Zelensky’s Ukraine receives more air defense missiles from Spain to combat deadly Russian glide bombs

MADRID (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday secured a promise from Spain of additional air defense missiles to help combat the nearly 3,000 bombs he says Russia drops on Ukraine every month over of the third year of the year. war.

However, Ukraine still urgently needs seven more American-made Patriot air defense systems to prevent Russia from striking the country. electrical network And civil areasas well as military targets, with devastating hover bombs that cause widespread destruction, Zelenskyy said.

“If we had these modern Patriot systems, (Russian) planes would not be able to fly close enough to drop (gliding) bombs on the civilian population and the army,” Zelensky said at a press conference in the Spanish capital.

Glide bombs are Soviet-era heavy bombs equipped with precision guidance systems and launched from aircraft flying beyond the range of air defenses. The bombs weigh more than a ton and destroy targets into smithereens, leaving a huge crater.

Two Patriot systems are needed to protect the northeastern Kharkiv region, where Kremlin forces launched a cross-border offensive on May 10 that left Ukrainian troops reeling, Zelenskyy said. Death toll from bomb attack on Kharkiv mall On Saturday, the number rose to 18, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said Monday, with five people still missing.

Kharkiv’s advance has further strained the already exhausted Ukrainian army, which has been fighting Russian troops in recent months. deeper intense workout in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region. Zelensky said Sunday that the Kremlin army was assembling at another location in Russia, further north but close to the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, in a bid to stretch the army exhausted Ukrainian and to break its resistance in the region.

Zelensky and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez signed a bilateral security agreement that allocates 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in military aid to Ukraine in 2024 and 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) by 2027. Other Leopard tanks and artillery munitions are also included in the deal. wrap.

“After more than two years (of war), Russia’s aggression continues, and that is why it is more necessary than ever to redouble our support,” Sánchez said during the joint press conference.

THE Patriot is a surface-to-air guided missile system that was first deployed in the 1980s and can target aircraft, cruise missiles, and shorter-range ballistic missiles. It is expensive but effective and sought after by armies around the world.

European countries to have hesitated to send Patriot systems to Ukraine, fearing they would be needed.

Spain’s King Felipe VI earlier welcomed Zelensky at the airport in Barajas, the capital. Zelenskyy was expected in neighboring Portugal on Tuesday.

He was due to go to Spain earlier this month, but postponed all trips abroad after Russia launched its offensive in the Kharkiv region.

Ukraine has repeatedly tried to strike behind Russian lines, often with drones, although Russia’s response to new technology used in unmanned vehicles has improved in recent months.

A long-range Ukrainian drone set a new distance record by attacking an early warning radar overnight in the Russian city of Orsk, about 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) from the Ukrainian border, officials said. Ukrainian officials.

The operation was carried out by Ukraine’s military intelligence, GUR, an intelligence official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to comment publicly. Ukraine’s previous long-range attack record was 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) when a drone struck an oil refinery in Russian Bashkortostan on May 9.

It was not immediately possible to verify either of these claims.

At the same time, a Western intelligence assessment suggests that the Russian offensive in Kharkiv has eased.

“The northern Kharkiv front is likely to have stabilized, with Russian territorial control fragmented and unintegrated,” the British Ministry of Defense said on Sunday. “Russia’s progress on this axis will be limited in the coming week, as Russia’s initial momentum has been contained by Ukrainian resistance.”

This is consistent with Zelensky’s assertion last Friday that Ukrainian forces provided “combat control” of areas where Russian troops entered the Kharkiv region.

The unfolding assault as the weather improves has resulted in Ukraine’s biggest military test since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The slow delivery of support from its Western partners, in particular long delay in US military aidleft Ukraine at the mercy of the more numerous Russian army and air force.

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Associated Press writer Illia Novikov in kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine