Russia says 5 cargo vessels, 2 logistics hubs struck as Ukraine struggles under thinner air defence

Russia's defence ministry on Tuesday said its forces had struck five cargo vessels in Ukraine and two logistics hubs, alleging that the targets were being used for military purposes.The Russian military struck three cargo vessels in Ukraine's port of Reni and two others en route to Odesa, the ministry said, according to Reuters. Russian forces also hit two logistics hubs, one in the Volyn region and another in the city of Khmelnytskyi, it added, as per Reuters.The claims come amid intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine, which has been facing shortages of US-made Patriot air defence systems and PAC-3 interceptors capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.The shortage has added to concerns over Kyiv's ability to defend itself against incoming attacks, with air raid alerts increasingly becoming part of daily life as civilians seek shelter.US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Tuesday said Washington had not deliberately withheld missile interceptors from Ukraine, explaining that several countries were seeking the weapons and that the US had to maintain sufficient supplies for its own global defence commitments.Rubio said missile interceptors were currently among the most sought-after products in the defence sector, with the US required to meet minimum operational requirements across its military installations and air defence networks worldwide.“When a country doesn't get interceptors from the United States, it's not because we're denying. We have our own. We have minimum standards that we have to meet internally in our base presence all over the world,” he said.Emphasising that Washington had not intentionally denied Ukraine access to the weapons, Rubio said US forces also had to account for defence requirements at installations around the world.“We have a global defence footprint, and many of our installations around the world are part of defence, air defence. So there's nothing being deliberately denied to Ukraine,” he added.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.