Kiev shoots down series of UAVs, Russia intercepts British-French missiles, Czech fears 'worst case scenario'

Kiev assesses Russian missile arsenal, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko cited cases as the latest developments in the situation in Ukraine.

Cựu Tổng thống Ukraine Poroshenko. (Nguồn: Reuters)

Former Ukrainian President Poroshenko. (Source: Reuters)

* On May 29, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (VSU) said: “Russia has carried out another large-scale attack using Iranian Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Ukrainian territory. According to updated information, 58 out of 59 drones were shot down by our defense forces.” In the previous attack, the Ukrainian air force confirmed that Russia used up to 54 UAVs, a record number in this conflict.

* A day earlier, the agency also assessed that Russia's missile arsenal was not only not exhausted but also increasing, in the context that Moscow had significantly increased the production of high-precision weapons.

Specifically, the Telegram channel “Resident” cited a report from the VSU General Staff saying that during the Russian air campaign that began on April 28, the Russian army fired 160 cruise and ballistic missiles and launched more than 340 Shahed 136 kamikaze UAVs into Ukraine.

According to the agency's report, the last wave of Russian precision-guided weapons attacks on Ukraine began in late April, targeting military facilities: ammunition depots, armored and artillery storage facilities, and temporary deployment points of VSU troops. At the end of May, night attacks continued.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the country's defense industry has significantly increased the production of bullets and missiles, including high-precision ones.

* For his part, speaking at a press conference on May 28, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor said: "Over the past day, air defense systems successfully intercepted 3 Storm Shadow cruise missiles and 6 missiles from the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS)."

The official also said that Russian forces shot down four Ukrainian UAVs in the residential areas of Zhovtneve in Kharkiv province, Kopan in Zaporozhye province and Slavnoye in Donetsk region.

Storm Shadow is an aircraft-launched cruise missile jointly developed by British Aerospace and Matra. The version of this missile provided by London to Kiev has a range of up to 250 km.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, since the outbreak of the conflict, the country's military has destroyed 429 aircraft, 235 helicopters, 4,357 UAVs, 424 air defense missile systems, 9,322 tanks and armored vehicles, 1,100 vehicles carrying multiple launch rocket systems, 4,924 field guns and mortars, and 10,506 special military vehicles.

* On the same day, speaking at the Kiev Security Forum, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko outlined three scenarios for the current conflict. According to him, the government of this country still believes in the scenario of the Eastern European country joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). This means developing democracy and post-conflict reconstruction.

The second scenario considers security guarantees for Ukraine. Under this scenario, Kiev would receive weapons to continue fighting and its position would be “on par with Israel”. However, Mr. Poroshenko said that this would mean the conflict would never end and Ukrainians would “pay a heavy price”.

Meanwhile, in the third scenario, this politician is concerned that in case the West stops providing weapons and there is no security guarantee or NATO membership, the situation in Ukraine could be "like Afghanistan".

* Similarly, in an interview with Bild (Germany) on the same day, the head of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, General Karel Rzehka, commented: “The outcome of the conflict does not depend only on (the number of) tanks and armored personnel carriers. There are too many unknowns here. Personally, I think we should prepare for a worst-case scenario - a long-term conflict.”

The general also warned that the West may have to provide military aid to Ukraine for a long time and that politicians in these countries are preparing for the reality that the current situation will last. He commented: "The Russians think that time is on their side. We have to prove them wrong."

In March, Czech President Petr Pavel assessed that Ukraine had only one attempt to counterattack in 2023. In case of failure, Kiev would find it “extremely difficult” to launch a further offensive due to lack of resources, destroyed infrastructure and general “fatigue” among Western allies with the situation there.

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