This Monday (6), Russia carried out an attack against Kiev and other regions of Ukraine in response to what it called aggression by the Ukrainian government against civil infrastructure on Russian territory. The offensive took place on the eve of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Turkey and, according to Ukrainian authorities, left at least 18 dead and dozens injured in the capital and the Kiev region. NATO is the main intergovernmental political and military alliance in the world.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it used long-range precision weapons launched by land, sea and air, as well as drones, to target military, energy and fuel industry facilities in Kiev. The statement states that military airfield structures were also attacked in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, Chernihiv and Kiev and that all planned targets were hit.
According to the ministry, the attacks targeted companies linked to the production of drones, electronic equipment, armored vehicles, protection systems, military vessels, navigation systems and equipment used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the Kiev region, a complex dedicated to the production and maintenance of anti-aircraft defense systems and a fuel depot used to supply military operations were also hit.
The ministry stated that the offensive was a response to attacks carried out by Ukraine against civilian installations in Russia. According to the Russian government, the country will also respond if Western allies increase the supply of weapons to Kiev.
“The desire of the Kiev regime’s Western sponsors to increase supplies […] will be neutralized with an appropriate increase in the number and power of reprisal attacks by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation against the territory of Ukraine,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also reported that Ukraine launched 625 long-range drones against Russian territory between Saturday night (4) and Sunday morning (5) and that 613 of them were shot down by Russian forces.
Ukrainian authorities said in turn that the attack opened a crater in a multi-story residential building in Kiev and destroyed part of the structure. Journalists from AFP reported hearing more than ten explosions during the ballistic missile alert.
Anna Misko, 36, said an explosion hit the building where she lives in the Pozniaki neighborhood. “I have a son and we always go downstairs.” She said this time she survived “by a miracle” because the first floors of the building were destroyed.
In the Podilski district, Oleksandr Bakhlukov recounted the moments experienced during the attack. “At 1:30 am, there was a very strong impact. An expansive wave, all the windows flew out. And then they attacked three more times.” He stated that “pieces of glass fell everywhere. There was not a glass window left in the apartment.”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had intercepted Russian drones and cruise missiles, but said the country had “an insufficient supply of interceptor missiles” to counter the ballistic missiles used by Russia.
He also called on allies to step up the deployment of air defense systems ahead of the NATO summit. “It is of crucial importance that the world and, above all, the United States and our European partners emerge from the NATO summit in Ankara with firm decisions in support of our air defense and, therefore, the protection of life,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the attack demonstrated that Ukraine “urgently” needed more air defense systems and said the issue would be discussed during the NATO meeting.
In Crimea, Moscow-appointed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev reported that Sevastopol was left without power “following an enemy attack on energy infrastructure near Sevastopol.”
United States President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Zelensky during the NATO summit to discuss the war that began in 2022. Trump is also expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an attempt to resume efforts for a peace agreement.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
