Russia conducts new wave of missile strikes across Ukraine

A barrage of missiles by Russian forces has struck targets across Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials, as the West pledges to pour more arms into the country.

In a statement on Thursday, Ukraine's military chief, Valery Zaluzhny, said that in a two-hour overnight burst, Russian troops had fired a total of 36 missiles of various types, including cruise projectiles.

He said Ukrainian air defense batteries had managed to shoot down 16 of the Russian missiles. That stated number showed a lower rate of success than against some previous Russian waves.

According to Ukrainian authorities, targets in the north, west, south, east, and center of the ex-Soviet republic were struck in the new wave of the Russian missile attack.

Ukrainian officials said that among the downed missiles had been eight Russian Kalibr cruise missiles fired from a ship in the Black Sea, adding that other missiles had struck northern and western Ukraine, as well as the central regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad.

The development came as Ukraine's Western allies pledged even more military aid for an intended Ukrainian spring counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said that Russian forces had "changed their tactics" for the strike, deploying what he described as "active reconnaissance."

Following a period of battlefield setbacks, Russia, now bolstered by tens of thousands of reservists, has intensified ground attacks across southern and eastern Ukraine in recent weeks.

Much of the intense fighting is taking place around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which is still in Ukrainian hands amid a months-long battle. The capture of the salt mining town in the eastern region of Donetsk would give Russia a fresh foothold in the region.

"The enemy's offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks," said Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, stressing, "The situation is tense."

Moscow says Russian troops gain more ground along frontlines in Ukraine

Russia claims fresh gains along the frontlines in Ukraine as the war nears its first anniversary.

Since the start of the war in February last year,  United States and Ukraine's other allies have sent Kiev tens of billions of dollars' worth of weapons, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems.

Western countries have also imposed a slew of economic sanctions on Moscow. The Kremlin has said the sanctions and the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.

Back in September last year, Russia annexed the four Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia after votes were held there on falling under Russian rule. Ukraine and its Western allies consider the votes to have been a "sham."

Luhansk and Donetsk make up the Donbas, Ukraine's industrial heartland.

Moscow considers those regions Russian territory but Russian forces have not managed to take the regions under their full control. In fact, much of the territory in the Russian-annexed regions still remains in Ukrainian hands.

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