Ukrainian soldiers prepare a vehicle suitable for firing helicopter shells on August 19, 2024.
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Waves of Russian drones and missiles have killed at least five people in Ukraine, authorities said, a day after Moscow launched aerial attacks on its war-torn neighbor.
According to a Telegram post translated by Google, the Ukrainian Air Force stated that it shot down 5 missiles launched by the Russian army in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, Kherson, Nikolaev, Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporozhye regions. cruise missiles and 60 Iranian-made Shahed drones.
The attack killed two people and injured five others, Oleksandr Vilkul, the governor of the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, said in a separate Google Translate article. telegram updatesfarther declare Wednesday is a day of mourning.
Three other people were killed during the offensive in the Zaporozhye region, according to Google Translate telegraph report From local leader Ivan Fedorov.
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
The latest spate of attacks came a day after Russia launched 236 drones and missiles at “Ukrainian critical infrastructure,” including fuel and energy state facilities, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a Google Translate update posted on Telegram on Monday. “Large-scale” attack. The force added that it had shot down 102 such missiles and 99 drones.
“Like most of Russia’s previous attacks, this one was equally despicable and targeted critical civilian infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his speech. night lecture on Monday.
He added that Ukraine’s energy sector had suffered “very big losses” but promised that “wherever there is a power outage, restoration work is already underway. Our maintenance crews will work around the clock. We will restore power. In all cities and communities For those who need it, the invincibility point will be opened soon.
Translated on Google telegram postRussia’s Defense Ministry said it deployed the country’s long-range precision and sea-based weapons on Monday to attack “critical energy infrastructure that supports the operation of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex” and said “all designated targets were hit.”
US President Joe Biden, who has staunchly supported Kiev since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, slammed Russia’s “brazen attack” on Monday and its targeting of Ukraine’s key energy bases.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and its efforts to push the Ukrainian people into darkness,” White House leaders said.
american nonprofit war institute qualified Moscow’s offensive on Monday was “one of the largest series of coordinated drone and missile attacks to date targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure,” but famous “Russia may lack the defense industrial capacity to sustain large-scale attacks of similar magnitude on a regular basis.”
Russia and Ukraine have been expanding their air offensives in recent weeks, with Kiev last week launching one of its largest-ever drone strikes on the Russian capital, Moscow, a rare direct target throughout the war, according to Russian officials.
Since early August, Ukraine has been conducting simultaneous surprise counter-incursions into Russian territory, particularly making headway in the Kursk region. construction of nuclear power plants in the region. On-site delegation Check local safety and security.