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Saif
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Russia’s biggest airstrike in weeks piles pressure on Ukraine power grid
Russian missiles and drones struck nearly a dozen Ukrainian critical infrastructure facilities in a major airstrike early on Wednesday, causing serious damage at three Soviet-era thermal power plants, Kyiv officials said. The air force said it shot down 39 of 55 missiles and 20 out of 21 attack dr
Russia's biggest airstrike in weeks piles pressure on Ukraine power grid
REUTERS
Published :
May 08, 2024 16:20
Updated :
May 08, 2024 16:20
Ukrainian servicemen use a searchlight as they search for drones in the sky over the city during a Russian drone and missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine May 8, 2024. Photo : Reuters/Gleb Garanich
Russian missiles and drones struck nearly a dozen Ukrainian critical infrastructure facilities in a major airstrike early on Wednesday, causing serious damage at three Soviet-era thermal power plants, Kyiv officials said.
The air force said it shot down 39 of 55 missiles and 20 out of 21 attack drones used in the attack, which piles more pressure on Ukraine's beleaguered energy system more than two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
"Another massive attack on our energy industry!" Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on the Telegram app.
Two people were injured in the Kyiv region and one was hurt in the Kirovohrad region, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Some 350 rescuers were racing to minimise the damage caused to multiple energy facilities, 30 homes, public transport vehicles, cars and a fire station, he said.
Power generation and transmission facilities in the Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia regions were targeted, Galushchenko said.
The strike was the latest in a wave of attacks on critical energy infrastructure that began in March.
The attacks have already forced authorities to impose rolling blackouts in several regions, but their full impact will likely be felt later in the year when energy consumption peaks at the height of summer and in winter.
Apart for southeastern Zaporizhzhia, all those regions are located far from the front lines in the east where heavy fighting is taking place and Russia has been gaining ground.
Galushchenko did not name the hit facilities, part of a policy of wartime secrecy that Kyiv says is needed to prevent Russia using the information for further airstrikes.
Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskyi said Russia also attacked a natural gas storage facility in his region in the west of the country, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russia denies targeting civilians but it sees the Ukrainian energy system as a legitimate military target.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
The airstrikes came on the day Ukraine commemorates victory over Nazism in World War Two, something that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy emphasised in an address on Telegram along with the February 2022 invasion.
"The world slept through the revival of Nazism - at 5 a.m. on February 24, 2022. And today, everyone who remembers the Second World War and lived to this day feels deja vu," he said.
Grid operator Ukrenergo said on Telegram that equipment at one of its facilities in central Ukraine was damaged, without providing further detail.
In the central Poltava region, an energy infrastructure facility was hit by a drone, sparking a fire, Poltava Regional Governor Filip Pronin wrote on Telegram.
According to preliminary information, there were no casualties.
Governors of the Vinnytsia and Zaporizhzhia regions said separately that critical civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged, without providing further detail.
All missiles targeting Kyiv were destroyed, Serhiy Popko, head of the city's military administration, said on Telegram. He added there was no major damage or injuries as a result of the attack.
Air defence systems were also engaged in repelling the Russian attack over the Lviv region, which borders NATO-member Poland, where several blasts took place, regional officials said.
REUTERS
Published :
May 08, 2024 16:20
Updated :
May 08, 2024 16:20
Ukrainian servicemen use a searchlight as they search for drones in the sky over the city during a Russian drone and missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine May 8, 2024. Photo : Reuters/Gleb Garanich
Russian missiles and drones struck nearly a dozen Ukrainian critical infrastructure facilities in a major airstrike early on Wednesday, causing serious damage at three Soviet-era thermal power plants, Kyiv officials said.
The air force said it shot down 39 of 55 missiles and 20 out of 21 attack drones used in the attack, which piles more pressure on Ukraine's beleaguered energy system more than two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
"Another massive attack on our energy industry!" Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on the Telegram app.
Two people were injured in the Kyiv region and one was hurt in the Kirovohrad region, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Some 350 rescuers were racing to minimise the damage caused to multiple energy facilities, 30 homes, public transport vehicles, cars and a fire station, he said.
Power generation and transmission facilities in the Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia regions were targeted, Galushchenko said.
The strike was the latest in a wave of attacks on critical energy infrastructure that began in March.
