Ukraine seeks to defend Kyiv as Russia ramps up attacks on capital city – National | 24CA News
Russia launched one other wave of assaults on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv within the early hours of Tuesday and the town’s air protection techniques have been taking pictures down incoming missiles, whereas air raid sirens blared in a number of different areas.
“A massive attack!” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko mentioned on the Telegram messaging app. “Do not leave shelters.”
Falling particles hit a number of districts of the capital together with the historic Podil and Pecherskyi neighborhoods, and a 27-year-old girl was injured in southwestern Holosiivskyi district, officers mentioned.
Russia has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian capital in May utilizing a mixture of drones and missiles, largely at night time, in an obvious try to undermine Ukrainians’ will to struggle after greater than 15 months of conflict.
Tuesday’s strikes have been Russia’s seventeenth air assault on the capital this month and got here after the town was attacked twice on Monday, together with an uncommon daytime strike.
In a uncommon acknowledgement of injury to a navy “target,” Ukraine mentioned a runway was broken and 5 plane have been taken out of service on Monday in western Khmelnitskiy area.
Russian state-owned news company RIA cited the protection ministry as saying multiple air base had been hit. There was no affirmation from Ukraine of injury to different air bases.
Ukrainian officers mentioned many of the drones and missiles fired on Sunday and Monday had been shot down and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised U.S.-supplied Patriot anti-missile defenses.
“When Patriots in the hands of Ukrainians ensure a 100% interception rate of any Russian missile, terror will be defeated,” Zelenskiy mentioned in his nightly video handle on Monday.
The air assaults come as Ukraine prepares a counter-offensive backed with Western weapons to attempt to drive Russian occupiers out of territory seized since Moscow launched what it calls its “special military operation” in February 2022.
“With these constant attacks, the enemy seeks to keep the civilian population in deep psychological tension,” mentioned Serhiy Popko, the pinnacle of Kyiv’s navy administration.
On the japanese frontlines, Russian paratroops and motorized models have been changing Wagner mercenary models within the japanese metropolis of Bakhmut, in keeping with Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the japanese group of Ukrainian Forces.
Wagner started handing over positions to common troops this week after declaring full management of Bakhmut following the longest and bloodiest battle of the conflict.
Moscow mentioned it invaded Ukraine to “denazify” its neighbor and shield Russian audio system. Western opponents say the invasion is an imperialist land seize wherein tens of hundreds have been killed, thousands and thousands uprooted and cities lowered to ruins.
Russia says it’s open to resuming stalled peace talks with Kyiv and has welcomed mediation efforts from Brazil and China.
But a high aide to Zelenskiy mentioned Kyiv’s peace plan, envisaging the total withdrawal of Russian troops, was the solely approach to finish the conflict.
“There cannot be a Brazilian peace plan, a Chinese peace plan, a South African peace plan when you are talking about the war in Ukraine,” chief diplomatic adviser Ihor Zhovkva advised Reuters in an interview late on Friday.
Another Zelenskiy aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, wrote on Twitter that any post-war settlement ought to embrace a demilitarized zone of 100-120 km (62-75 miles) inside Russia alongside the border.
The European Union’s high diplomat, Josep Borrell, mentioned he believed Russia wouldn’t wish to negotiate whereas it was nonetheless making an attempt to win the conflict.
Ukraine’s navy mentioned an assault on Odesa port had precipitated a hearth and broken infrastructure however didn’t specify whether or not the harm threatened grain exports.
Ukraine is an key world grain provider and the port is significant for delivery. It can also be one in all three international locations in a U.N.-brokered deal on the secure export of grain by way of the Black Sea.
Russia mentioned on Monday the grain deal would not be operational until a U.N. settlement with Moscow to beat obstacles to Russian grain and fertilizer exports was fulfilled.
This month, Moscow reluctantly agreed to increase the grain deal till July 17.
(Additional reporting by Olena Harmash, Pavel Polityuk and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Stephen Coates; Editing by Ron Popeski and Lincoln Feast)
