Yahoo Sports Fires surge as Ukraine bombards Russian-held territory
Fires in Russian-held territory have increased fourfold since Britain’s delivery of Storm Shadow missiles, as Ukraine continues to set the stage for its much-anticipated counter-offensive.
Satellite data shows more than 900 war-related fires have occurred in Russian-held territory in Ukraine in the last two weeks, likely caused by missile strikes.
The fires have spanned the frontline from the city of Kharkiv in the east to Kherson, in the south, at a frequency of more than four times as many as the two weeks before, according to an analysis by The Economist.
The uptick began on May 11 and appears to coincide with the point when Kyiv’s forces began using Storm Shadow missiles sent by Britain.
The long-range weapons are capable of striking fortified positions.
Similar patterns preceded Ukraine’s impressive gains in the south of the country during its lightning offensive last autumn, The Economist noted.
An increase in fighting is expected with the onset of spring in southern Ukraine, with dry weather and temperatures hitting 25C (77F).
Conditions are nearly optimal for the much-anticipated counter-attack, which Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has described as a make-or-break chance to show Kyiv’s Western backers that it is capable of recapturing its land.
However, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Mr Zelensky, sought to temper expectations over Kyiv’s counter-offensive.
He tweeted: “1. This is not a ‘single event’ that will begin at a specific hour of a specific day with a solemn cutting of the red ribbon. 2. These are dozens of different actions to destroy the Russian occupation forces in different directions.”
He added: “Intensive destruction of enemy logistics is also a counter-offensive.”
It came as a Russian missile strike on a medical clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has left at least two dead and 23 wounded.
Footage emerged of victims with blood on their faces being helped through corridors that had been turned to rubble.
Mr Zelensky described the attack on the psychological facility and veterinary clinic as a “crime against humanity”, with at least two children among those injured.
A barrage of strikes overnight on Friday targeted the cities of Kyiv and Dnipro, and the eastern regions, as Russia continues to intensify its attacks amid reports of an anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive.
