Russia moved air defenses to protect Moscow, says President Zelenskyy

Russia is moving a significant part of its air defences to protect a handful of prime targets, including Moscow, as Ukraine’s long-range drones continue to hammer sites deep inside the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.

Ukraine has in recent months stepped up its aerial campaign against Russian military installations and energy facilities. Its success has caused fuel shortages and disrupted army supply lines, stalling Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour after more than four years of fighting and rattling Russian officials.

Zelenskyy said in his daily video address late Wednesday that Russia is moving more air defences to the capital as well as to Valdai, a town some 500 kilometres northwest of Moscow, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has a residence, and to protect the Kerch Bridge, which is a vital supply route connecting the Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland.

“In the Moscow region alone, they have amassed hundreds of launchers” for air defence missiles, Zelenskyy said. “Nearly 90 launchers have been redeployed to Valdai from other regions of Russia.” Ukrainian drones have recently hit Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city and Putin’s hometown. Ukraine is also trying to cut off Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.

The changes, Zelenskyy suggested, would leave other parts of Russia vulnerable to Ukraine’s increasingly sophisticated long-range drones, which can now fly more than 1,500 kilometres.

“There are many difficulties (for Russia), all because Putin refuses to end his war and to hear our proposals for a meeting, genuine negotiations, and a dignified peace,” Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by US President Donald Trump but Putin has refused, and a year of US-led peace efforts made no significant headway. Ukraine’s prospects have brightened after more than four years of a gruelling war of attrition as its domestic development and production of cutting-edge drones pin down the bigger Russian army.

Trump, who has previously been critical of Zelenskyy, said at the White House on Wednesday that the Ukrainian leader is “courageous” and “doing pretty well” in the war. Zelenskyy said he won pledges of sustained foreign support when he attended a recent summit of G7 leaders, including Trump, and that promised aid will help further fuel Ukraine’s intensified campaign.

“Our operation, including the one concerning Crimea, has been carefully planned, and the way it is unfolding clearly demonstrates that if Ukraine receives exactly what we discussed with our partners at the G7 -- and that depends on our partners’ decisions -- we will quickly create conditions in which Russia will be forced to choose peace,” he said.