Ukraine, for Zelensky “Russia is preparing the push”: the signs

“We know that the Russians do not intend to stop their attacks. It is a fact. They are preparing new attacks. Against infrastructure. Intelligence provides the relevant information. Therefore, everyone whose job or service is to protect Ukraine from attacks must be concentrated in the spring, now, as they were in the winter,” Zelensky stressed.

According to the Ukrainian president, every threat must be responded to and Russian targets must be shot down as much as possible. “The situation in the Middle East shows how difficult it is to ensure 100% protection against Shahed missiles and drones. Even in the Gulf countries, which have better air defense systems than those so far provided to us by our partners and in greater numbers, they still cannot shoot down all ballistic missiles. There are also Shaheds who have not been stopped by air defense systems in the region. Everyone sees now that our defense experience is largely irreplaceable,” Zelensky said.

The President of Ukraine explained that Kiev is ready to share this experience and help those countries that supported it during the winter and during the war. “Europe still needs to equip itself with a real force, a real capacity to defend its sky, its land and its sea from any type of attack. In particular, this requires the construction of a sufficient productive air defense capacity — both against drones and against ballistic missiles,” Zelensky highlighted. As reported by Ukrinform, Russia launched 738 missiles, over 14,600 guided aerial bombs and nearly 19,000 drones against Ukraine over the course of the winter.

The most difficult winter in Ukraine

“Today is the day when each of us can rightly say: we have overcome this winter, the most difficult of all the years of war. The Russians wanted to turn this winter into the destruction of Ukraine and Ukrainians”, Zelensky had said, underlining: “But Ukraine did not break. We preserved our energy system. Ukraine repelled a large number of massive attacks this winter”.

Zelensky announced that, during the winter season, the Russian armed forces launched 738 missiles, over 14,600 guided aerial bombs and almost 19,000 attack drones: “But despite everything, the Ukrainians survived this difficult winter, when Russia did not even seek justifications for its beastly attacks against critical civilian infrastructure.”

Zelensky also specified that most of the drones used by Russian forces in these offensive operations were Russian-Iranian-made models, identified as Shahed. He added that these same drones are currently being used by the Iranian regime against nations in the Middle East.