The attacks have already forced authorities to impose rolling blackouts in several regions, but their full impact will likely be felt later in the year when energy consumption peaks at the height of summer and in winter.
Apart for southeastern Zaporizhzhia, all those regions are located far from the front lines in the east where heavy fighting is taking place and Russia has been gaining ground.
Galushchenko did not name the hit facilities, part of a policy of wartime secrecy that Kyiv says is needed to prevent Russia using the information for further airstrikes.
Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskyi said Russia also attacked a natural gas storage facility in his region in the west of the country, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Russia denies targeting civilians but it sees the Ukrainian energy system as a legitimate military target.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
The airstrikes came on the day Ukraine commemorates victory over Nazism in World War Two, something that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy emphasised in an address on Telegram along with the February 2022 invasion.
"The world slept through the revival of Nazism - at 5 a.m. on February 24, 2022. And today, everyone who remembers the Second World War and lived to this day feels deja vu," he said.
Grid operator Ukrenergo said on Telegram that equipment at one of its facilities in central Ukraine was damaged, without providing further detail.
In the central Poltava region, an energy infrastructure facility was hit by a drone, sparking a fire, Poltava Regional Governor Filip Pronin wrote on Telegram.
According to preliminary information, there were no casualties.
Governors of the Vinnytsia and Zaporizhzhia regions said separately that critical civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged, without providing further detail.
All missiles targeting Kyiv were destroyed, Serhiy Popko, head of the city's military administration, said on Telegram. He added there was no major damage or injuries as a result of the attack.
Air defence systems were also engaged in repelling the Russian attack over the Lviv region, which borders NATO-member Poland, where several blasts took place, regional officials said.
Saif
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Russia captures 6 villages as US rocket kills 3
Russia on Saturday said it had captured six villages in Ukraine’s east during a surprise ground offensive that prompted mass evacuations, as President...
www.newagebd.net
Russia captures 6 villages as US rocket kills 3
Agence France-Presse . Ukraine 12 May, 2024, 01:32
Russia on Saturday said it had captured six villages in Ukraine's east during a surprise ground offensive that prompted mass evacuations, as President Volodymyr Zelensky made an urgent call for military aid.
The Russian defence ministry said its troops had 'liberated' five villages in Ukraine's Kharkiv region near the border with Russia — Borysivka, Ogirtseve, Pletenivka, Pylna and Strilecha — as 'a result of offensive actions'.
The village of Keramik in the Donetsk region was also now under Russian control, it said.
Ukrainian officials said that the country's forces were resisting but there was heavy fighting in the Kharkiv region near the border.
'Fighting for villages... continues in the border area', Ukrainian military spokesman Nazar Voloshyn said on national television, while 'the enemy is currently localised'.
There is 'heavy fighting' in the border area and 1,775 people have been evacuated, Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on social media.
He insisted there was 'no threat of a ground operation' for the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest.
At an arrival point for evacuees near Kharkiv, groups of people were arriving in vans and cars loaded with bags.
Evacuees—many of them elderly—received food and medical assistance in makeshift tents.
Ukrainian forces have multiplied attacks inside Russia and Russia-held areas of Ukraine, particularly on energy infrastructure.
On Saturday a missile strike hit a restaurant called Paradise in the city of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.
The attack using US HIMARS precision rocket launchers killed three civilians—two diners and a restaurant member of staff—and wounded eight, the head of the region's Russian-backed administration, Denis Pushilin, said.
Moscow-installed authorities in the Russian-occupied Lugansk region in eastern Ukraine said four people were killed by a Ukrainian strike with US-made missiles on an oil depot in Rovenky.
Governor Leonid Pasechnik said the strike 'enveloped the oil depot in fire and damaged surrounding homes'.
In Russia, two people were reported killed by Ukrainian strikes in the Belgorod and Kursk regions.
Ukrainian officials also reported a total of six civilians killed in Russian shelling in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions over the past day.
Officials in Kyiv had warned for weeks that Moscow might try to attack its northeastern border regions, pressing its advantage as Ukraine struggles with delays in Western aid and manpower shortages.
Ukraine's military said it had deployed more troops.
'Reserve units have been deployed to strengthen the defence in these areas of the front,' it said.
