A Russian missile strike that killed more than 40 people in the eastern city of Poltava on Tuesday comes after a difficult few days for Ukraine, in which Moscow appears to have stepped up its attacks, resulting in a wave of death and destruction.
At dawn on August 26, residents of the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, and many other cities woke up to a sound. Russian air attack. Moscow launched more than 200 missiles and drones in 15 regions of Ukraine. At least seven people were killed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack was the biggest since Russia’s full-scale offensive began 30 months ago. The strike knocked out power in several cities, including the capital, continuing a pattern of attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Early the next morning, Russia launched another barrage, and one of the missiles hit a hotel Central Ukrainian city of Krivy RihFour people were killed. There was also a smaller round of strikes on Wednesday.
Moscow, which carries out airstrikes over Ukraine every few weeks, did not give a reason for the timing of the strikes, but it came weeks after an attack launched by Ukraine. A surprise attack In the southern Russian region of Kursk. Russian President Vladimir V. Putin promised a decisive response.
Russia continued to pound urban areas close to the front lines throughout the week. On Wednesday, the Russian attack Killed four members A family from the small community of Izmailivka in the Donetsk region, the state prosecutor said. The settlement is a few miles west of Russian lines and close to the city of Pokrovsk, which Moscow is trying to capture.
Most of the missiles and drones were shot down by Ukraine’s air defense systems, the air force said. F-16 fighter jets, recently delivered by the country’s allies in NATO, were deployed in the effort, Stop and beat down Three cruise missiles and one drone.
But on Thursday, Ukraine’s air force chief, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleschuk, announced that a jet had crashed in combat during Monday’s operation, killing its pilot. He said the crash, which came as a shock to many Ukrainians, was being investigated immediately after the deployment of the famous fighter jet.
the next day, Mr. Zelensky announced That Lt. Gen. Oleschuk was fired.
Russian fire was also directed at Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which is within range of Russian artillery and has been repeatedly attacked since the start of the full-scale war.
On Friday, a Russian glide bomb hit a children’s park and a mid-rise apartment block in the city, killing seven people and injuring around 60 others, according to Oleh Sinihubov, head of the regional military administration.
Two days later, Russian forces Bombardment of residential areas In the city, more than 40 civilians were injured, Ukrainian officials said. At least 10 explosions rocked the city.
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