Russia is about to conduct another missile attack on Ukraine, multiple reports from both Russian and Ukrainian media have indicated.
According to the reports, up to 20 Tupolev Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers were scrambled on the morning of November 28, 2022, and could have launched missiles in the region of the Caspian Sea, a usual launch site for such attacks.
The reports have been published across Ukrainian and Russian media and social media channels, although the original source of the information remains unclear.
Largest force yet
According to some of the reports, several additional bombers were redeployed from Dyagilevo air base in Ryazan Oblast to Engels air base, bringing the total number of newly scrambled Tu-95s to 20, almost twice as many as during previous attacks.
Those attacks were conducted with no more than 11 Tu-95 bombers, each capable of launching up to 12 missiles.
In addition, spokeswoman for the southern command of the Ukrainian army Nataliya Gumenyuk said that a Russian warship, capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles, had sailed into the open sea. According to the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, Gymenyuk said this indicates that Russia was preparing for another attack.
Ukrainian interior minister Vadim Denisenko said the attack can be expected “at any moment”, Ukrainian media reports.
Air raid alerts were announced in Ukraine’s Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions during the afternoon of November 28, according to Liveuamap.com.
Targeting infrastructure
Russia began conducting mass attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in August 2022.
Since then, large parts of the Ukrainian electricity grid have been destroyed using a combination of cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones.
The bulk of the attacks are being conducted with Kalibr, Kh-101 and other kinds of air- and sea-launched cruise missiles.
According to the Ukrainian military, up to two thirds of these missiles are being intercepted in flight, with extensive video evidence showing interceptions by various Ukrainian air defense systems, including MANPADS, fighter jets and even small arms.