Military expert Olivier Kempf told AFP Saturday that Russia's ground operation was most likely aimed at creating a buffer zone near its Belgorod region, recently raided by pro-Ukrainian units, or diverting Ukraine's resources from the Donetsk region.
The United States on Friday announced a new $400 million military aid package for Kyiv as Russia launched a ground offensive in northeast Ukraine.
It is the third package for Ukraine in less than three weeks, following two in late April valued at a total of $7 billion as Washington seeks to make up for months in which it provided only limited assistance.
In a memo released by the White House, President Joe Biden authorized the provision of 'up to $400 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training' to aid Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the package contains 'urgently needed capabilities' including air defense munitions, artillery rounds, anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles and small arms ammunition.
'The United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine in its defense of its freedom,' Blinken said.
The package was announced on the same day that Russia upped the pressure on Kyiv with a ground offensive into Ukraine's Kharkiv region.
Officials in Kyiv had for weeks warned Moscow might try to attack its northeastern border regions, pressing its advantage as Ukraine struggles with delays in Western aid and manpower shortages.
Agence France-Presse . Ukraine 12 May, 2024, 01:32
Russia on Saturday said it had captured six villages in Ukraine's east during a surprise ground offensive that prompted mass evacuations, as President Volodymyr Zelensky made an urgent call for military aid.
The Russian defence ministry said its troops had 'liberated' five villages in Ukraine's Kharkiv region near the border with Russia — Borysivka, Ogirtseve, Pletenivka, Pylna and Strilecha — as 'a result of offensive actions'.
The village of Keramik in the Donetsk region was also now under Russian control, it said.
Ukrainian officials said that the country's forces were resisting but there was heavy fighting in the Kharkiv region near the border.
'Fighting for villages... continues in the border area', Ukrainian military spokesman Nazar Voloshyn said on national television, while 'the enemy is currently localised'.
There is 'heavy fighting' in the border area and 1,775 people have been evacuated, Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on social media.
He insisted there was 'no threat of a ground operation' for the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest.
At an arrival point for evacuees near Kharkiv, groups of people were arriving in vans and cars loaded with bags.
Evacuees—many of them elderly—received food and medical assistance in makeshift tents.
Ukrainian forces have multiplied attacks inside Russia and Russia-held areas of Ukraine, particularly on energy infrastructure.
On Saturday a missile strike hit a restaurant called Paradise in the city of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.
The attack using US HIMARS precision rocket launchers killed three civilians—two diners and a restaurant member of staff—and wounded eight, the head of the region's Russian-backed administration, Denis Pushilin, said.
Moscow-installed authorities in the Russian-occupied Lugansk region in eastern Ukraine said four people were killed by a Ukrainian strike with US-made missiles on an oil depot in Rovenky.
Governor Leonid Pasechnik said the strike 'enveloped the oil depot in fire and damaged surrounding homes'.
In Russia, two people were reported killed by Ukrainian strikes in the Belgorod and Kursk regions.
Ukrainian officials also reported a total of six civilians killed in Russian shelling in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions over the past day.
Officials in Kyiv had warned for weeks that Moscow might try to attack its northeastern border regions, pressing its advantage as Ukraine struggles with delays in Western aid and manpower shortages.
Ukraine's military said it had deployed more troops.
'Reserve units have been deployed to strengthen the defence in these areas of the front,' it said.
Military expert Olivier Kempf told AFP Saturday that Russia's ground operation was most likely aimed at creating a buffer zone near its Belgorod region, recently raided by pro-Ukrainian units, or diverting Ukraine's resources from the Donetsk region.
The United States on Friday announced a new $400 million military aid package for Kyiv as Russia launched a ground offensive in northeast Ukraine.
It is the third package for Ukraine in less than three weeks, following two in late April valued at a total of $7 billion as Washington seeks to make up for months in which it provided only limited assistance.
In a memo released by the White House, President Joe Biden authorized the provision of 'up to $400 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training' to aid Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the package contains 'urgently needed capabilities' including air defense munitions, artillery rounds, anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles and small arms ammunition.
'The United States and the international coalition we have assembled will continue to stand with Ukraine in its defense of its freedom,' Blinken said.
