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Amid the ongoing heavy battles on the frontlines, Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange massive strikes in the rear areas. On the night of May 17, Russian forces launched a series of precision strikes in different Ukrainian regions. While Russian troops are approaching Kharkiv, Ukrainian military facilities in the city and the region are pounded by drones, missiles and heavy bombs. The local authorities confirmed damage as a result of Russian night strikes in its different districts, including the industrial zone. The destroyed targets included the points of deployment of the Ukrainian military, used for accommodation of reserves prepared for further deployment on the Kharkiv frontlines. More explosions thundered in Poltava, where an air defense system was reportedly destroyed. Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities, including a command post, were struck in the Vinnytsya region. After a pause, Russian Geran UAVs came back to the southern Odessa region. In its turn, the NATO/Ukrainian military are increasing the intensity of attacks in the Russian rear. On the morning of May 17, the Russian Ministry of Defense summed up that 102 Ukrainian UAVs were destroyed in five Russian regions as a result of the night air battles. Crimea was targeted by a combined attack. Together with 51 Ukrainian UAVs intercepted over the peninsula, at least 6 unmanned boats were destroyed in the Black Sea. The attack was as usual coordinated by NATO reconnaissance aircraft operating in the area. As a result of the drone strikes, falling wreckage caused fire at an oil depot in the town of Tuapse. Some minor fires were reported in Novorossiysk. All of the fires were eliminated by the morning. One of the intercepted Ukrainian drones exploded near the energy substation in Sevastopol causing minor damage. The scale of the night attack is not comparable to the miserable results. The Crimean peninsula, mainly its western part, including the city of Sevastopol, were targeted by massive combined attacks for the third day in a row. On May 16, at least 13 Ukrainian unmanned boats were destroyed in the western waters of the Black Sea. The Ukrainian military upgraded its marine drones and equipped them with antiaircraft missiles; but they are still easily destroyed by helicopters of the Russian Navy. The new wave of escalation is waging in Ukraine. The Russian army is grinding down the Ukrainian defenses and advances in the Kharkiv, Avdeevka, Zaporozhie and other directions. Kiev armed by NATO is heavily shelling civilian areas, increasing attempts to reach any strategic targets deep in the Russian rear. Kiev is serving the needs of the NATO warmongers. Once the Ukrainian army loses the ongoing war, it does not end the standoff between Moscow and the West. Thus, any decisive damage to the Russian military, in particular in Crimea, will benefit NATO in the end.
