Emergency workers have pulled the body of a 1-year-old boy from the rubble of an apartment building in the central Ukranian city of Kryvyi Rih, following a Russian missile strike.
The barrage of long-range Russian strikes aimed at Ukraine’s infrastructure has been coming as Russian President Vladimir Putin concludes meetings with his armed forces commanders, seeking proposals on how they think the Russian invasion of Ukraine should move forward, the Kremlin says.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said in an intelligence update Saturday, “In recent days, there has been an uptick in Russia's campaign of long-range strikes against Ukraine's critical national infrastructure.”
The ministry tweeted, “The waves of strikes have largely consisted of air and maritime launched cruise missiles but have almost certainly also included Iranian-provided uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) being launched from Russia's Krasnodar Region."
“Previously these UAVs had been primarily launched from locations within occupied Crimea,” the ministry said. “The change of launch site is likely due to Russian
Russia Using Iranian Drones in Ukraine, Britain Says
concerns about the vulnerability of Crimea, while it is also convenient for resupply from the weapons' likely arrival point in Russia, at Astrakhan.”
The United States will provide additional security assistance to Ukraine, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told VOA in an interview Friday.
Asked if Washington would heed Russia’s warning not to deliver sophisticated Patriot air defense missiles or risk the consequences, Kirby replied “Russia will not dictate to the United States or any other country what security assistance we provide to Ukraine.”
Washington in 'Lockstep' With Ukraine on Defense
The U.S. official said Washington is in “lockstep with the Ukrainians, talking to them almost every day about what their needs are, and making sure that we are best meeting those needs.”
Kirby emphasized that air defense capabilities are becoming a chief requirement of Ukraine’s military after Russia’s “unprecedented” airstrikes with cruise missiles and Iranian drones “the likes of which we've just seen again over the last 12 to 18 hours,” he told VOA.
Kirby said Washington’s focus is to help Ukraine succeed in the battlefield in whichever way Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees fit. The U.S., he said, does not dictate to Ukraine how to defend its territory.