KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia is moving a significant part of its air defenses to protect a handful of prime targets, including Moscow, as Ukraine’s long-range drones continue to hammer sites deep inside the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
Ukraine has in recent months stepped up its aerial campaign against Russian military installations and energy facilities. Its success has caused fuel shortages and disrupted army supply lines,
stalling Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor after more than four years of fighting and rattling Russian officials.
Zelenskyy said in his daily video address late Wednesday that Russia is moving more air defenses to the capital as well as to Valdai, a town some 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Moscow where Russian President Vladimir Putin has a residence, and to protect the Kerch Bridge, which is a vital supply route connecting the Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland.
“In the Moscow region alone, they have amassed hundreds of launchers” for air defense missiles, Zelenskyy said. “Nearly 90 launchers have been redeployed to Valdai from other regions of Russia.”
Ukrainian drones have recently hit Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city and Putin’s hometown. Ukraine is also trying to cut off Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.
The changes, Zelenskyy suggested, would leave other parts of Russia vulnerable to Ukraine’s increasingly sophisticated long-range drones, which can now fly more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles).
“There are many difficulties (for Russia), all because Putin refuses to end his war and to hear our proposals for a meeting, genuine negotiations, and a dignified peace,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump but Putin has refused, and a year of U.S.-led peace efforts made no significant headway.
Ukraine’s prospects have brightened after more than four years of a grueling war of attrition as its domestic development and production of cutting-edge drones pin down the bigger Russian army.
Trump, who has previously been critical of Zelenskyy, said at the White House on Wednesday that the Ukrainian leader is “courageous” and “doing pretty well” in the war.
Zelenskyy said he won pledges of sustained foreign support when he attended a recent summit of G7 leaders, including Trump, and that promised aid will help further fuel Ukraine’s intensified campaign.
“Our operation, including the one concerning Crimea, has been carefully planned, and the way it is unfolding clearly demonstrates that if Ukraine receives exactly what we discussed with our partners at the G7 — and that depends on our partners’ decisions — we will quickly create conditions in which Russia will be forced to choose peace,” he said.
“We very much hope for a positive response from our partners,” Zelenskyy added. “They know exactly what we are talking about.”
Belarus, whose manufacturing plants have played a key role in supporting Moscow’s war effort, appears to have turned off signal repeaters on its soil that Kyiv says were used to help guide Russian drone attacks on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy demanded last week that Belarus, which lies on Ukraine’s northern border and also borders Russia, remove the relay equipment that enabled Russian drones to strike western Ukraine. He threatened to take action against the relay stations, presumably with a military strike that could bring the countries into direct conflict.
Ukrainian intelligence has determined that the repeaters are now off, Zelenskyy said in an audio-clip message sent to journalists.
But he noted: “There are many questions regarding Belarus,” whose territory Moscow used to launch its invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian military officials on Wednesday ordered a mandatory evacuation for communities and settlements in the Chernihiv region bordering Belarus starting July 1.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is walking a fine line in the war.
“Lukashenko continues to stall and deflect the Kremlin’s intensified attempts to drag Belarus into the war in Ukraine while maintaining relatively neutral rhetoric towards Ukraine,” the institute said.
Ukrainian Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the armed forces, said last week that Ukraine is strengthening defenses on its northern border, including creating new army drone units there.
Russia launched one ballistic missile and 90 long-range strike drones at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.
A Russian drone struck a gas station Thursday morning in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, injuring four people, including two employees, regional administration head Oleh Hryhorov said.
Russian forces have attacked the region's gas stations 13 times in June alone, he said.
Also, a Russian overnight strike in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia injured one woman and damaged a gas station, according to regional head Ivan Fedorov.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 269 Ukrainian drones from late Wednesday until early Thursday.
Several Russian airports temporarily restricted flights overnight during drone attacks.
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