Ukraine said Thursday it had shot down 29 gods 30 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight against the capital kyiv and other regions of the country, the ninth attack so far this month. The Russian army, for its part, has ensured that it has succeeded in destroying all the targets of its offensive.
This month Moscow has stepped up its rocket attacks on Ukraine, which has shown strong resistance since the February 2022 Russian invasion.
Ukraine, for its part, says it has finalized the preparations to launch a major counteroffensive against the invading troops.
“The Russian occupiers launched several waves of missile attacks from different directions. A total of 30 cruise missiles,” the Air Force said in a Telegram statement, adding that the air defense “destroyed 29 cruise missiles” and four drones. .
Kiev’s civil and military administration has estimated that this month’s Russian attacks are “unprecedented in power, intensity and variety”.
According to this same source, Russian strategic bombers launched cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea region, after which reconnaissance drones flew over the capital.
“All enemy targets in Kiev’s airspace have been detected and destroyed,” the Ukrainian source said.
Meanwhile, from Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement published on Telegram that “the objective of the attacks has been achieved. All assigned targets have been destroyed”.
In his daily press conference, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov detailed: “Overnight the Russian Armed Forces attacked warehouses with foreign-made weapons and equipment and high-precision weapons from the sea and from the air. enemy reserves.
The spokesman added that “significant reserves of weapons and ammunition of the Ukrainian army were destroyed as a result of the attacks and the dispatch of reserves to combat zones was prevented”.
victims
A fire broke out at a business due to falling debris, but no fatalities were reported, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
By contrast, in the Black Sea port city of Odessa, one person was killed and two were injured when a missile struck an industrial infrastructureaccording to a military spokesman.
The army also reported “cruise missile” attacks in the Vinnytsia region in the center of the country, and the media reported explosions in Khmelnytskyi, some 100 km further west.
grain export
A day earlier, Russia and Ukraine agreed to extend their deal to export Ukrainian grains, a rare example of cooperation amid conflict.
However, questions have been raised about its feasibility following Thursday’s Russian attacks.
In addition, a train carrying grain derailed on Thursday, without causing casualties, in the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia, according to Russian authorities, who said it was a deliberate act.
The local train service said in a statement that the accident was caused by “a third party”, referring to sabotage.
Several sources said the derailment was caused by explosion.
The Chinese envoy
On the diplomatic front, the Chinese emissary, Li Hui, concluded a two-day visit to Kiev on Wednesday, the aim of which was to seek a political solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, without any progress being recorded.
“There is no panacea to resolve the crisis, and all sides should build mutual trust and create the conditions to stop the war and talk,” Li said in a statement from China’s foreign ministry.
There he met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba, who reiterated this Ukraine will not accept any proposal that “involves the loss of territory”.
Li is the most senior Chinese official to have traveled to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. He will be in Poland on Friday, and in the following days in Germany, France and Russia.
China, a close partner of Moscow, has never publicly condemned the Russian invasion and has proposed a 12-point plan to end the war, met with skepticism from Western powers allied with Ukraine.
The United Nations Security Council has scheduled a meeting this Thursday to discuss the situation in Ukraine, on the eve of the start of the G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima (Japan).
A European Union (EU) official said the meeting in Japan would discuss, among other issues, sanctions against Russia’s diamond trade, seeking to further deprive Russia of funds for its war in Ukraine.
Source: AFP
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.