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War in Ukraine: Zelensky calls for long-range weapons after drone attack on Kiev

Ukraine needs long-range weapons to protect its cities and frontline troops from Russian bombs and drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday after a massive overnight drone and missile attack.

Russia carried out its fifth drone attack on Kiev in two weeks overnight, destroying all Ukrainian air defense systems before they reached the capital, the Ukrainian military said.

Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram that its air defense systems destroyed 35 of 39 drones and two cruise missiles that Russia fired overnight. The weapons, the air force said, were aimed at 10 regions of Ukraine.

It was not immediately clear how many drones were launched at Kiev. There were no casualties and no significant damage was reported, Serhiy Popko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration, said on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for Western allies to allow long-range strikes on Russia on Friday. Photo: AFP

“Last night alone, the Russian army deployed almost 40 ‘Shaheds’ against Ukraine. The important thing is that most of them were shot down by our air defenders,” Zelensky said on Telegram, referring to the drones.

He said it was necessary to destroy Russian bombers at Russian air bases to protect Ukraine from air attacks.

“Our sufficient long-range capabilities should be a fair response to Russian terror. Anyone who supports us in this supports defense against terror,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky reiterated his call on Western allies in London on Friday to allow long-range strikes on Russia, saying Britain should try to persuade its partners to lift restrictions on their use.

NATO members have taken different approaches to how Ukraine can use the weapons they donate. Some have made it clear that Kiev can use them to strike targets inside Russia, while the United States has taken a more limited approach, allowing its weapons to be used only just inside Russia’s borders against targets that support Russian military operations in Ukraine.

A photo released on February 2 shows Russian troops loading an Iskander missile onto a mobile launcher during exercises at an undisclosed location in Russia. Photo: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

Russia has fired three Iskander ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said, without saying what happened to them.

The military administration of the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, bordering Russia, reported on Telegram that a Russian missile damaged critical infrastructure in the Shostkynskyi district of the region.

The government did not provide details about what infrastructure was affected.

There was no immediate comment from Russia on the strikes. Moscow says it does not attack civilian targets in Ukraine.

“These systematic attacks … with drones, prove once again that the intruder is actively looking for an opportunity to attack Kiev,” Popko said. “They are testing new tactics, looking for new flight paths to the capital, trying to expose the location of our air defenses.”

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