Kyiv weathers ‘unprecedented’ wave of Russian missiles

A photograph shows a destroyed house after a missile strike in Tsirkuny village, Kharkiv region on May 18, 2023. As a result of the shelling, two private hoses were completely destroyed. 52-year-old local resident was died and two two more local residents were injured. (AFP)

KYIV – Ukraine said Thursday it had intercepted nearly all of a barrage of Russian missiles overnight, the latest in an “unprecedented” wave of aerial attacks on the capital Kyiv.

The defense ministry said Russian forces had launched 30 cruise missiles from land, sea and air, targeting several regions and killing one person in the southern port of Odesa and another in the northeastern region of Kharkiv.

The military said its air-defense units had destroyed 29 of the cruise missiles and shot down four drones.

Russian strikes on Kyiv have reached an intensity not seen since a wave of attacks started last autumn.

“A series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in their power, intensity and variety, is continuing,” said Sergiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s civil and military administration.

The attack came as the United States unveiled “significant” new sanctions targeting Russia’s “war machine” on Friday, as President Joe Biden meets fellow G7 leaders in Japan.

The heads of seven wealthy democracies are gathered in Hiroshima, where they will discuss tightening the screws on Russia’s ailing economy.

Washington got the ball rolling with the new sanctions, cutting off roughly 70 entities from Russia and other countries from receiving US exports, and 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft, according to a senior US administration official.

The official, who briefed reporters on the moves in Hiroshima, said other G7 members are also expected to implement new restrictions, but did not give details.

The bloc wants to disrupt Russian war supplies, close evasion loopholes and further reduce reliance on Russian energy, he said.

It will also continue to squeeze Moscow’s access to the international financial system and commit to keeping Russian assets frozen until the end of the war in Ukraine.

On Thursday, a European Union official said one potential target for discussion was Russia’s multi-billion-dollar diamond industry.

Explosions

Thursday’s assault on Kyiv follows other recent barrages in which Ukraine claimed to have downed several of Russia’s much-vaunted hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.

Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said that the most recent barrage included six Kalibr missiles and two Iskander-K missiles.

The United States also confirmed that one of its Patriot air defense systems supplied to Kyiv had been damaged, following claims by Russia that its forces had destroyed one of the advanced systems.

In the southern port city of Odesa, one person was killed and two were wounded after a missile hit industrial infrastructure, the military said.

One person died and two more were wounded as a result of a missile strike on the village of Tsyrkuny in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, governor Oleg Sinegubov said.

In Kyiv, officials reported explosions in the Desnyansky district in the northeast and said a fire had broken out at a business in the southeastern neighborhood of Darnytskyi as a result of falling debris.

Officials also reported “cruise missile” attacks in the central Vinnytsia region, and explosions in Khmelnytskyi, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) further west.

The Russian defense ministry said its forces had hit “all” targets, saying they had targeted “large depots of foreign weapons and equipment as well as enemy reserves”.

Train derailment

In the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, a train carrying grain derailed in what Moscow-installed officials on Thursday called a deliberate act.

“Train carriages loaded with grain derailed in the Simferopol region,” said Crimea head Sergei Aksyonov. The railway operator said the incident had been caused by “the intervention of third parties”.

Telegram channel Mash, which claims to have sources close to Russian law enforcement, said the disruption was caused by an explosive device that left a large crater.

One regional parliament member also said the incident was caused by an explosive device, without giving evidence.

Baza, another Russian Telegram outlet with police sources, distributed images of what it said was the aftermath of the incident, showing several overturned rail cars.

Earlier this month, explosive devices derailed two Russian trains in a region bordering Ukraine over consecutive days.

Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been hit intermittently by explosions at military facilities since Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Britain and Norway’s defense ministers on Thursday agreed to develop a strategic partnership to protect critical energy undersea infrastructure amid fears of possible Russian sabotage.

The accord comes a year after the EU said leaks in two major gas pipelines from Russia to Europe had been caused by sabotage, while stopping short of explicitly accusing the Kremlin.

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