Overview Of Russian Strikes In Ukraine On May 18, 2023
On the night of May 18, Russian forces launched another massive attack on Ukrainian military facilities across the country. It was largely rated as one of the most massive recent attacks.
At night, air alert sounded in all regions of Ukraine. The main areas of the strikes were the southern and central regions of the country, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are accumulating military reserves for their further transfer to the front lines. Throughout the night, Russian missiles, kamikaze UAVs and guided bombs have been targeting the Ukrainian military.
There were two wave of massive strikes. In the late evening, explosions thundered in the areas of concentration of military personnel and equipment in the Kherson, Zaporozhye, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Kirovograd, Ternoopil and Cherkasy regions, as well as in Odessa, Kharkiv and Kramatorsk. In the early morning, Russian Kalibr missiles struck their targets in the Khmelnitsky, Zhytomyr and Kiev regions.
According to some approximate estimations, in total, up to 50 cruise missiles of various types and UAVs targeted Ukraine.
The local authorities confirmed that Russian forces hit their targets in the Odessa region. Damage to a local industrial facility was confirmed. The local residents reported that more than ten explosions thundered in the city if Odessa and in the region.
One of the first strikes in the region hit Ukrainian military facilities near the village of Krasnoselka located on the north-eastern outskirts of the city of Odessa. A military base used for the training of foreign mercenaries was reportedly located there.
Soon, military facilities in different districts of the city of Odessa were destroyed. According to preliminary reports, the Centrolit plant located on the city outskirts, where military equipment supplied by the West was probably hidden, was hit by Russian missiles. The AFU are often using industrial facilities to store the most expensive NATO equipment.
On the eastern outskirts, Ukrainian warehouses in the village of Kotovsky were destroyed. According to unconfirmed reports, another target was the notorious Shkolny airfield.
In addition, Ukrainian military facilities near the villages of Tairovo (located on the western outskirts of Odessa) and Kholodnaya Balka (located on the northern outskirts of the city) were destroyed.
More targets were hit in the area of Zatoka, where a strategically important railway bridge, as well as various fuel and ammunition depots were likely struck.
Western equipment is being supplied through the Odessa region, and there are a lot of hidden military warehouses.
Russian strikes destroyed more Ukrainian military facilities along the so-called “Polish” supply line of the AFU, including in the Vinnytsia, Khmelnitsky and Ternopil regions, where Ukrainian forces are transferring foreign military supplies. Russian forces continue to destroy warehouses with ammunition and NATO weapons accumulated for the offensive.
The authorities of the Khmelnytskyi region reported explosions at the infrastructure facility. According to the regional military administration, the facility was damaged.
“There was a series of explosions. The air defense forces were working. In addition, unfortunately, there is a strike at the infrastructure of the Khmelnitsky district. There are no casualties. Information about the destruction is being clarified,” the regional administration reported.
More Russian strikes targeted the Kirovograd region, where at least eight explosions were reported. the capital of the region is the city of Kropivnistky where the headquarters of the 3rd separate Special Purpose Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, subordinate to the 4th GUR service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, are located.
The Ukrainian capital also was targeted by Russian forces. The mayor of Kiev confirmed damage in the city. According to him, emergency services went to the scenes of the incidents. There are no casualties.
“Several explosions in the capital. In Darnitsky and Dneprovsky districts,” he wrote in his Telegram channel. – A fire in a garage cooperative as a result of falling wreckage in the Darnitsky district. In the same area, wreckage fell in several other places. Previously, there was an explosion also in the Desnyansky district.”
Kiev continues to hide its losses, lying that the Ukrainian air defence is intercepting all Russian UAVs and missiles, which is not possible. Kiev is still hiding the truth about the destruction of the UAS-made Patriot system on May 16. Ukrainian officials attempt to whitewash themselves, now claiming that they allegedly missed only one Russian missile that day, and the Patriot system was not destroyed but was only slightly damaged. In its turn, the Russian Ministry of Defence clarified the details of the incident. In fact, “on May 16, 2023, as a result of a powerful missile strike carried out with the help of a hypersonic Kinzhal missile, 5 launchers and a multifunctional Patriot air defense radar station of American production were hit and destroyed in Kiev.”
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