Interior minister graces graduation ceremony at Naif Arab University for Security Sciences    Prophet's Mosque imam underscores Islam's core values at peace conference in India    Saudi, Indian foreign ministers co-chair Cooperation Committee meeting in New Delhi    198 new sites documented in the National Antiquities Register    Cityscape Global 2024: Saudi real estate sector booms with SR180 billion in new projects    PIF to sell 2% stake in stc via accelerated book-building    SAMA issues rules for opening electronic wallets    TGA suspends 2 passenger transport applications and an application for food delivery    South Korean actor Song Jae Lim found dead at 39    Trump names Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary pick    There is nowhere safe in Gaza, UNRWA director says    Archbishop of Canterbury resigns over Church abuse scandal    US says it will not limit arms transfers to Israel    Don't sit on the toilet for more than 10 minutes, doctors warn    Saudi Champion Saeed Al-Mouri scores notable feat in Radical World Championship in Abu Dhabi with support from Bin-Shihon Group    'Marvels of Saudi Orchestra' to dazzle audience in Tokyo on Nov. 22    Rita Ora is tearful in tribute to Liam Payne at MTV Awards    France to deploy 4,000 police officers for UEFA Nations League match against Israel    Al Nassr edges past Al Riyadh with Mane's goal to move up to third    Al Ahli continues strong form with 2-0 win over Al Raed in Saudi Pro League    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Surge in Russian drone strikes test Ukrainian defenses and devastate families
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 13 - 11 - 2024

Maria Troyanivska had come home early the night a Russian drone hit her bedroom.
"It flew in through the window, right into her room," her mother Viktoria tells the BBC. After the explosion, she and her husband Volodymyr ran from the next room to find their daughter's room on fire.
"We tried to put it out, but everything was burning so strongly," she says through tears. "It was impossible to breathe – we had to leave."
The Russian Shahed drone killed the 14-year-old in her bed, in her suburban apartment in Kyiv, last month.
"She died immediately, and then burned," her mother said. "We had to bury her in a closed coffin. She had no chance of surviving."
Russia is massively increasing drone strikes on Ukraine. More than 2,000 were launched in October, according to Ukraine's general staff — a record number in this war.
The same report says Russia fired 1,410 drones in September, and 818 in August — compared with around 1,100 for the entire three-month period before that.
It's part of a wider resurgence for Russian forces. The invaders are advancing all along the front lines. North Korean troops have joined the war on Moscow's side. And with the election of Donald Trump for a second term as US president, Ukraine's depleted and war-weary forces are facing uncertain support from their biggest military donor.
The majority of the Russian drones raining down on Ukraine are Iranian-designed Shaheds: propeller-driven, with a distinctive wing shape and a deadly warhead packed into the nose cone.
Russia has also started to launch fake drones, without any explosives, to confuse Ukraine's air defense units and force them to waste ammunition.
Compared to missiles they are much cheaper to build, easier to fire, and designed to sap morale.
Every night, Ukrainians go to sleep to notifications pinging on their phones, as inbound drones crisscross the country, setting sirens blaring.
And every morning, they wake to news of yet another strike. Just since the start of November, drones have hit Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia.
On Sunday, Russia launched 145 drones at Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky — a record number for a single day since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Kyiv said that day it had managed to shoot down 62 drones, and that a further 67 were "lost" — meaning they were either downed by electronic warfare or disappeared from radar screens.
Ukrainian air defenses are struggling to cope with the surging numbers.
"So far we have been intercepting them. I hope we will keep intercepting them," Sgt Mykhailo Shamanov, a spokesperson for Kyiv city military administration, told the BBC.
While he says Russia tries to hit military installations, the "general aim is terrorising civilians".
They know the Russians will continue to ramp up these attacks, he said – it's why his government is constantly asking for more air defence from Western allies.
It's also why Ukraine is nervously waiting to see how US President-elect Trump will approach the war when he re-enters office.
"Even if air defence works well, drone or missile debris falls on the city. It causes fires, damage and unfortunately sometimes victims," he explained.
"Every night it's a lottery – where it hits, where it's shot down, where it falls and what happens."
Vitaliy and his men have no fixed post – their weaponry for shooting down the Shaheds is carried on the back of a flatbed truck, allowing them to manoeuvre quickly.
"We try to monitor, move, outpace the drone, destroy it," he said.
It's clear the job is taking its toll.
"Half a year ago, it was 50 drones a month. Now the number has risen to 100 drones, every night," he said.
Their days are getting longer too. When the Russians used mainly missiles to bomb Ukraine, the unit commander said, the air alerts would last about six hours. "Now, it's around 12 or 13 hours," he said.
Vitaliy is confident in front of his men, declaring that they can handle all that the Russians can fire at them if they get weapons from Western allies. "Our guys could even deal with 250 drones [in a night]," he said.
But air defence can only do so much. Ukrainians will continue to suffer until Russia stops its invasion and its air assaults on cities.
Viktoria says their lives are now divided into before and after their daughter's death. They are staying with a friend after the destruction of their flat; she said they sleep in the corridor at night to shelter from the constant drone attacks.
"Of course it's exhausting," she said. "But it seems to me it makes people even more angry, irritates and outrages them. Because people really cannot understand, especially lately, those attacks that hit peaceful houses."
"I don't understand at all why this war started and for what," Maria's father, Volodymyr, told the BBC. "What sense does it make? Not from an economic perspective, nor human, territorial — people just die."
"It's just some ambitions of sick people." — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.