Russia warned it faces spoil with Putin braced for humiliation over Ukraine battle | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Britain is scrambling 200 air defence missiles to Ukraine and is asking on allies to present Kyiv “what they need to win” the battle with Russia.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps mentioned Ukrainian troops will be capable of use the Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ASRAAM) to shoot down Russian missiles and drones with “incredible accuracy”.

The Ministry of Defence additionally pledged “to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences with more support in the New Year”.

Russia on Thursday launched 122 missiles and 36 drones towards Ukrainian targets, killing no less than 20 civilians in what navy officers mentioned was the largest aerial barrage of the 22-month battle.

The Ukrainian air power intercepted 87 of the missiles and 27 of the Shahed-type drones in a single day, Ukraine’s navy chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi mentioned.

Air power commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it had been “the most massive aerial attack” since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Within hours, the Ministry of Defence confirmed it’s sending Ukraine one other 200 ASRAAM missiles.

Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps mentioned: “Putin’s latest wave of murderous airstrikes are a desperate and futile attempt to regain momentum after the catastrophic loss of hundreds of thousands of conscripts and ahead of the humiliation of his three-day war entering a third calendar year.

“We continue to stand by Ukraine’s defence, which is why today we are sending hundreds of air defence missiles to restock British gifted air defence systems capable of striking down Russian drones and missiles with incredible accuracy.

“Putin is testing Ukraine’s defences and the West’s resolve, hoping that he can clutch victory from the jaws of defeat. But he is wrong. Ukraine’s degradation of the Russian Black Sea fleet has proven it is still in this fight to win. And today’s air defence package sends an undeniable message, in the face of Russian barbarity that the UK remains absolutely committed to supporting Ukraine.

“Now is the time for the free world to come together and redouble our efforts to get Ukraine what they need to win.”

They might be fired from specifically designed floor air defence programs.

Previously, the ASRAAM missiles had been solely designed to be fired from fighter jets.

But British scientists “developed, manufactured and trialled” new air defence programs that might hearth the missiles from the bottom inside simply 4 months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned the Kremlin’s forces used all kinds of weapons, together with ballistic and cruise missiles.

“Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal,” Mr Zelensky mentioned on X.

Ukrainian air power spokesman Yurii Ihnat mentioned Russia “apparently launched everything they have”, apart from submarine-launched Kalibr missiles, within the assault.

The aerial assault that started on Thursday and continued by way of the evening hit six cities, together with the capital, Kyiv, and different areas from east to west and north to south Ukraine, in keeping with authorities.

Reports of deaths and injury got here in from throughout the nation.

Five folks had been killed and 20 injured within the jap metropolis of Dnipro the place 4 maternity hospital sufferers had been rescued from a hearth, officers mentioned.

In Odesa, on the southern coast, falling drone wreckage began a hearth at a multi-storey residential constructing, in keeping with the regional head, Oleh Kiper. Two folks had been killed and 15, together with two kids, had been injured in the midst of the Odesa assault, he mentioned.

The mayor of the western metropolis of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi, mentioned one individual was killed and eight injured and three colleges and a kindergarten had been broken in a drone assault within the area.

Several dozen missiles had been launched in the direction of Kyiv throughout the evening, with greater than 30 of them intercepted, mentioned Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv navy administration.

The assault began a hearth at a warehouse within the capital’s Podil district the place 5 folks reportedly had been pulled from the rubble. Three folks had been killed within the capital.

In north-eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov mentioned the town was subjected to no less than three waves of aerial assaults in a single day that included S-300 and Kh-21 missile launches. One individual was killed and no less than 9 injured, officers mentioned.