RUSSIA: Officials reported on Monday that Russia stepped up its attacks as it prepared for its cherished Victory Day holiday honouring the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and launched a wave of drone, missile, and air strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
In its morning update on the warfare, the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces reported that up to 16 missile strikes had targeted the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa districts, in addition to 61 airstrikes and 52 rocket salvos against Ukrainian positions and populated areas.
The new attacks come as Moscow gets prepared to host Tuesday’s Victory Day celebration, an important event for President Vladimir Putin, who recalled the spirit of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany after claiming that Ukraine is under the control of a new type of fascism.
All 35 Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russia had deployed were reportedly destroyed by Ukrainian air defences. A minimum of five people were injured, according to Kyiv’s mayor in the capital, and a lot of damage was incurred to fuel depots, cars, buildings, etc.
The military mentioned, “Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded civilians; high-rise buildings, private homes, and other civilian infrastructure were damaged.”
According to Ukraine and its supporters, the accusation served as a feeble pretext for Russia’s hostile invasion in February 2022, which triggered the most fatal conflict in Europe since World War Two and pushed millions of people from their homes.
In a post on Telegram, Hanna Malyar, the Ukrainian deputy defence minister, mentioned, “We must always be prepared for enemy treachery and defence.”
Following claims that Russia’s Wagner mercenary company had abandoned plans to leave Bakhmut, Ukraine’s top commander, who was in charge of the beleaguered city’s defence, claimed that Russia had increased its shelling of the city in an effort to seize it by Tuesday.
The media said that explosions were reported in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia after air raid alarms had been broadcast for hours over about two-thirds of Ukraine.
As reported by Vladimir Rogov, a Russian officer stationed in Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces attacked a warehouse and a position of Ukrainian soldiers in the small city of Orikhiv.
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