Russia plans drone air campaign to ‘exhaust’ Ukraine: Zelenskyy - Al Jazeera English

More than 80 drones launched by Russia were changeable down by Ukrainian forces successful archetypal 2 days of 2023, Ukraine president says.

Russia is readying a protracted run of aerial bombardments and attacks utilizing Iranian-made drones successful a bid to “exhaust” Ukraine into submission, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In his nightly code to the federation connected Monday, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had received quality that Russia would summation its run of drone raids connected the country.

“We person accusation that Russia is readying a semipermanent onslaught utilizing Shahed drones,” Zelenskyy said.

“It is astir apt banking connected exhaustion. Exhausting our people, our anti-aircraft defences, our energy,” helium said.

Ukraine, helium said, had to “act and bash everything truthful that the terrorists neglect successful their aim, arsenic each their others person failed”.

Drones targeted captious infrastructure successful Kyiv and surrounding areas successful the aboriginal hours of Monday, pursuing attacks by Russian missiles and drones that deed Kyiv and different cities connected New Year’s Eve and aboriginal connected New Year’s Day, sidesplitting astatine slightest 5 radical and wounding dozens.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had changeable scores of drones successful conscionable the archetypal 2 days of 2023, and helium expected the fig could summation soon.

“Only 2 days person passed since the opening of the twelvemonth … and already the fig of drones changeable down implicit Ukraine is implicit 80,” helium said.

“In the adjacent future, this fig whitethorn increase.”

The Russian subject has progressively turned to the usage of so-called kamikaze drones, which are packed with explosives and, astatine the extremity of their formation path, descend vertically astatine precocious velocity connected their target, causing extended harm and casualties.

Though the Iranian Shahed drones are comparatively dilatory moving and an casual people for Ukraine’s aerial defences, Russia’s drone warfare strategy has been to motorboat ample numbers of the uncrewed projectiles astatine a peculiar people and overwhelm Ukraine’s aerial surveillance and defence systems.

Iran had denied providing drones to Russia for usage successful the Ukraine war until confirming successful November that it had fixed a “limited number” of the aerial explosives to Moscow but insisting that they were successful the hands of Russian forces earlier the penetration of Ukraine had begun.

Zelenskyy has rejected Tehran’s relationship of its drone supplies with Russia, saying the fig of Shaheds changeable down acold exceeded what Iran had claimed to person provided to Moscow.

Ukraine’s subject officials said connected Monday that it successfully had changeable down each 39 drones Russia had launched successful a 3rd consecutive nighttime of aerial raids against civilian targets successful Kyiv and different cities. The officials said their occurrence proved that Russia’s maneuver successful caller months of raining down missiles and drones to sound retired Ukraine’s vigor infrastructure was progressively failing arsenic Kyiv beefs up its aerial defences much than 10 months since Russian forces invaded.

However, portion the drones deployed by Russia are comparatively inexpensive to procure, the missiles and different weaponry utilized by Ukraine to intercept specified aerial attacks are acold much expensive.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies