Military: Russian forces engaging in 'complex' aerial warfare in south.

Russian forces are using complex aerial tactics to attack targets in the south of Ukraine, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson of Ukraine's Southern Operational Command, said on air on Oct.

21. Their "main emphasis is now shifted to the air," Humeniuk said, explaining that Russian forces are using a range of weapons including ground-based missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and guided aerial bombs to attack areas both on the front lines and further away. Humeniuk said that Ukraine's military has not, however, observed the "simultaneous launch of cruise missiles and guided aerial bombs."

At the same time, Russian forces are launching attack drones in order to overload air defense systems, according to Humeniuk. Russian forces targeted Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with missiles and drones, damaging industrial infrastructure. There were no casualties, but a rocket attack earlier in the evening the same day killed one man and injured one woman.  

Guided aerial bombs are also being used by Russian forces in the battle around the front-line town of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, though the intensity of attacks has decreased, according to Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for the Tavria Group, which covers the southern front lines. This does not mean that Russia has given up on trying to take Avdiivka, Shtupun said, and Ukrainian troops are still forced to hold the defense.

This Week in Ukraine Ep.

30 - ATACMS, and Russia's offensive on Avdiivka Episode #30 is dedicated to recent front-line updates, including Ukraine's first use of ATACMS and Russia's offensive on Avdiivka.

News Editor

Elsa Court is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

She was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post and has a Master's in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University.

Before joining the Kyiv Independent, she worked at the Netherlands Red Cross programme to arrange hosts for Ukrainian refugees and as a freelance writer and editor.

Elsa is originally from the UK and is based in the Netherlands.