Russian ground forces regroup as western Ukraine comes under attack for the first time
Russian forces launched multiple missile strikes against a wide range of targets across Ukraine early this Friday, causing significant damage in and around the central city of Dnipro, and also hitting airports in the far west of the country, which until now they were free of the conflict.
The Lutsk airport in northwestern Ukraine, about 70 kilometers from the Polish border, suffered extensive damage. The governor of the Volyn region said four missiles had been fired from a Russian bomber and two people had been killed. Plumes of smoke also rose from the Ivano-Frankivsk military airfield in western Ukraine, which was hit by missiles.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday: “Long-range high-precision weapons attacked Ukraine’s military infrastructure. The Lutsk and Ivano-Frankovsk military airfields were put out of service.”
Closer to Kyiv, fighting has intensified northeast and east of the capital after the Ukrainians successfully intercepted and attacked an advancing Russian tank column on Thursday. That front is still very active.
An overnight airstrike in the Brovary district in eastern Kyiv caused no casualties, according to Kyiv authorities.
Ukrainian authorities also reported a missile attack on the town of Baryshivka overnight, some 45 kilometers east of the capital. According to authorities, 60 apartments were damaged along with four apartment buildings and 10 houses.
The Russian column that had been on the outskirts of Kyiv for nearly two weeks has dispersed, according to reports. maxar satellite images this Thursday. Forces appear to be regrouping.
Thomas Bullock, principal analyst at Janes, told CNN that “Ukrainian tactics of attacking supply lines have worked well, especially during the first 5-10 days of the war. This was due in part to Ukrainian tactics and in part to to how Russia operated.
“During the first two days of the war, Russian forces appear to have prioritized rushing forward to quickly secure objectives. This means they were not advancing as a coherent front line securing territory as they went,” he said.
“This allowed Ukrainian forces to slip behind Russia’s advanced mechanized units and attack logistics columns traveling on unsafe roads in the rear.”
“It is unclear how effective this tactic will be as Russia begins to refocus its forces for a longer war after its failure to secure a quick victory,” Bullock added.