The package was announced on the same day that Russia upped the pressure on Kyiv with a ground offensive into Ukraine's Kharkiv region.
Officials in Kyiv had for weeks warned Moscow might try to attack its northeastern border regions, pressing its advantage as Ukraine struggles with delays in Western aid and manpower shortages.
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Missile hits Russia housing block; 7 killed
At least seven people were killed and 17 injured when a whole section of a Russian apartment block collapsed after it was struck by a Soviet-era missile launched by Ukraine and shot down by Russia, Russian officials said.
Missile hits Russia housing block; 7 killed
17 injured; thousands evacuated as Moscow pounds Kharkiv
At least seven people were killed and 17 injured when a whole section of a Russian apartment block collapsed after it was struck by a Soviet-era missile launched by Ukraine and shot down by Russia, Russian officials said.
In one of the deadliest attacks to date on the region of Belgorod, Ukraine launched what Russian officials said was a massive missile attack with Tochka ballistic missiles and Adler and RM-70 Vampire (MLRS) multiple launch rocket systems.
Footage from the scene showed at least 10 storeys of the building collapsing. Later, as emergency services scoured the rubble for survivors, the roof collapsed and people ran for their lives, dust and rubble falling behind them.
Russia's defence ministry said the attack, which it called "a terrorist attack on residential areas", took place at 08:40 GMT and involved at least 12 missiles.
"Fragments of one of the downed Tochka-U missiles damaged an apartment building in the city of Belgorod," the ministry said.
Russian news agencies said at least seven people had been killed and 17 injured, including two children. Others were still trapped under the rubble.
Both Ukraine and Russia say they do not target civilians, though many civilians have been killed in the war by both sides.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the attack.
After heavy shelling of Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, Russian forces smashed through the border over recent days and say they have pushed Ukrainian forces out of at least nine villages in the area.
The move threatens to open up a new front and has forced Ukraine to dedicate additional troops to the area just as Russian forces advance at key points along the front in the south and the east.
Russian troops yesterday said they seized another four villages - Hatyshche, Krasne, Morokhovets, Oliinykove - in Kharkiv region in Ukraine.
Ukraine's military chief said his country's forces were facing a difficult situation in fighting in the Kharkiv region, but that they were doing all they could to hold the line.
In response to Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod, President Vladimir Putin suggested in March that Moscow could try to establish a buffer zone inside Ukrainian territory due to the attacks on Belgorod.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
17 injured; thousands evacuated as Moscow pounds Kharkiv
At least seven people were killed and 17 injured when a whole section of a Russian apartment block collapsed after it was struck by a Soviet-era missile launched by Ukraine and shot down by Russia, Russian officials said.
In one of the deadliest attacks to date on the region of Belgorod, Ukraine launched what Russian officials said was a massive missile attack with Tochka ballistic missiles and Adler and RM-70 Vampire (MLRS) multiple launch rocket systems.
Footage from the scene showed at least 10 storeys of the building collapsing. Later, as emergency services scoured the rubble for survivors, the roof collapsed and people ran for their lives, dust and rubble falling behind them.
Russia's defence ministry said the attack, which it called "a terrorist attack on residential areas", took place at 08:40 GMT and involved at least 12 missiles.
"Fragments of one of the downed Tochka-U missiles damaged an apartment building in the city of Belgorod," the ministry said.
Russian news agencies said at least seven people had been killed and 17 injured, including two children. Others were still trapped under the rubble.
Both Ukraine and Russia say they do not target civilians, though many civilians have been killed in the war by both sides.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the attack.
After heavy shelling of Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, Russian forces smashed through the border over recent days and say they have pushed Ukrainian forces out of at least nine villages in the area.
The move threatens to open up a new front and has forced Ukraine to dedicate additional troops to the area just as Russian forces advance at key points along the front in the south and the east.
Russian troops yesterday said they seized another four villages - Hatyshche, Krasne, Morokhovets, Oliinykove - in Kharkiv region in Ukraine.
Ukraine's military chief said his country's forces were facing a difficult situation in fighting in the Kharkiv region, but that they were doing all they could to hold the line.
