Kiev [Ukraine], March 10: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia carried out more than 2,100 aerial attacks on Ukraine over the past week as his military reported that Russia tried to retake a town by sending soldiers through a pipeline with a 1.4 metre diameter.
In a social media post on Sunday, Zelensky reported that Russian forces deployed 1,200 guided aerial bombs, nearly 870 attack drones, and more than 80 missiles of various types. He also highlighted that many Russian weapons rely on foreign-made components.
"Every Shahed drone and aerial bomb Russia uses contains components supplied in circumvention of sanctions. These weapons include more than 82,000 foreign components," Zelensky wrote, urging allies to tighten and enforce existing trade restrictions.
While the overall number of attacks dropped slightly from the previous week's 2,300, the number of missile strikes quadrupled by Zelensky's count.
Meanwhile Ukraine's military authorities said Russian soldiers attempted to retake the Ukrainian-held town of Sudzha in Russia's western Kursk region by sending soldiers through a gas pipeline.
The effort was "discovered in time," by an air reconnaissance team and repelled with missiles, artillery and drones, Ukraine's general staff said late Saturday.
The claim could not be independently verified. Russian military blogs had earlier reported the attempted assault on Sudzha. The pipeline used was reportedly part of a system that supplied Russian gas to Europe until early this year.
Last summer, Ukrainian forces seized parts of the Kursk region in a surprise counterattack. In recent months, however, heavy fighting has pushed them back.
Ukrainian troops in the region are reportedly facing further difficulties, possibly due to the US halting intelligence-sharing, including satellite imagery. Zelensky has called the Kursk offensive an important bargaining chip in potential negotiations with Moscow.
Meanwhile in Denmark, measures to shore up Ukraine's air defences, including a package from Sweden and a €7.8 billion ($8.5 billion) commitment from Norway, were announced at a meeting of the defence ministers of the Nordic and Baltic states on Sunday.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov made the announcement at a meeting of the so-called Nordic Baltic 8 format in Denmark.
Source: Qatar Tribune
