Ukraine is facing an increase in missile, drone and artillery barrages from Russia, with bombardments falling on Ukrainian cities on Wednesday and Tuesday night.
The Kremlin launched 24 Iranian-made Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 kamikaze drones into Ukraine over Wednesday night, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday morning.
"The Ukrainian defenders shot down 18 of them," the ministry claimed.
Twelve drones were felled near Odesa, out of a volley of 15, said the Ukrainian Southern Command on Thursday. It claimed that the three remaining drones hit educational facilities, but there were no casualties and fires were quickly extinguished.
The Ukrainian Southern Command noted earlier that night that the Russian Black Sea Fleet had increased its presence to eight warships in the Black Sea, including a vessel armed with 8 Kalibr cruise missiles.
In Kherson, on Wednesday evening, 23 people were killed in a Russian shelling that struck stores, a train station and homes, according to an updated casualty count given by Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska on Thursday morning.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared graphic images of bloodied fatalities in a Kherson supermarket, saying that dozens of civilians had been injured.
"We will never forgive the culprits," said Zelensky.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that the citizens of Kherson were facing shelling on a daily basis.
On Tuesday night, the ministry said that 26 suicide drones were launched at the capital of Kyiv. Twenty-one were allegedly shot down, and the remaining five allegedly failed to hit a target.
"This was [the] third nighttime attack on Kyiv within [the] past six days," said the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
Russian missile attacks on Kyiv on the rise
On Wednesday, the US Embassy in Kyiv issued a security alert for US citizens in the city to observe air alarms amid "the recent uptick in strikes across Ukraine and inflammatory rhetoric from Moscow."
"The Department of State cautions US citizens of an ongoing heightened threat of missile attacks, including in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast," said the embassy.
The UK Defense Ministry assessed on Wednesday morning that the Kremlin had begun to use air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM) against Ukraine once again, after a hiatus in the weapon's use for 50 days.
Russia had launched ALCM strikes on Monday and last Friday, "conducted by Russian Long Range Aviation strategic bombers, both Tu-95 and Tu-160 aircraft, likely using Kh-101 and Kh-555 ALCMs," the UK Defense Ministry said in the intelligence update.
The UK said that the strikes were smaller than others of its kind, likely as the Kremlin sought to rebuild ALCM stockpiles.
The week's barrages come as concern over Ukraine's strained air defense systems continues. Pentagon leaks revealed in April that Ukraine was low on anti-air munitions and that its allies were seeking short and long-term solutions. Western intelligence had long assessed that Russia was seeking to force Ukraine into depleting its air defense reserves.
Concurrently, Russia also sought to damage Ukraine's electrical grid with such strikes, but on Wednesday, the UK Defense Ministry noted a shift in strategy.
"Both recent strikes were likely focused on Ukraine’s military, industrial and logistical infrastructure."
UK Defense Ministry
"The observed types of facilities damaged by the Russian strikes indicate a possible shift away from targeting Ukraine’s electrical power network," said the ministry. "Both recent strikes were likely focused on Ukraine’s military, industrial and logistical infrastructure."