NATO state Poland was forced to scramble with fighters today as Russia intensified attacks on Ukraine, hours before peace talks begin in Geneva. The scale of the attacks indicates that Vladimir Putin has no interest in ending the war, despite sending a 20-strong negotiating team to Switzerland.
Russia deployed its powerful Tu-95MS strategic bombers to attack targets with cruise missiles.
It comes amid reports that frontline Western F-16 pilots – veterans from the US and the Netherlands – are actively defending Ukraine’s skies against Putin’s drones and missiles for the first time.
According to the French publication Intelligence Online, an F-16 squadron of experienced NATO pilots was created in strict secrecy and is currently patrolling the skies of the Kiev region under temporary contract with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
They are reportedly using a Lockheed Martin sniper to target incoming Russian drones.
Putin’s missiles attack the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
In the west of Ukraine, near NATO territory, Putin missiles struck the Ivano-Frankivsk region and explosions were heard in Burshtin, the site of a major coal-fired power station.
According to reports, there were also sustained attacks on Stryi, a major rail and energy hub in the Lviv region, close to the Polish border.
Cities affected included Kryvyi Rih, the birthplace of Volodymyr Zelensky, and the port of Odessa, which are currently under daily bombardment. Dramatic footage showed how Ukraine used a Patriot to shoot down two Russian hypersonic Tsirkon – or Zircon – missiles on the night of February 16.
Despite the scale of the Russian attacks, the pressure once again came on Mr Zelensky rather than Mr Putin to make concessions ahead of the Geneva talks, which will include US officials. Impatient with Kiev, the US president demanded, “Ukraine needs to expedite its negotiations.” “That’s all I’m saying to you.”
Putin’s team, led by Ukraine-hating hardline historian and Kremlin official Vladimir Medinsky, was forced to take a nine-hour circuitous flight from Moscow to Geneva for the talks because of Western sanctions on Russian aircraft. Italy opened its airspace so the team could reach Geneva.
Ukraine launched overnight attacks on military targets. A Ukrainian drone strike caused an explosion at a major oil refinery in Ilski, Krasnodar region. The facility is a key supplier to Putin’s military forces in the war zone.
Major airports in southern Russia, including Krasnodar and Gelendzhik – where Putin has a huge palace – were closed.
The explosions also hit the city of Izhevsk, home to several large military-linked plants, including gunmaker Kalashnikov. School classes were suspended due to incoming drones, which appeared to be attacking energy facilities.
Mr Zelensky’s forces were also accused of a long-range attack on the Metafrax chemical plant in the Perm region, more than 1,000 miles from the nearest Ukrainian territory. This plant makes components for explosives and weapons used in war.
