KyivRussia launched 81 missiles and drones at Ukraine, maintaining its offensive for the second day in a row, which on Tuesday killed six people and injured five others, as well as destroying a hotel, houses, residential buildings and critical infrastructure. This came after Ukraine was attacked by 200 drones and missiles the day before, a dramatic increase in the scale of Russia’s attack amid a Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region.
As is often the case in public statements following Russian airstrikes, the Ukrainian military listed the Russian regions and occupied territories from which the weapons were launched. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior officials have repeatedly called on the United States to lift restrictions and allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia to reach the military infrastructure responsible for the war.
“The allies try not to talk to me about the issue, but I keep bringing it up. In general, there is nothing more to talk about. The Olympics are over, but the ping-pong continues,” Zelenskyy said. He thanked Ukraine’s supporters for the F-16s, but said there were too few of them and too few pilots trained to fly them.
Among the Russian regions cited as the source of Tuesday’s attack was Kursk, where Ukraine’s army chief said his troops have taken control of nearly 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) since their surprise incursion three weeks ago. That’s an area roughly the size of Los Angeles.
General Oleksandr Syrskyi also said Ukraine had captured 594 Russian prisoners in the operation, which he said was aimed at diverting Russian armed forces from fighting in Ukraine. His claims could not be independently confirmed.
Operation Kursk, the largest incursion into Russia since World War II, has forced some 130,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Russia has sent reinforcements to the region, but it is unclear to what extent these moves could be weakening Russian positions on Ukrainian territory.
The fighting in the region has raised concerns about the dangers facing the Kursk nuclear power plant, said International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, who visited the plant on Tuesday. In a message posted on X, Grossi said the situation there was “serious” and that any attack on a nuclear plant was unacceptable.
“There is now a danger of a nuclear accident,” Grossi was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. “Today I have been informed of several cases of drone attacks on the territory, on the plant’s facilities. I have seen traces of these attacks at the plant.” But the plant is now operating “in a mode very close to normal,” he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Ukraine suffered heavy casualties in Kursk — some 6,600 soldiers killed or wounded — and that more than 70 tanks and dozens of armored vehicles were destroyed. It was not possible to independently confirm those figures.
Syrskyi’s claim to territorial control came hours after Ukraine suffered a second consecutive barrage of air and missile strikes by Russia overnight. Five people were reported killed and 16 wounded in the attacks, which Zelenskyy said included 81 drones as well as ballistic and cruise missiles.
In the Kiev region, which had suffered blackouts following Monday’s attack on energy facilities across the country, five air alerts were issued overnight. The regional administration said air defences destroyed all drones and missiles, but falling debris sparked wildfires.
On Monday, after more than 100 missiles and a similar number of drones were bombarded on Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal declared that “energy infrastructure has once again become the target of Russian terrorists” and urged Ukraine’s allies to provide it with long-range weapons and permission to use them against targets inside Russia. The allies “try not to talk to me about this. But I keep bringing up this topic. In general, that’s it. The Olympics are over, but ping-pong continues,” Zelenskiy said.
US President Joe Biden called Monday’s Russian attack on energy infrastructure “outrageous” and said he had “reordered the priorities of US air defense exports to go to Ukraine first.” He also said the US was “increasing the supply of energy equipment to Ukraine to repair its systems and strengthen the resilience of Ukraine’s energy grid.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes involved “long-range precision air and sea weapons and attack drones against critical energy infrastructure facilities supporting the operation of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex. All designated targets were hit.” Russian officials said four Ukrainian missiles were shot down over the Kursk region.
(AP Agency)
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