Russia targeted Ukraine with a record number of drone strikes in April, according to an AFP analysis based on data released by the Ukrainian air force.
Moscow launched 6,583 long-range drones in April, a 2 percent increase from March, with daytime attacks multiplying, while negotiations to end the conflict sparked by Russia's February 2022 invasion have stalled.
Russian forces have notably increased the number of attacks during the day, while Moscow previously targeted Ukraine almost exclusively at night, which Kiev denounces as a tactic designed to cause maximum civilian casualties as the conflict has already claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The number of missiles launched by Moscow – 141 – also increased by 2% from the previous month, but was far from the 288 launches recorded in February.
According to Ukrainian Air Force data, 88 percent of drones and missiles were intercepted during the month.
Kiev has greatly developed its range of drones since the start of the war and regularly touts the effectiveness of its interceptors, which it says are unmatched anywhere else on the planet.
These unmanned aerial vehicles are particularly used by certain Gulf countries to counter the Shahed drones launched by Iran since the beginning of the Middle East war.
Russia's new tactic
The month of April was thus marked by several massive air attacks during the day, France Presse also notes.
“Russia's new tactic of combining a large-scale nighttime attack with an equally large-scale daytime attack is likely to cause an increase in civilian casualties,” the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) estimated in April.
“Russia may wish, through this series of daytime attacks, to target civilians and civilian infrastructure more intensively, especially public and open areas, especially as temperatures rise and more Ukrainians go outside,” ISW analysts said.
For Pavlo Palissa, the deputy head of the presidential administration, these daytime attacks are aimed at “terrorizing civilians” after Moscow's devastating strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure during a long, frosty winter that deprived hundreds of thousands of households of water, electricity and heating.
“There is also an economic aspect. Massive attacks in the middle of the working day greatly paralyze activity,” he told Ukrainian media in early April.
Russia consistently says it only targets targets linked to the Ukrainian military.
Negotiations between Kiev and Moscow, brokered by the US, have been at a standstill since Washington's involvement in the Middle East war triggered by the Israeli-American attacks on Iran on February 28.
