Ukrainian interceptor systems shot down more than 33,000 Russian drones in March, a record monthly figure since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s defence minister said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s domestically-developed long-range attack drones struck a Russian oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in less than two weeks, prompting the evacuation of local people as a precautionary measure.
Ukraine has developed cutting-edge and battle-tested drone technology that has proved essential in holding back Russia’s bigger army and has drawn military interest from around the world.
Interceptor drones as part of a comprehensive air defence system are now being sought by countries in the Middle East and Persian Gulf amid the Iran war, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine is scaling up supplies of interceptor drones to thwart Russian aerial attacks and its military has introduced a new command within the air force to boost the country’s capabilities, Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in a post on Telegram late Monday.
Ukraine’s offensive capabilities have also improved, with the Defence Ministry saying on Tuesday that the country’s forces have more than doubled the range of their deep-strike capabilities since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
At that time, Ukrainian forces were able to hit military targets about 630 kilometres away, it said. They are now striking targets as far as roughly 1,750 kilometres behind enemy lines, the ministry said in a statement.
That improvement has allowed Ukraine to hit Russian oil installations that provide crucial revenue for Moscow’s war effort. It has also targeted manufacturing plants that supply Russia’s armed forces.
Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery at the Black Sea port of Tuapse for the third time this month in a coordinated operation involving multiple branches of the country’s defence and security services, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said on Tuesday
The two strikes earlier this month destroyed 24 oil storage tanks and damaged four others, it said. Independent verification of the claims was not possible.
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday its air defences intercepted 186 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, the annexed Crimea and the Black and the Azov seas.
Europe may need Ukraine
With Russia posing a threat to all of Europe, the continent may need Ukraine more than Ukraine needs Europe, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Tuesday, noting Kyiv’s large and increasingly modern military.
“Instead of us thinking that Ukraine needs Europe, perhaps we should think that we in Europe need Ukraine more,” Stubb told reporters at a joint press conference with his Estonian counterpart Alar Karis.
“It is the largest, most efficient and most modern military in Europe.”
Europe has ramped up its defensive capabilities in the face of the invasion and Moscow’s “hybrid” attacks on European countries, including drone overflights, alleged sabotage and misinformation.
Both Stubb and Karis expressed support for Kyiv’s desire to join both the European Union and NATO.
“We need to seriously start to think how much Europe actually needs Ukraine, whether it’s EU membership or, as a matter of fact, NATO membership,” Stubb said.
European leaders broadly back Ukraine’s EU membership aspirations but there is little appetite to fast-track Kyiv to full membership, despite urgent appeals from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Kyiv officially obtained EU candidate country status in December 2023.
Stubb meanwhile argued that the tide was turning in Ukraine’s favour in the war with Russia.
“If you look at the past four months, Ukraine is actually doing much better than Russia,” he said.
“We have seen the figures of both dead and wounded soldiers increase to 30,000 to 35,000 per month on the Russian side at a hit ratio of one Ukrainian to five Russians,” Stubb added.
“On top of that, Ukraine now has the capability to launch more missiles and drones into Russia than vice versa. The pace at which Russia is advancing is actually minimal, at a cost of roughly 250 dead per square kilometre.”
Additional sources • AP, AFP