Colonel Ihnat said: “If the Russians think that no one at home will be affected by the war, they are sorely mistaken. He added that the explosions at Russian airports had complicated the bombing campaign in Ukraine, forcing Moscow to relocate some of its planes, although no one confirmed that the airstrikes had hindered the operation. serious Russian attack.
According to Russian and Ukrainian officials, the December 5 attacks were carried out using Soviet-era jet-powered surveillance drones modified to function as an offensive weapon, shortly after a state-owned Ukrainian contractor said it had developed an attack drone. with a range of over 600 miles — more than enough to get to Moscow.
The US response to the December 5 attacks was muted. “We are not working to prevent Ukraine from developing its own capabilities,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III. Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department, stated only that the United States neither encourages nor authorizes attacks on Russia.
Both the State Department and the Department of Defense declined to comment on the drone strike reported on Monday.
The attacks further angered Russia’s pro-war commentators, who have criticized their country’s exposed vulnerabilities. They expressed anger at the poor combat performance of the Russian army. Not only did Russia’s air defenses fail to thwart at least some of the strikes, but Ukrainian officials say some were triggered by Ukrainian guerrilla or special forces operating behind the lines.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told the AP news agency on Monday that his government wants to hold a “peace summit,” hoping to be mediated by the United Nations secretary general, António. Guterres, in late February, but Russia cannot be invited unless it first faces war crimes prosecution. This is the latest in a series of statements by each country about its willingness to negotiate peace – but only on terms the other side cannot accept.
Over the past three months, Russia has launched a series of missiles and drones into Ukraine, sending up to 100 at once in an attempt to overwhelm air defenses. They have targeted civilian infrastructure such as power grids and heating plants, throw millions of people at once into the cold and the dark in the midst of dangerous winter weather.
