Russia carried out another massive missile attack on Ukraine on Sunday, claiming to have hit airbases in the west of the country, while Kiev targeted two bridges in the occupied zone.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it succeeded in shooting down 30 of the 40 cruise missiles and all of the Iranian-made Shahed drones fired by Russian troops, who also used hypersonic Kinjal missiles, which are difficult to intercept.
While Kyiv did not give details of all the sites hit, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have struck “air bases of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the localities of Starokostiantyniv, in the Khmelnytsky region, and Dubno, in the Rivne region”.
“The objective of the strike has been achieved. All designated targets have been hit,” the ministry added on Telegram.
The Khmelnytsky region, hundreds of kilometers from the front lines in the west of the country, is regularly targeted by the Russian army. It is home to a major Ukrainian air base.
According to an official of the administration of the region, Sergey Tyurin, Khmelnytsky has been attacked three times since Saturday evening. “A series of explosions took place”, which in particular damaged several buildings, the bus station and other buildings, he indicated on Telegram.
On the Russian side, two Ukrainian missile attacks hit two bridges in territory occupied by Moscow on Sunday.
The first targeted the Chongar bridge in the Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014. “Some missiles were shot down by the air defense forces. The road bridge platform was damaged, repair work has already started. “There are no casualties,” pro-Russian governor Sergei Aksionov said.
The second targeted a bridge near the town of Genichesk in the southern Kherson region, injuring one person and damaging a gas pipe that left 20,000 homes without gas, said occupation official Vladimir Saldo. According to him, 9 out of 12 Ukrainian missiles were shot down.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that a Ukrainian drone targeting the Russian capital had been shot down by anti-aircraft defense, after a series of similar attacks in recent weeks.
On Saturday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had already reported Russian strikes on the Khmelnytsky region, as well as on buildings of the aircraft manufacturer Motor Sich, whose headquarters are in Zaporizhia, a region in southern Ukraine partially occupied by Russian forces.
In November 2022, the state took direct control of this company, which notably manufactures engines for planes and helicopters, alongside other companies “of strategic importance” for the Ukrainian war effort.
Mr. Zelensky also assured on Saturday evening that Russian troops had hit a blood transfusion center in Kupiansk, a city very close to the front in northeastern Ukraine, a bombardment which left “dead and wounded” .
On Saturday, a Russian tanker carrying oil via the Black Sea was hit by a Ukrainian attack using a drone and explosives. According to Moscow, it was damaged but remains afloat and preparations are underway to repair the damage.
Tensions are growing in the Black Sea, where attacks on both sides have multiplied since Moscow refused in mid-July to renew an agreement negotiated by the UN and Turkey which authorized the export of Ukrainian cereals.
Russia has repeatedly bombed Ukrainian port infrastructure in the Black Sea and on the Danube, while Ukraine has attacked Russian ships in its waters and the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.
On the diplomatic front, Saudi Arabia, seeking global influence, hosted a meeting on Ukraine on Saturday which was held without Russia but with emerging powers close to Moscow such as China, India and South Africa.
It ended on Saturday evening in Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea, after several hours of speeches and a long discussion behind closed doors but without a final declaration.
According to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian delegation has put forward its “peace plan” which essentially consists of the resumption of all the territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration Andriï Iermak, who represented the country in Jeddah, acknowledged “not easy discussions” and the existence of “many disagreements”.
06/08/2023 15:59:05 – Kiev (Ukraine) (AFP) © 2023 AFP
