Russia strikes children’s hospital in Ukraine as Kyiv hits energy sites

At least nine people have been hurt in a children’s hospital in southern Ukraine as a result of a Russian drone attack, according to authorities.

Russian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the Russian attack on the medical facility in Kherson as a “deliberate” attack that shows Moscow doesn’t want peace to leave four children injured.

They “could not have been unaware where they were striking,” he said. Zelenskyy claimed that this was a deliberate Russian attack, specifically against children, against doctors, and against fundamental social guarantees, against all.

The Ukrainian prime minister claims that the hospital had about 100 people inside at the time of the attack. An eight-year-old boy was the youngest of the injured.

Moscow hasn’t made any comments on the strike.

Russian authorities reported earlier on Wednesday that Ukraine had targeted Russian energy infrastructure and slowed down air traffic by sending several drones into Moscow for the third night in a row.

A total of 100 Ukrainian drones were destroyed by Russian air defense units overnight, according to the Russian defense ministry’s statement on Telegram, six of which were over the Moscow region and the remaining over 11 regions and the Crimean peninsula.

The Mariysky refinery in the Mari El region, another in the Ulyanovsk region, and a gas plant in the town of Budyonnovsk in the southern Stavropol region were all hit by Ukraine’s General Staff, according to a Telegram statement from the country’s general staff.

Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya reported that several airports in Moscow and nearby were shut down at some point during the night for safety reasons.

In recent months, Kyiv has launched long-range drone strikes targeting Moscow and other Russian cities, claiming that the aim is to damage both military and industrial assets.

In addition, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry reported energy strikes on the Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions’ energy systems. Nearly 27 000 households in the southern Odesa region of Ukraine were without electricity overnight, according to the power company DTEK.

Separately, Kyiv claimed that its security services had detained a former military officer from an undisclosed European nation and that the suspect was suspected of spying on Russia’s Ukrainian army.

Second nuclear test

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, reported on Wednesday that Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone, and that it had successfully completed a second nuclear weapons system test.

Putin made the remarks in televised remarks while visiting a military hospital in Ukraine where Russian soldiers were being treated for injuries by Russian soldiers wounded in Ukraine. “Yesterday, another test was conducted for another prospective system, … Poseidon,” also equipped with a nuclear power unit.

The drone torpedo, which can travel at speeds faster than conventional submarines and reach any continent in the world, was denied by the Russian leader, who claimed there was “no way to intercept” it.

Putin watched a recent test of the Burevestnik cruise missile, which he claimed had an “unlimited range,” on Sunday.

Donald Trump, the president of the US, criticized that exercise and demanded that Putin put the focus on averting the end of Ukraine.

Trump cancelled a summit with Putin in Budapest last week because he believed Putin would not agree to compromise and put an end to the conflict.

After a Russian reconnaissance aircraft was intercepted by Polish Air Force fighter jets over the Baltic Sea, tensions with Russia were also simmering in Europe.

The Ilyushin IL-20 aircraft, according to the nation’s armed forces, was discovered in international airspace on Tuesday with its transponder off and no flight plan. Two Polish MiG-29 fighter jets flew it away and escorted it away.

According to the military, Poland’s airspace was not impacted by the incident.

One of Ukraine’s closest political and military allies, the EU and NATO member state serves as a key logistics hub for Western military assistance to Kyiv.

Source: Aljazeera