Russia intensified its strikes on Ukraine by imposing, Thursday, March 9, a barrage of missiles and drones on several areas of the country, including in the west, yet far from the front lines. These strikes, which are the most important for weeks, killed at least six people and deprived part of the population of power, as well as, temporarily, the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia.
Moscow described these attacks, which it carried out in particular with the help of new Kinjal hypersonic missiles, as “retaliations” to an incursion into its territory on 2 March “saboteurs” Ukrainians. kyiv denied the charges, and had warned that Moscow could use the allegations to justify further attacks.
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, denounced Thursday evening, in his daily message on the Internet, this “new attempt by the terrorist state to wage war on civilization, which has temporarily cut off power, heating and water in some of our regions and cities”.
In the Lviv region (west), a shooting in a residential area killed at least five people, the governor reported, while that of the Dnipro region (center-east) said that a 34-year-old man had been killed. Oksana Ostapenko, a resident of the village of Velyka Vilchanytsia in the Lviv region, lost her sister and two brothers-in-law who were in a destroyed house. Two of their neighbors were also killed.
“They celebrated [après un anniversaire], then they fell asleep. And this is what happened”says M.me Ostapenko. “We thought we were safe here”near the Polish border, she continues.
Thirty-four missiles shot down
According to the Ukrainian army, anti-aircraft defense shot down 34 of the 81 missiles launched by Moscow, and four Iranian-made Shahed explosive drones out of the dozen launched. None of the six Kinjal missiles, which are among the most sophisticated weapons in the Russian arsenal, could be shot down. kyiv claims its air defenses cannot intercept them.
In Washington, a White House spokeswoman said he was “devastating to see these brutal, unjustified attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine”. The French Foreign Ministry also condemned these massive strikes on Ukraine, which “have once again deliberately targeted residential buildings and civil infrastructure, including energy. “These unacceptable acts constitute war crimes and cannot go unpunished”he adds in a communicated.
Russia has regularly bombed Ukrainian energy facilities, plunging millions into darkness and cold, but such attacks had become less frequent of late.
Thursday’s strikes knocked out electricity, water and heating in Kharkiv, a major city in the northeast where outside temperatures fall to around zero degrees, and deprived 40% of users of heating in Kiev, according to the authorities. respective. “Russia is trying to completely destroy Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, that’s why we have to [lui] provide something to defend oneself withreacted the head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell.
Central reconnected
The gigantic Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, occupied by the Russian army in southern Ukraine, was also briefly cut off from the Ukrainian electricity grid on Thursday, said the Ukrainian nuclear operator, Energoatom.
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Because reactors need constant power to run cooling systems to prevent a meltdown, a power outage raises the specter of a nuclear accident. Emergency diesel generators were switched on to ensure minimal power to security systems, according to Energoatom. In the afternoon, electricity operator Ukrenergo said it had “restored the power supply to the plant”.
“We are playing with fire”warned, from Vienna, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi. “This is a serious violation of nuclear security, caused by Russia”abounded Josep Borell.
In kyiv, explosions affected southern and western districts, according to the mayor. Three people were injured, police said. On Prospekt Peremoguy, in the west of the capital, three cars parked near a high apartment building were charred, noted a correspondent from Agence France-Presse, and several others damaged.
“There was a very strong explosion”testifies Igor Iéjov, 60, who evacuated the building with his wife. “When it happens very close to you, it’s really a feeling of fear. »
Tensions in Transnistria
Tension is also rising in Moldova, a neighboring country to the south-west of Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists in Transnistria assured Thursday that Ukraine had wanted to carry out an attack in the center of their capital, Tiraspol, to ” eliminate “ their leaders and make “a large number of victims”.
“I have already instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs to prepare statements to all members of the UN Security Council. (…) We [les] We will call to review this situation and ensure our safety”, declared in Russian the leader of the separatists, Vadim Krasnoselskiï, in a televised address. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said “not having confirmation” of these allegations, and the Ukrainian security services (SBU) denounced a “provocation orchestrated by the Kremlin”. Moldova and the West regularly accuse Moscow of using Transnistria to further destabilize neighboring Ukraine.