On Wednesday, a minimum of 12 individuals were harmed in Kharkiv, a Ukrainian city, due to a Russian air assault. In addition, the NATO countries cautioned Moscow not to destabilise the Baltic area and the UK alleged that China intended to provide Moscow with lethal assistance for their offensive in Ukraine.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city with a population of approximately 1.3 million, was disclosed by local prosecutors to have been hit by a pair of bombs dropped from aircraft soaring over the adjacent Russian district of Belgorod. Kharkiv, situated just 35km from the border has been encountering an increase in Russian aerial, missile and drone attacks in recent times.
The airstrikes led to the destruction of a café, a car wash, numerous vehicles and shattered multiple windows of a high-rise residential building. The worst affected victim was a trolleybus driver passing by who later underwent a double foot amputation in the hospital.
The everyday air raids on Kharkiv and a recent Russian ground invasion into the region’s border areas have heightened Ukraine’s exasperation over the delay in arms deliveries from the West. Also, allies such as the US insist any supplied weaponry shouldn’t be used against Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Wednesday, expressed the need for immediate assistance from international partners to suppress Russian forces.
Since Russia deployed forces into the border areas on 10th of May, more than 10,000 residents have fled to Kharkiv and other places. Ukraine states that stability has been restored in the area. Nonetheless, the battle for the town of Vovchansk carries on, with a police officer being slain in a drone strike during an evacuation mission on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian military has also reported conflict in the Kupiansk area of the Kharkiv region and other parts of the bordering Donetsk province. This is where Russia has focused the majority of its full-scale invasion that began in February 2022.
Kyiv and various analysts believe Russia’s strategy aims to wear down Ukraine’s outnumbered and outgunned troops to weaken their defences in the Donetsk region. This province is one of five that Moscow unlawfully stakes its claim to, clearly violating international law.
UK Defence Minister Grant Shapps disclosed on Wednesday that evidence has been gathered indicating a cooperation between Russia and China in providing military equipment for use in Ukraine. Delivering his statement at a London conference, Shapps expressed concerns over the believed transfer of lethal aid from China to Russia, and then into Ukraine, an act that diverges greatly from China’s previous role as a moderating force on Moscow during the early stages of the conflict.
However, details of the substantiating evidence for what Shapps categorised as a ‘noteworthy progression’ were not made public. Yet, he did highlight the substantial growth of 64% in China-Russia trade since the full-on Russian encroachment on Ukraine began.
Western officials contradict China’s denial of aiding Russia’s warfare, stating that a substantial volume of ‘dual use’ technology, applicable for both military and civilian purposes, is being transferred from China to Russia.
In addition, concern has been drawn to Russia’s Defence Ministry’s brief online proposal of altering maritime borders in the Baltic Sea, a move causing worry among regional NATO members Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania.