Ukraine on Tuesday hit the Moscow region in series of drone strikes that killed one woman, destroyed dozens of homes and forced some 50 flights to be rerouted from the Russian capital, reporting by Reuters confirmed.
The attack on Moscow was reportedly the largest drone strike levied by Kyiv at Russia since the war began more than two and half years ago.
Russia, which has heavily relied on drones and missiles in its assault against Ukraine and routinely pummels Kyiv with a barrage of aerial assaults, said it destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region along with another 124 across eight other regions.
“There is no way that nighttime strikes on residential neighborhoods can be associated with military action,” he told reporters.
“The Kyiv regime continues to demonstrate its nature.
“They are our enemies and we must continue the special military operation to protect ourselves from such actions,” he said, perpetuating the term used by Moscow to describe its invasion of Ukraine.
Kyiv has not yet commented on the overnight strike, but reportedly said Russia attacked it with some 46 drones, 38 of them destroyed by Ukrainian defenses.
“It’s a critical moment to what is an intense, all-fighting season,” Blinken told reporters.
“With Russia continuing to escalate its aggression – aggression against civilians, against critical infrastructure, and, of course, against Ukrainian forces – we see it ramping up its attacks on cities, people, in particular, targeting the energy infrastructure.”
Shmyhal on Tuesday did not specify how much of the grid has been restored or what lengths of power outages Ukrainians may be forced to endure this winter.
One woman was killed, dozens of homes were destroyed, and about fifty flights had to be rerouted from the Russian capital on Tuesday as a result of a series of drone strikes carried out by Ukraine on the Moscow region, according to confirmation from Reuters.
According to reports, Kyiv’s drone strike against Russia on Moscow was the biggest since the war started more than 2.5 years ago.
Russia claimed to have destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region and another 124 across eight other regions. Russia has heavily relied on drones and missiles in its assault against Ukraine and regularly pummels Kyiv with a barrage of aerial assaults.
Iran is confirmed by BLINKEN to be supplying Russia with short-range ballistic missiles.
The attacks against the capital of Russia, home to about 21 million people, were allegedly not lawful military targets, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
He told reporters, “There is no way that strikes on residential neighborhoods at night can be associated with military action.”. “The regime in Kiev is still exhibiting its true colors.
He repeated the phrase Moscow uses to characterize its invasion of Ukraine, saying, “They are our enemies and we must continue the special military operation to protect ourselves from such actions.”.
Although Kyiv has not yet responded to the strike that occurred overnight, it has been reported that 38 of the approximately 46 drones that Russia used to attack it were shot down by Ukrainian defenses.
U. s. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that he and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit Ukraine later this week to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and their counterparts from Ukraine.
Blinken informed reporters, “It’s a critical moment to what is an intense, all-fighting season.”. “We observe Russia increasing its attacks on cities and people, specifically targeting the energy infrastructure, as it continues to escalate its aggression – aggression against civilians, against critical infrastructure, and, of course, against Ukrainian forces.”. ****.
Blinken referenced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “playbook,” which he has used the past two years to weaponize Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the harsh winter months, and claimed that this forthcoming visit represents the U.S. S. and NATO’s dedication to guaranteeing that Ukraine is able to repel Russian assaults.
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Though Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal echoed concerns expressed by the U.S., it is unclear exactly what will be covered during the Blinken-Lammy visit this week. S. secretary of state on Tuesday, according to the Kyiv Independent, and stated that about 85% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is shielded from impending Russian attacks.
Following Russia’s aggressive campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in March, during which a reported 80% of the country’s largest private energy company, DTEK, was damaged or destroyed, Ukrainians nationwide, including those in Kyiv, have been experiencing sporadic blackouts for months.
Energy ministers warned in June that, depending on how much of the grid could be fixed, Ukrainians might only have access to electricity for as little as six hours a day this coming winter.
On Tuesday, Shmyhal remained reticent about the extent of grid restoration or the duration of power outages that Ukrainians might have to face this winter.
Rather, he emphasized the steps taken to safeguard Ukraine’s energy sector, stating that $315 million had been supplied by foreign allies in addition to the approximately $461 million that the Ukrainian government had set aside for the purpose of securing energy infrastructure.
