Air war over Ukraine escalates as Russia pound cities

Ukraine, beefing up air defenses, says Russia bought ballistic missiles from Iran to replace precision weapons it fires on vital services for civilians.

KYIV, Ukraine — As Ukrainian officials celebrate the arrival of more advanced Western air defense systems and claim growing success in downing Russian rockets and drones, they warn that Moscow is buying new long-range weapons against which Kyiv forces have little defense - especially Iranian ballistic missiles.

With ground movement slowing, the battle in the skies over Ukraine is increasingly at the center of the course of the war, and both sides are looking to their allies for new weapons. Over the past month, forces in Moscow have dramatically stepped up their strikes far behind the front lines on cities and vital services like electricity, heat and water. These are part of a deadly campaign aimed at demolishing the daily lives and morale of Ukrainians.

Ukrainian and Western officials say stockpiles of missiles and Russia's precision-guided drones have run out, prompting a focus on Iran. A Ukrainian air force spokesman said on Monday that Moscow and Tehran had finalized an agreement to deliver Iranian Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ballistic missiles to Russia, which several news agencies confirmed, citing reports. anonymous sources.

A Pentagon spokesman, Brig. General Pat Ryder said on Tuesday, "I cannot corroborate this information", but he called the information disturbing. He added: "When we see Iranian ballistic missiles being used on the battlefield in Ukraine, we will do everything we can to shed light on that."

The Ukrainian air defenses have been highly successful in shooting down drones and cruise missiles, although some are successful and cause huge damage, but ballistic missiles, which fly much faster, are a tougher challenge. This week, the United States and its allies delivered its first two NASAMS air defense missile launchers to Ukraine, and more are on the way, adding to the growing arsenal of Western air defense systems and Kyiv Soviets. But the new additions are not designed to be effective against ballistic missiles.

"To date, we can say that the recent escalation of Russian terror by missiles and drones only resulted in the world in response - in response with new aid to Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening speech on Monday.

ImageWorkers at the Zaporizhstal Metallurgical Plant in an underground bunker during an air raid alert in Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday.Credit... Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York Times

He and his aides reported that their stance on peace with Russia, far from softening, was tougher than ever, after reports that behind the scenes the Biden administration had urged Kyiv to be open to negotiation.

Mr. Zelensky set out in clear terms his conditions for any talks with Russia, conditions which would be viewed by Russian President Vladimir V. Putin as a humiliating defeat: restoration of the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine, that is, ie return of lands occupied by Russia, compensation for damages caused by the Russian war and prosecution for war crimes. World leaders, he said, should "force Russia into real peace negotiations".

Ukraine has "repeatedly offered" a resumption of peace talks, Mr Zelensky said, only for Russia to respond “with further terror attacks, bombing or blackmail”. None of these discussions have taken place for several months.

Oleksiy Danilov, the head of Ukraine's National Security Council, added another condition on Tuesday: ...