Russian attacks on Ukraine kill 4 as Kyiv’s allies renew pressure on Moscow

As Kyiv’s allies take drastic measures against Moscow as the conflict nears its four-year mark, according to local officials, who claim that at least four people have been killed and several others have been injured by Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine.

The head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Saturday that two people had been killed and nine had been hurt in a ballistic missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

According to the Ukrainian State Emergency Service, debris from intercepted missiles fell into an open area at another site, causing windows to burn in a non-residential building in one location, causing damage to other buildings.

“Explosions in the capital,” . Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated in a social media post that the city is in “ballistic attack.”

In a Russian attack, acting governor Vladyslav Haivanenko reported that in the region’s central-est Dnipropetrovsk region, seven people were killed and seven injured. In addition to the strikes, he added apartment buildings, private homes, an outbuilding, a shop, and at least one vehicle.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one of the victims was a worker in need. The ministry’s social media post stated that “one rescuer was killed and one injured as a result of a repeated missile strike on the Petropavlivska community in the Dnipropetrovsk region.”

Russia fired 62 attack drones and nine Iskander-M ballistic missiles, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. It added that 50 drones and four ballistic missiles were defeated.

Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, made no immediate comment.

Russia, for its part, blaming Ukraine for destroying a nearby reservoir with a dam on Saturday. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, stated in a statement on Telegram that the dam’s repeated strikes had increased the risk of flooding and that residents of Shebekino and Bezlyudovka were advised to leave their homes for temporary lodging.

The Belgorod region, which borders the eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine, has previously been attacked by Ukrainian forces.

Russian Defense’s Ministry of Defense reported that overnight, 121 Ukrainian drones had been shot down by its air defenses.

pressing Putin to put an end to the conflict

As the conflict enters its fourth winter, Kyiv’s Western allies are putting more pressure on Russia as a result of the attacks.

This week, Russia’s war economy will be crippled by new, extensive sanctions put forth by the US and the European Union.

In an effort to entice Moscow to reach a ceasefire, US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil on Wednesday. Liquid natural gas imports are now prohibited by the EU, which passed a new round of sanctions on Russian energy exports on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the sanctions and demanded more pressure on all Russian oil companies as well as military assistance to strengthen Ukraine’s long-range missile capabilities at a joint press conference held in London on Friday following a meeting of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing.”

Zelenskyy claimed on Saturday that the overnight attacks made his nation’s need for air defense systems more acute. “We pay particular attention to Patriot systems because of these attacks to be able to shield our cities from this horror,” he said. He wrote on social media that it is crucial that partners who have the necessary capacity follow through on what we have discussed recently.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, declared he would not veer from Western pressure. He referred to the US sanctions as an “unfriendly act” and said that “no self-respecting country or people ever decides anything under pressure.”

Putin has demanded that Russia keep any territory it had taken during the war and that Ukraine be completely de-armed. That position seems to Ukraine unconvergent. Trump hasn’t been able to move between the two positions because he had boasted of being able to end the war in 24 hours prior to his re-election in January.

Following the US president’s suggestion to “freeze” the war with a ceasefire along the current front lines, plans for an in-person meeting between Trump and Putin fell apart this week.

Source: Aljazeera