In the early hours of April 28, 2023, Russian armed forces launched air attacks on several cities in Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia used 23 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles air-launched from the Caspian Sea region by Tu-95 strategic bombers. They claim to have intercepted 21 of the missiles, as well as two unmanned aircraft.
The Tupolev Tu-95 Bear strategic bomber can carry a total of eight Kh-101 cruise missiles on external pylons.
The bodies of thirteen people were found amongst the rubble of a residential building in the city of Uman, located 180 kilometers (112 miles) south of Kyiv, according to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Two people were also killed in Dnipro, according to its Mayor Borys Filatov. A large city in central-eastern Ukraine, Dnipro had already been the target of airstrikes that had killed 45 people when they hit a residential building on January 13, 2023.
Explosions were also heard in Kyiv, Kremenchuk, Mykolayiv, and Cherkasy, Ukrainian TV channel TSN reported.
UPDATE 28-03-2023, 17:03 (UTC +3): The death toll in Uman increased to 17 people, according to Ihor Taburets, Governor of Cherkasy Oblast.
Neutralizing Russia’s terror-bombing
Since October 2022, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructures, using cruise missiles and Iranian-made suicide drones. The Ukrainian president regularly calls on his allies to provide anti-air systems.
“When Ukraine receives a sufficient number of modern and effective air defense systems, the key element of Russian terror – missile strikes – will cease to function,” Zelenskyy said.
In April 2022, Ukraine received several Patriot batteries and a German-made IRIS-T SLM air defense system. According to Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, two divisions of Patriot anti-aircraft missile system have been deployed.
“They say there is a ban on the General Staff taking selfies in front of equipment! Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Oleshchuk said in a Telegram post.