Russians have updated their attack tactics – Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had received a report from the Ukrainian Air Force commander on the first evidence of the enemy's updated tactics and had instructed that partners be informed accordingly.
He said this in a post on Telegram following an energy sector coordination call, Ukrinform reports.
"As of now, the greatest difficulties are in Kyiv, part of the Kyiv region, and Kharkiv. We separately discussed the situation in the Dnipro region, Zaporizhzhia and its region, the Sumy and Chernihiv regions, as well as in Odesa. Restoration work is ongoing in the Rivne region. The Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the use of our air defense systems to shoot down Russian missiles and the initial findings regarding the enemy's updated tactics. I instructed the military to immediately contact our partners – first and foremost the United States – and to inform them in detail about the change in Russia's strike tactics and the specific targeting of energy infrastructure," Zelensky said.
He added that the authorities would also continue working on requests for missiles for air defense systems, stressing that time was critical for every request and every element of supply.
"The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported on the extinguishing of fires at the impacted facilities, as well as on the available equipment reserves for the capital. According to available information, at least part of the missiles used by the Russians in this strike were produced this year," Zelensky said.
He emphasized the need for global sanctions against Russia and for blocking the supply of critical components.
"I instructed the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Minister of Energy of Ukraine to provide a full analysis of restoration timelines for each region and of the necessary resources by 6 p.m. today. All capabilities of state and private companies in the energy sector must be directed toward ensuring the fastest possible restoration for Ukrainians," Zelensky said.
He also noted that all government officials involved in dealing with the consequences, regional authorities, the military, and representatives of the energy sector had taken part in the coordination call. Restoration work had already begun in all regions where strikes had occurred.
On January 20, Ukraine's air defense forces engaged a significant number of Russian targets, as the day before the strike Ukraine had received the necessary missiles.
On the night of January 19-20, air defense units destroyed 342 enemy targets, including 14 Iskander-M/S-300 ballistic missiles, 13 Kh-101 cruise missiles, and 315 drones.