In response to Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod, President Vladimir Putin suggested in March that Moscow could try to establish a buffer zone inside Ukrainian territory due to the attacks on Belgorod.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
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US military aid ‘on its way’
American military aid for Ukraine is “on its way”, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Kyiv yesterday, as Russia pressed on with a new offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
US military aid 'on its way'
Blinken tells Ukraine as Russia presses on with new offensive in Kharkiv region
American military aid for Ukraine is "on its way", US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Kyiv yesterday, as Russia pressed on with a new offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Blinken's trip comes just weeks after the US Congress finally approved a $61 billion financial aid package for Ukraine after months of political wrangling, unlocking much-needed arms for the country's stretched troops.
"In the near term, assistance is now on its way that and that will make a real difference against the Russian aggression," he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Blinken arrived by overnight train from Poland on his fourth visit to Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Zelensky thanked Washington for the aid, saying: "The decision on the package was crucial for us".
He said the biggest deficit for Ukraine was air defence and asked for two Patriot batteries in the Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have been advancing and pounding villages along the border.
At a checkpoint outside the city of Kharkiv, an official said Russian forces had entered Ukraine through "villages on the very border which were complicated for us to defend".
"They are on high ground and are shelling us from there," said the official, Volodymyr Usov. The White House said Monday it was doing "everything" possible to rush weapons to Ukraine.
Blinken tells Ukraine as Russia presses on with new offensive in Kharkiv region
American military aid for Ukraine is "on its way", US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Kyiv yesterday, as Russia pressed on with a new offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Blinken's trip comes just weeks after the US Congress finally approved a $61 billion financial aid package for Ukraine after months of political wrangling, unlocking much-needed arms for the country's stretched troops.
"In the near term, assistance is now on its way that and that will make a real difference against the Russian aggression," he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Blinken arrived by overnight train from Poland on his fourth visit to Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Zelensky thanked Washington for the aid, saying: "The decision on the package was crucial for us".
He said the biggest deficit for Ukraine was air defence and asked for two Patriot batteries in the Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have been advancing and pounding villages along the border.
At a checkpoint outside the city of Kharkiv, an official said Russian forces had entered Ukraine through "villages on the very border which were complicated for us to defend".
"They are on high ground and are shelling us from there," said the official, Volodymyr Usov. The White House said Monday it was doing "everything" possible to rush weapons to Ukraine.
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Russian forces take control of 3 settlements
Russian forces have taken control of two more settlements in Ukraine’s north-east Kharkiv region and one in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, the defence ministry said yesterday, building on a run of incremental gains that have alarmed Kyiv.
Russian forces take control of 3 settlements
Russian forces have taken control of two more settlements in Ukraine's north-east Kharkiv region and one in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, the defence ministry said yesterday, building on a run of incremental gains that have alarmed Kyiv.
The defence ministry said in a statement that units from Russia's "North" military grouping had captured the settlements of Hlyboke and Lukyantsi in the Kharkiv region after intense fighting and had advanced "deep into the enemy defences."
The ministry spoke of heavy fighting in other parts of Kharkiv region too where it said Russian forces had repelled three Ukrainian counter attacks, reports Reuters.
Blinken announces an additional $2bn in military financing for Kyiv
Moscow's claims came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced an additional $2bn in foreign military financing from the US for Ukraine while in Kyiv, and said Washington had not explicitly prohibited Ukraine from using Western weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky cancelled planned trips abroad over the fresh offensive and the military was sending more troops to Kharkiv to hold back Russian advances, Kyiv said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed his country's troops for advancing on "all fronts" on the battlefield in Ukraine, reports AFP.
"In all directions our troops are constantly, every day, improving their positions," Putin said.
Russian forces have taken control of two more settlements in Ukraine's north-east Kharkiv region and one in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, the defence ministry said yesterday, building on a run of incremental gains that have alarmed Kyiv.
The defence ministry said in a statement that units from Russia's "North" military grouping had captured the settlements of Hlyboke and Lukyantsi in the Kharkiv region after intense fighting and had advanced "deep into the enemy defences."
The ministry spoke of heavy fighting in other parts of Kharkiv region too where it said Russian forces had repelled three Ukrainian counter attacks, reports Reuters.
