Kyiv executed one of the most significant drone offensives against Russia since the commencement of the all-out war, aiming at power stations and an oil-processing facility on the night of Saturday; despite this, Russian troops managed to inch further towards a critical eastern Ukrainian town, according to Sunday’s official communications. Over 40 individuals sustained injuries due to Russian missile raids on Kharkiv – five of them kids, a fact that led Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to urge allies to give the green light for Kyiv to launch missiles from the west deeper into hostile lands.
The battles occur at a pivotal point in the 30-month drama as Russia intensifies its assault in eastern Ukraine while striving to remove Ukrainian soldiers who succeeded in an unexpected infiltration of Russia’s western frontier on August 6th. Russia, the previous week, subjected Ukraine to the most devastating air raids of the warfare, striking energy assets as part of a bombardment series involving drones and projectiles that have slayed thousands of innocent people and servicemen since the discord erupted in February 2022.
Ukraine, boosted by a budding native drone sector, has amplified its offensives against Russian energy, defence, and transport systems. It is also lobbying the US and other allies to authorise the use of more potent weaponry sourced from the west to cause further destruction within Russia’s borders and cripple Moscow’s capacity to assault Ukraine.
“Every force necessary for the rescue operation has been mobilised,” stated Mr Zelenskiy on his Telegram channel, reacting to the Kharkiv assault that officials claim encompassed at least 10 missiles and attacked locales like a shopping centre. “And the world must mobilise every force necessary to quash this terror.”
Previous reports from Russian officials suggested that air defence divisions had obliterated 158 drones propelled by Ukraine overnight, a situation that sparked fires at a Moscow oil processing facility and the nearby Konakovo power station in the Tver region.
Independent verification of the reported drone strikes on Russia or of the ground conditions in Ukraine by Reuters was not possible, and Kyiv has not yet provided commentary. Rarely does Russia disclose the full scale of the havoc wreaked by Ukraine’s aerial offensives.
Supporters of Kyiv are apprehensive about the potential reaction from Russian leader Vladimir Putin if their military equipment were utilised for strikes deep within Russia. Acting upon the Western world’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, mentioned in a statement from Russia’s TASS state news that Moscow intends to modify its nuclear policy, though he didn’t mention what these alterations might be.
The current Russian nuclear strategy, which was determined by a directive from Putin in 2020, permits the use of nuclear arms in case of an enemy nuclear onslaught or a traditional attack risking the state’s survival.
In East Ukraine, the epicentre for the most serious battle of the war, Russian forces persist in their movement towards Pokrovsk, a critical military and transportation hub connecting to cities and towns in the northern direction.
Ukraine’s unexpected penetration into Russia’s Kursk district last month was strategised to compel Russia to reposition its soldiers and alleviate the siege on forces in the East, but unfortunately, the tactic seems to have failed to achieve its intention.
Russia’s defence ministry confirmed on Sunday that its forces had seized two additional locations in Donetsk and were progressively moving into enemy lines.
– Reuters
(c) Thomson Reuters 2024