Amid Air-defense Missiles Shortage in Ukraine, Russia Launches 57 Attacks with Hypersonic Weapons, UAVs

 Russian forces deployed a barrage of Kinzhal and Zircon hypersonic missiles besides cruise missiles and UAV in strikes against 57 Ukrainian positions last week.

“From March 23 to March 30, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out one massive and 57 group strikes with high-precision long-range land, sea and air-based weapons, including Zircon hypersonic missiles and Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles against military targets of Ukraine and the infrastructure that supports them,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov on Saturday.

As a result of the strikes, defense equipment manufacturing facilities decision-making centers of the  Armed Forces of Ukraine (AUF), workshops for the production of unmanned boats, arsenals, fuel depots, air defense and energy facilities, as well as temporary deployment points for special forces units were hit, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile Ukrainian media reported a serious shortage of air defense missiles which allowed a significant number of the missiles and UAVs to get through to their targets. Quoting AUF sources, the report said the missile attack led to damaging infrastructure facilities and killing at least one person.

Russian troops hit Ukraine with 11 Shahed drones, 14 cruise missiles, an Kh-59 guided missile, and an Iskander-M ballistic missile, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.

During the attack, critical infrastructure in Lviv Oblast was hit on March  29, according to Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi."An administration building was ruined. There was a fire, and firefighters extinguished it promptly," Kozytskyi wrote on Telegram.‍‌‌‌‌

According to the country's state-owned power grid operator Ukrenergo, the attack aimed at hitting its high-voltage substations in the southern regions.

"Due to damage to the equipment, the power industry was forced to apply emergency shutdowns in the city of Odesa and nearby areas," reads the statement.​‌‌​