Lviv: Russia’s air strikes intensified in Ukraine on Friday. While Russian planes and artillery hit Ukrainian airstrips in the country’s west, bombs and shells hit a major industrial center in the east. US defense officials shared an assessment of Russia’s air campaign. He said Russian pilots were dropping an average of 200 bombs a day, compared to five to ten in the case of Ukrainian forces.
According to US officials, Ukrainian forces are increasingly pushing for the use of surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled missiles and drones to counter attacks by Russian aircraft. Satellite images showed fierce gunfights between Russian and Ukrainian forces at residential complexes in the capital Kyiv and its surrounding areas.
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Photos taken by Maxar Technology show massive potholes and burning houses, along with flames and smoke emanating from cannons in the city of Moshun, on the outskirts of Kyiv. Some photographs showed villagers climbing the broken walls of a pool hall, restaurant and theater in a village completely devastated by Russian bombings to the east of the capital.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin caused terrible devastation, thinking he would one day rule here,” said a 62-year-old local resident, Ivan Merzych. In some photographs, people were seen wearing plastic instead of broken glass windows to avoid freezing in below-zero temperatures in many areas. “We’re not going to leave our homes and go anywhere,” Merzisk said.