This week, intense fighting has raged across the frontlines. Ukraine has stepped up drone strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia. Overnight on Tuesday, Ukrainian drones targeted sites in nine Russian regions. The following day, drone attacks halted three Russian oil refineries. Fighters of the Freedom for Russia Legion reported a cross-border incursion into Russia, purportedly entering the Belgorod and Kursk regions in armored vehicles.
Ukraine is building three lines of fortifications 2,000 kilometers long. The Ukrainian Army begins to rotate frontline troops. A mobilization bill awaits a vote in the parliament.
Meanwhile, the U.S. could send longer-range ATACMS to Ukraine. NATO Secretary General has urged the allies to ramp up military supplies to Ukraine. Ukraine warns that Russia’s attempts to hold “presidential election” in the occupied territories would be illegal.
Mstyslav Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol” won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. This is Ukraine’s first-ever Oscar victory.
Ukraine’s air defenses destroy all 27 drones that Russia launched overnight. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia carried out a number of missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian regions overnight on Friday. It launched seven S-300/S-400 anti-aircraft guided missiles at Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, a Kh-59 air-to-surface guided missile at Poltava region, and 27 Shahed drones at targets across Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down all 27 drones. Air defenses, electronic jamming systems, and mobile units were at work in Kirovohradska, Mykolayiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, and Kyiv regions.