 110th Mechanized Brigade in Avdiivka, a front-line region, and thanked the soldiers.
"Mystery missile" into NATO airspace?
Russian: There will be no explanation until there is conclusive evidence
On the 29th local time, the military of Poland, a member of NATO, said that a Russian missile entered Polish airspace from the direction of Ukraine that morning and left less than 3 minutes later. Polish Chief of the General Staff Kukwa said that the missile flew into Polish airspace on the morning of the 29th, entered Polish airspace for about 40 kilometers, and then entered Ukrainian airspace. "Our fighter jets scrambled into the air to intercept the missile, but before the interception could be carried out, the missile left our airspace. According to Kukwa, the situation shows that it was a Russian missile that entered Polish airspace.
According to the report, Kukwa did not provide clear evidence to support his claim that "Russian missiles entered Polish airspace". On the evening of 29 July, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Bartoszewski summoned the chargé d'affaires ad interim of the Russian Embassy in Poland, Andrei Ordash, and handed him a note, demanding that the Russian side give an explanation for the incident in which his missile entered Polish airspace. Ordash said that the Polish side did not provide relevant evidence, and the so-called accusations were groundless. Russia will not explain this incident until solid evidence is seen.
Regarding the Polish side's statement that "Russian missiles entered Polish airspace", NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg did not blame Russia for this, but reminded NATO to "remain vigilant." In fact, this is not the first time that a missile from another country has entered Poland. In November last year, two civilians were killed in an explosion in eastern Poland on the border with Ukraine. Zelenskyy initially blamed Russia for this, but Polish President Duda later said that "it may have been a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that caused the explosion." ”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Russia "reserves ammunition" for the winter?
Russian diplomat: The arsenal of Western aid to Ukraine has been exhausted
It is reported that British intelligence noticed in October that Russia's heavy bomber fleet had not fired missiles at Ukraine for more than a month, and at that time the British defense department attributed this to "too few Russian missiles". However, it added that Russia may also need to reduce the frequency of strikes to maintain ammunition supplies in preparation for the winter offensive.
As early as December 11, it was reported that analysts had long expected Russia to increase air strikes in the future, and believed that Russia was stockpiling missiles and bombs for the winter offensive. And Russia's reduced bombing frequency in the autumn is also to reserve ammunition for launching larger attacks in winter.
After massive air strikes in Ukraine, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced that hundreds of anti-aircraft missiles would be supplied to Ukraine. It is reported that after the large-scale air strikes, US President Joe Biden also once again called on the US Congress to provide more assistance to Ukraine.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps
According to media reports on the 30th, Russian diplomat Konstantin Gavrilov said in an interview with the media that although the West is still providing missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, the aid is far less than before, "The arsenals of the United States and NATO countries have been exhausted." ”
Red Star News reporter Li Jinrui Comprehensive CCTV News, Xinhua News Agency
Editor: Zhang Li, Editor: Feng Lingling
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