Russia fired dozens of Iranian-made Shahed attack drones at targets around Kyiv over the weekend in an apparent attempt to degrade Ukraine’s air defenses even as the Kremlin appears to be stockpiling its supply of cruise missiles, British officials said Tuesday.
On Nov. 18-19, Moscow launched about 50 Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles in waves from Kursk, east of Kyiv, and from Krasnodar, southeast of the Ukrainian capital. Russian military leaders likely intend to prepare the battle space ahead of a winter campaign against Ukraine, British military officials said on X.
However, Russia has refrained from firing any of its air-launched cruise missiles for nearly two months. British intelligence officials said relying on Iranian-made drones in the short term will allow the Kremlin to “build up a substantial stock” of them.
“Russia is highly likely to use these missiles if it repeats last year’s effort to destroy Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure,” UK military intelligence officials said on X.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy said he expects Russia to steadily increase the number of aerial attacks as winter approaches.
“It is crucial for all of us in Ukraine to be 100% effective. Despite all the difficulties. Despite all the fatigue. Despite any attempts to weaken Ukraine,” Mr. Zelenskyy said on his Telegram social media page.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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