Russia pounded Ukraine with 3,000 bombs in March, says Zelenskiy

Kyiv: Russia fired over 3,000 guided aerial bombs, 600 drones and 400 missiles at Ukraine in March alone, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday.

Russia has stepped up its long-range air strike campaign on Ukrainian energy infrastructure over the last two weeks, destroying another chunk of a system already hobbled by previous Russian bombardments during the 25-month full-scale invasion.

Separately, Russia has increased its use of guided air-dropped bombs in frontline areas in recent months. These are dropped from warplanes well inside Russian-controlled territory, and glide towards their targets at high speed.

For Moscow, they have become an efficient way to drop vast amounts of explosives onto Ukrainian entrenchments and buildings near the front, an approach that favours blast power over accuracy.