Russia launched another one this Thursday missile attack and drone against Ukraine, which caused one death in the capital and power outages in several regions, the day after Kyiv’s allies announced the sending of heavy tanks to resist the Russian invasion.
Russia has denounced that this planned delivery of heavy equipment it meant the “direct involvement” of the West in the conflict and has intensified its fighting in several areas of the Donetsk Oblast region of eastern Ukraine.
According to Ukraine, Russia mainly launched dozens of missiles and drones on Thursday against Ukrainian power plants.
The Ukrainian military said so shot down 47 of a total of 55 missiles fired from Russia, as well as 24 Iranian-made Shahed drones.
A first budget made one dead and two wounded in the capital, according to its mayor, Vitali Klitschko.
The victim was “a 55-year-old man,” the city council said.
According to the military administration of the city, this death was caused by fragments falling from a missile which had been shot down.
As a precaution, Kiev, its region and two others carried out “emergency” power outages to “avoid serious damage to electrical infrastructure if enemy missiles hit their target,” private operator DTEK reported.
Attacks in Odessa
In the southern Black Sea province of Odessa, “two essential energy infrastructure sites” were damaged but there were no casualties from the shelling, local authorities said.
The latest massive Russian attacks on energy infrastructure they had been on January 14th.
change of strategy
After several military setbacks on the ground in the middle of last year, the Kremlin changed course and began attacking Ukraine’s transformers and power plants in October.
Since then, power outages have multiplied across the country, leaving millions of Ukrainian civilians without drinking water or heating, in winter.
This massive new attack comes a day after the US and Germany authorized the shipment of dozens of heavy combat vehicles to Ukraine, an unprecedented move in the 11 months of war.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski thanked his allies for providing this equipment, which Kiev had been asking for for months.
It is “an important step on the road to victory,” the president said, as the war approaches its first year.
When the tanks arrive
“The key now is speed and volume” in tank delivery, Zelenski added last night. It is estimated that the armored it will take months to arrive. Hopefully, the German Leopard 2 will arrive between April and March.
The Government of Ukraine values it several hundred tanks are needed to defeat the Russian army in the east and south of the country.
Germany has specified that it intends to deliver the Leopard 2 tanks “at the end of March, beginning of April”, according to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who had already spoken on Wednesday of at least three months for the arrival of tanks in Ukraine.
These deliveries and military aid “do not pose an offensive threat to Russia,” US President Joe Biden had indicated.
But for the Kremlin it is a “direct involvement” of Western countries, united behind Ukraine to weaken Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“In Moscow, we see this as direct involvement in the conflict, and we see it [esta implicación] it’s growing,” said Dmitri Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.
On the ground, Russian troops are “stepping up” the fighting in the east, according to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar.
Russian superiority
Currently, the Ukrainian army addresses Russia’s “superiority in numbers and weapons”.he added, citing the area around Bakhmut – which Moscow has been trying to conquer for several months – and the area around Vugledar, a town southwest of Donetsk.
It is the first time that Vugledar, of about 15,000 inhabitants before the war, has been mentioned in the “heavy” fighting sector.
Ukrainian forces have admitted that they have withdrawn from Soledar, northeast of Bakhmut, now in Russian hands.
Agencies
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Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.