Russian forces are trying to wipe out Ukraine’s air defense system, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military said in an interview today, Sunday.

“They (Russian forces) are testing and trying to exhaust our air defense system. They are trying to find a way to deal with it. And they also expand their tactics because they don’t have a steady supply of means with which to operate.” said Natalya Khomenyuk, a representative of the Southern Operational Command of Ukraine.
The Russians are trying to “test and find out where the air defense systems are,” according to Humeniuk.

The Ukrainian military spokesman also commented on the recent evacuation of civilians by the Russian authorities in the Zaporizhia region, calling it “an imitation of care for local residents.”

This is a standard practice used by the Russians in the past, he said.

“They are trying to evacuate people to the places where they are setting up their own defense lines and where they are setting up their units to use the local civilians as cover”Humeniuk claimed.

Analysts suspect the southern region could be a key target of Ukraine’s expected counterattack