KYIV: Ukraine carried out its largest aerial attack on Russian territory of the nearly three-year war overnight, Kyiv said on Tuesday, hitting factories and energy hubs hundreds of miles from the frontline.

The Russian military accused Kyiv of using US — and British — supplied missiles for one of the strikes and promised it would “not go unanswered”.

The barrage forced schools in the southwestern Saratov region to close, while at least nine airports in central and western Russia temporarily halted traffic, according to Russian officials.

Moscow and Kyiv have upped strikes on each other ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, as both sides seek to gain the upper hand in potential negotiations aimed at settling the nearly three-year war.

“The Ukrainian defence forces carried out the most massive strike against the occupiers’ military facilities, at a distance of 200km to 1,100km deep into the territory of the Russian Federation,” Ukraine’s General Staff said in a post on social media.

Facilities “in the Bryansk, Saratov, Tula regions and the Republic of Tatarstan were hit,” it added.

Russia’s defence ministry said it shot down six US-supplied ATACMS missiles and six British Storm Shadow cruise missiles that Ukraine had fired in the attack on the Bryansk region. The overnight Ukrainian attacks come at a difficult moment for Kyiv’s forces along the front line.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2025