Over the last 14 hours, Russia hit Ukrainian cities and villages with two S-300/S-400 surface-to-air missiles, one Kh-31 air-to-surface missile, and 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones, said Ukraine’s Air Forces.
For several months now, Russia has been launching suicide drone attacks against Ukraine almost every day, targeting various cities and often causing civilian casualties.
Ukraine engaged anti-aircraft missile units, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare tools to repel the attacks in Kharkiv, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv oblasts. They successfully shot down all of the 23 Shahed drones.
In Poltava Oblast, a fire broke out at an industrial object in Kremenchuk district as a result of the drone attack, according to the head of the regional military administration, Philip Pronin. At least 18 units of the State Emergency Service equipment and 85 employees were involved in extinguishing the blaze. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported, he wrote on Telegram.
Two more Shaheds drones were shot down over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast – in Synelnykove and Dniprovskyi districts, said the head of the regional military administration, Serhii Lysak. The debris from one of the downed drones damaged three houses and two cars. Later, the region was also shelled by Russian troops with artillery, he added.
Russian forces also directed their attacks towards Kharkiv Oblast, with the region experiencing both artillery shelling and air strikes, as Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration reported.
Based on his data, residential buildings civilian and critical infrastructure objects in 25 settlements were damaged. At least four people were reported to have sustained injuries.
Another drone was destroyed by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in Kherson Oblast, said the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin. Over 24 hours, Russian occupiers shelled the region 43 times with artillery, mortars, multiple rocket launchers, and tanks and conducted several drone strikes. Two people were injured as a result of attacks on residential quarters.
Also, Ukraine intercepted a Russian drone in Mykolaiv Oblast, according to the head of the regional military administration, Vitalii Kim. Additionally, Russian forces shelled the settlements of Kutsurubivska and Ochakivska communities in the region, but no casualties were reported.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, two civilians were killed in Russian shelling on Prymorsk and Lisne, which also damaged residential buildings and infrastructure objects. The invaders 435 times targeted the region over the past day, using 73 UAVs, said Ivan Fedorov, the head of the regional military administration, on Telegram.
Furthermore, at 5 am on 20 February, Russian forces launched an air strike on the Novoslobidska community in the Konotop district in Sumy Oblast.
“As a result of the attacks, a fire broke out in a residential building. The bodies of two killed individuals have been found,” the Sumy Regional Military Administration said on Facebook.
Earlier, Canada announced it would donate more than 800 SkyRanger R70 multi-mission Unmanned Aerial Systems to Ukraine to aid in its defense against “Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable full-scale invasion,” the Canadian Ministry of Defense said on 19 February.
The drones are valued at over C$95 million ($70.44 million) and are part of the C$500 million in military assistance pledged by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his visit to Kyiv last year. SkyRanger is designed to recognize people, vehicles, and heat sources from a long distance, particularly in darkness and adverse weather conditions.
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