On Friday, Russian airstrikes pounded Ukrainian towns, killing 26, including five children, despite Kyiv’s claims that preparations for a counteroffensive against Moscow’s soldiers were almost complete.
One of the devastating new strikes targeted a residential building in the medieval Ukrainian city of Uman, where AFP journalists saw rescuers removing bodies from a demolished home.
After a series of Russian airstrikes that were intended to cripple Ukraine’s energy infrastructure throughout the winter, there had been a weeks-long lull before the onslaught of almost two dozen missiles overnight.
Workers in Uman, where a yearly Hasidic pilgrimage takes place, discovered another child’s corpse amid the debris on Friday night. According to the authorities, 23 persons, including four children, were killed in Uman by Russian cruise missiles.
Earlier in the day, Dmitry, a 33-year-old native from the eastern city of Lugansk, which is governed by Russia, said, “I want to see my children; they are under the rubble.”
In the center of the 80,000-person metropolis, rescuers were using cranes to sift through the wreckage of the multi-story apartment building for survivors.
“I’ve seen a lot, but I’ve never lost my kids. Now, whether they’re alive or not, I want to see my kids,” Dmitry remarked.
The center city of Dnipro, which was already in mourning after an attack on a tower block in January that left more than 40 people dead, was also struck by Russian missiles.
Authorities said that a 31-year-old lady and her two-year-old daughter were slain in their sleep during the Dnipro attacks.
Hospitalized were the parents of the young lady.
Authorities in the area said that “neighbors say that it was a quiet and kind family.”
Separately, authorities in the southern Kherson region reported on Friday night that three people were injured and one person, aged 57, was killed when Russian forces shelled the village of Bilozerka.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, denounced the most recent onslaught and promised retaliation.
In his evening speech, Putin said that “only absolute evil can unleash such terror against Ukraine.”
Mykhaylo Podolyak, one of his advisers, tweeted: “Give us guns if you don’t want THIS to spread over the globe. many weapons. Add sanctions as well.
Moscow claimed that it had attacked Ukrainian military reserves and that “all assigned objects were hit.”
Moscow-Nine people, including an eight-year-old girl in the city of Donetsk, were murdered by Ukrainian shelling, according to newly established authorities in eastern Ukraine.
‘WE ARE READY’
Kyiv, one of the cities attacked on Friday, has no confirmed deaths.
The capital has not seen a missile strike in more over 50 days, until 12 drones of Iranian manufacture targeted it last week; eight of them were shot down without inflicting any deaths.
In all, Ukraine claimed to have shot down 21 of 23 Russian missiles as well as two attack drones.
The recent arrival of Western weaponry essential to the nation’s war effort has strengthened the air defense system of the nation.
The latest attacks occurred as Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said that his nation was nearly ready to hit back against firmly established Russian strongholds.
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday, NATO allies and partners have sent Ukraine 1,550 armored vehicles and 230 tanks to assist it organize troops and reclaim territory from Russian forces.
“Equipment has been created, promised, and delivered in part. We are prepared on a worldwide scale, Reznikov remarked.
Throughout the entire conflict that Russia started in February 2022, Kiev has vowed to drive Russian troops from the eastern and southern Ukrainian regions.
Regarding the intended offensive, Reznikov continued, “Preparations are coming to an end.”
‘ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE’
“We will do it as soon as it is God’s will, the weather, and the decision of the commanders.”
The eastern Donbas area has seen the majority of the combat, especially around the almost entirely devastated city of Bakhmut.
Several Ukrainian soldiers told AFP that Russian special forces were also involved in the bloody clashes in Bakhmut, in addition to members of the mercenary group Wagner.
Alex, 34, who lives close to Bakhmut, said the circumstances were challenging.
He said, “We are short on soldiers, and we have both many wounded and dead.”
“You have to hide behind a corpse sometimes in the trenches,” he continued. It is the only means of surviving.
Marat Khusnullin, the deputy prime minister of Russia, said on Friday that he had visited the troubled city for the first time and promised that Moscow will reconstruct it.
Moscow has fostered its ties with China in an attempt to find partners to sustain its protracted war effort.
This week, the leaders of Ukraine and China spoke on the phone, with Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly supporting negotiations for peace.
Following the conversation between Xi and Zelensky on Wednesday, Russia alleged that Ukraine was undermining peace efforts.
Zelensky said on Friday that he had requested Xi for assistance in repatriating Ukrainian youngsters who had been sent to Russia.
