One year and a day after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, a 30-minute-long air alarm sounded across Ukraine on Saturday, a blaring reminder that after a week of whirlwind diplomatic meetings and renewed vows of support for Kyiv, the war shows no signs of stopping.
The Ukrainian military reported on Saturday that Russia had launched 27 airstrikes and 75 rocket attacks on cities and villages in eastern and southern Ukraine over the past 24 hours, but said that all of the assaults aimed at gaining territory had been repelled.
While Ukraine remains braced for another largescale missile bombardment, western and Ukrainian officials have said that Russia is running low on precision missiles.
It is also likely facing a shortage of the Iranian-made attack drones that it has used in its efforts to penetrate Ukrainian air defenses, the British military intelligence agency said on Saturday.
Ukraine shot down 24 such drones from late January to early February, the agency said.
“Although the weapons do not have a good record in destroying their intended targets, Russia likely sees them as useful decoys which can divert Ukrainian air defences from more effective Russian cruise missiles,” the British agency said.
As Russia struggled to make gains on the battlefield, the Kremlin was silent on the anniversary of the war.