Russia shells Ukraine most heavily since the beginning of the year

Nga pháo kích Ukraine dữ dội nhất kể từ đầu năm - 1 — Oil tanks at a Ukrainian railway station in the Donetsk region burn after a Russian shelling on October 31 (Photo: Reuters).

"Over the past 24 hours, the enemy has shelled 118 areas in 10 provinces. This is the largest shelling of cities and villages in Ukraine since the beginning of this year," Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on November 1.

Shelling in the northeastern Ukrainian province of Kharkov has left one person dead, according to local officials. At least one person has been killed in the southern province of Kherson.

The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defense system shot down 18-20 Russian drones on the night of October 31 and early morning of November 1.

"The raid focused on the Poltava region and took place in waves," Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said.

Russia also attacked an oil refinery in Kremenchuk, an industrial city in central Ukraine. The attack caused no casualties, but it took about 100 firefighters several hours to bring the fire under control.

The plant has been the target of Russian attacks several times before. The extent of damage to the plant after the latest attack is unknown.

Ukraine and the West fear Russia will step up attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure ahead of winter, as it did last year.

According to estimates from Defense Express, Russia used more than 500 drones to attack Ukraine in September. Meanwhile, cruise missile attacks tended to decrease in October.

Russia used more than 10 missiles to attack Ukraine in September, but that number dropped to 40 missiles in October. Observers say Moscow is stockpiling missiles for an upcoming large-scale attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

In mid-October last year, Russia fired more than 80 cruise and ballistic missiles at targets in Ukraine. At that time, the Ukrainian military estimated that Russia had more than 600 missiles left out of a total of 1,800 precision-guided missiles, meaning that it had used up two-thirds of its missile arsenal compared to when the military campaign began.

Russia has sought to replenish its missile arsenal by boosting domestic production and through anonymous supplies despite Western sanctions.

Vadym Skibitskyi, an official of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency, estimated that by the end of December 2023, Russia would have about 585 missiles with a range of over 500km.

Ukrainian intelligence believes that Russia can produce about 100-120 long-range missiles of various types per month. Thus, the current size of Russia's long-range missile arsenal is estimated at up to 700 missiles.

This arsenal includes 270 Iskander ballistic missiles, 140 Kalibr cruise missiles and about 100 Kh-101, Kh-555, Kh-55 missiles. In addition, Russia also possesses about 75 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and 150 Kh-22 missiles.

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