Russia may launch a new wave of missile strikes on Ukraine in order to break morale, UK defence chiefs have said.
Since suffering major setbacks in its campaign, Russia has resorted to launching long-range missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said these strikes usually follow a pattern of every seven to 10 days.
The MoD added: “Russia is almost certainly following this approach in an attempt to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences.
“However, there is a realistic possibility that Russia will break this pattern to strike again in the coming days in an effort to undermine the morale of the Ukrainian population over the new year holiday period.”
Russia launched 16 kamikaze drones on Friday morning.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that seven drones had been aimed at the capital, and that five were destroyed within the city and two before reaching Kyiv.
That came after a separate wave of 69 missile strikes, although Ukraine claimed 54 had been intercepted by its air defences.
Despite this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said forces are making small gains in the east.
“On the whole, we are holding our positions,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Friday. “There are also some areas of the front where we are advancing a bit.”
Despite this, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said victory for Russia over Ukraine was “inevitable” as he hailed Russian soldiers’ heroism in a New Year’s video message.