Blinken announces an additional $2bn in military financing for Kyiv
Moscow's claims came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced an additional $2bn in foreign military financing from the US for Ukraine while in Kyiv, and said Washington had not explicitly prohibited Ukraine from using Western weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky cancelled planned trips abroad over the fresh offensive and the military was sending more troops to Kharkiv to hold back Russian advances, Kyiv said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed his country's troops for advancing on "all fronts" on the battlefield in Ukraine, reports AFP.
"In all directions our troops are constantly, every day, improving their positions," Putin said.
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Russia escalates the war in Ukraine, aiming to complicate Kyiv’s defence
Breaking News, International News & Multimedia
thedailynewnation.com
Russia escalates the war in Ukraine, aiming to complicate Kyiv's defence
16 May 2024, 12:00 am
Aljazeera :
Russia escalated its aggressive war in Ukraine psychologically, tactically and economically in the past week, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted, "it's a challenging moment".
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Russian soldiers had begun to train with the Belarusian military in tactical nuclear weapons, which the Kremlin has hinted could be used on the battlefield in Ukraine.
"An escalation is ongoing. What should we do in this situation? We need to keep powder dry, including these lethal weapons," Russian official news agency TASS quoted him as saying.
Russian forces opened a new front in Ukraine's northern Kharkiv region, seizing villages near the border – an offensive Ukrainian officials had warned about days earlier.
Meanwhile in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin named an economist to streamline his Ministry of Defence and nationalise Russian defence industries. Some observers believed that was an indication of Putin's long-term plans to prepare Russia to fight NATO.
Russian forces opened a northern front on Friday, contesting territory they abandoned at the end of May 2022, after failing to capture Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv, Ukraine's major northern cities.
Ukrainian and Western experts said it aimed to sow panic, divert scant resources before new US weapons arrived, and facilitate territorial gains in Ukraine's east, where the fiercest fighting was taking place.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his Sunday evening address: "The intention of the strikes in Kharkiv Oblast is to stretch our forces and undermine the moral and motivational basis of Ukrainians' ability to defend themselves." "[Russian forces were] likely conducting the initial phase of an offensive operation north of Kharkiv City that has limited operational objectives but is meant to achieve the strategic effect of drawing Ukrainian manpower and materiel from other critical sectors of the front in eastern Ukraine," said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank.
The numbers of Russian troops appeared to confirm this. Ukrainian military commentators Konstantyn Mashovets and Alexander Kovalenko said Russia had committed about 2,000 soldiers to the front line, with about 2,000 more in immediate reserve and almost 4,000 due to arrive within a week of the initial attack.
16 May 2024, 12:00 am
Aljazeera :
Russia escalated its aggressive war in Ukraine psychologically, tactically and economically in the past week, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted, "it's a challenging moment".
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Russian soldiers had begun to train with the Belarusian military in tactical nuclear weapons, which the Kremlin has hinted could be used on the battlefield in Ukraine.
"An escalation is ongoing. What should we do in this situation? We need to keep powder dry, including these lethal weapons," Russian official news agency TASS quoted him as saying.
Russian forces opened a new front in Ukraine's northern Kharkiv region, seizing villages near the border – an offensive Ukrainian officials had warned about days earlier.
Meanwhile in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin named an economist to streamline his Ministry of Defence and nationalise Russian defence industries. Some observers believed that was an indication of Putin's long-term plans to prepare Russia to fight NATO.
Russian forces opened a northern front on Friday, contesting territory they abandoned at the end of May 2022, after failing to capture Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv, Ukraine's major northern cities.
Ukrainian and Western experts said it aimed to sow panic, divert scant resources before new US weapons arrived, and facilitate territorial gains in Ukraine's east, where the fiercest fighting was taking place.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his Sunday evening address: "The intention of the strikes in Kharkiv Oblast is to stretch our forces and undermine the moral and motivational basis of Ukrainians' ability to defend themselves." "[Russian forces were] likely conducting the initial phase of an offensive operation north of Kharkiv City that has limited operational objectives but is meant to achieve the strategic effect of drawing Ukrainian manpower and materiel from other critical sectors of the front in eastern Ukraine," said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank.
The numbers of Russian troops appeared to confirm this. Ukrainian military commentators Konstantyn Mashovets and Alexander Kovalenko said Russia had committed about 2,000 soldiers to the front line, with about 2,000 more in immediate reserve and almost 4,000 due to arrive within a week of the initial attack.
