Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that the intensity of strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure had “skyrocketed” in response to attacks targeting Russian territory.
“The intensity of strikes on Ukrainian military installations, including those supporting these terrorist acts, has increased dramatically,” he said in remarks with Russian military officials.
The main information:
- The Russian Defense Minister claimed that strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure had “escalated” in response to attacks targeting Russian territory.
- On Sunday, drone attacks were foiled over Moscow and in Crimea.
- Four people were killed and 43 others injured in a strike on a residential building in Kryvyi Rig, central Ukraine.
He was reacting in particular to recent drone attacks targeting the annexed Crimean peninsula or Russia, such as in Moscow on Sunday where two buildings in a business district were slightly damaged. “Given the evolving situation, additional steps have been taken to improve defenses against air and sea attacks,” he said.
He also assured that the Ukrainian counter-offensive, started in early June after months of preparation, is “unsuccessful” and that “the Western weapons provided do not lead to success but only prolong the conflict”. Earlier, the Kremlin assured that the drone attacks targeting Moscow were “desperate acts” by Ukraine due to its setbacks on the ground.
On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky for his part was satisfied with these strikes, affirming that “the war is coming to Russian territory and to its symbolic centers”. “Ukraine is getting stronger,” he added, while warning that his country must prepare for new attacks on its energy infrastructure next winter.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar, on the contrary, claimed “success” of her people, in particular in the south where in two months the forces of Kiev have nibbled a little ground. According to her, the ongoing offensive in this area made it possible last week to “liberate” 12.6 km2 of land occupied by Russian forces, or 204.7 km2 in total since the start of the Kiev offensive.
The Ukrainian forces are advancing slowly in particular because they are confronted with solid Russian defense lines: trenches, anti-tank traps, minefields, aerial bombardments, etc. In the Bakhmout region (east), one of the hotspots of the fighting, the deputy minister claimed the recovery of 2 km2 last week, for a total of 37 km2 “liberated” in this area since the beginning of June.
At least four dead in a strike on an apartment building
At least four people were killed and 43 injured by a Russian strike on an apartment building Monday morning in Kryvyi Rig, in central Ukraine, according to a new report given by the Ukrainian Minister of the Interior. “The Russians hit the city with two missiles,” one of which destroyed several floors of a “residential building,” Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram messaging.
Four people were killed and 43 were injured, he said in a new report midday, adding that three residents were rescued and 30 evacuated. A 10-year-old child was among those killed, said Dnipropetrovsk region governor Sergey Lyssak.
The second missile hit the building of an educational institution, according to the interior minister. “They hit residential buildings, a university building, a crossroads. Unfortunately, there are dead and injured. There may be people under the rubble,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on Facebook, denouncing the “Russian terrorism”.
In images of the strikes posted on Facebook by Volodymyr Zelensky, part of a facade of an apartment building can be seen destroyed over several floors and blackened by flames. Debris littered the road past the building, where firefighters were busy. The educational establishment is gutted in the middle, according to the images.
In mid-June, Kryvyï Rig, the birthplace of President Zelensky, had already been targeted by a Russian strike which left at least 12 dead. The attack included a four-story apartment building and a warehouse.
Further south, in Kherson, a 65-year-old man was killed when his car was hit by Russian fire, local authorities said.