Russia intensifies strikes with guided aerial bombs in south, using scorched earth policy — Voloshyn

This was reported by Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces, in a comment to Ukrinform.

“Although the weather here may be quite unfavorable for flights, Russian bombers take off from Russian territory, from Russian airfields,” Voloshyn said.

According to him, before the strikes, the planes gain considerable altitude.

“When they approach the combat zone, they gain altitude from 10 to 13 thousand meters, and from there they carry out strikes with guided aerial bombs,” the spokesman explained.

Voloshyn added that the weather conditions at the airfields where the aircraft are based are crucial for the enemy.

“The main thing for them is to have good weather at the airfields, suitable for flights,” he said.

The spokesman stressed that the purpose of such air strikes is to cause maximum destruction to settlements near the line of combat, “to cause as much damage as possible to settlements located near the line of combat... all buildings and structures that can be used for defense.”

Voloshyn also said that the enemy is trying to destroy Ukrainian defensive fortifications before launching assaults.

“Before conducting assault operations, it creates a ‘scorched earth’ to advance these assault groups,” the spokesman concluded.

As reported by Ukrinform, 144 combat clashes between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Russian invaders were recorded on the front line over the past day, January 18.