For the eighth time in eight weeks, Russia has bombarded Ukraine with missiles, carrying out an aerial bombardment on targets across the country. The power grid suffered significant disruptions, primarily in the east. A power outage was experienced in Odesa to the south. The Ukrainian government reports the deaths of four individuals. The strikes, which occurred nearly two weeks after the last, were less destructive than in the past.
A barrage of Russian missiles has been fired against Ukraine’s targets for the eighth time in the last two months. Several power interruptions have been reported, mostly in the east. The power went out in Odesa in the south.#RussianUkrainianWar #Russia #Ukraine #Odesa #missile pic.twitter.com/Rq6OiLd6v1
— News Live (@NewsLiveFree) December 6, 2022
The Ukrainian forces claim to have shot down sixty of the seventy missiles fired by Russia. Several of the 17 targets were claimed to have been struck by Moscow. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a video address late Monday that Moldova’s electricity supplies had also been affected. “The Russian government has repeatedly demonstrated that it can carry out such large-scale terrorist attacks, which pose a threat to the Ukrainian nation and the entire region.”
Russian attacks have struck Ukraine’s energy grid in the past, causing millions of people to be without electricity and heat as winter approaches. Several days have passed since reports emerged that Russia is planning a new wave of attacks. Following a series of explosions deep inside Russia, Russian air defenses intercepted Ukrainian drones that caused the explosions, and they eventually reached the airbases within hours of the explosions.
Iranian-made Kamikaze Drones
The Russian defense ministry reports that two aircraft were lightly damaged, and three personnel were killed due to these explosions. The Ukrainian government has yet to comment. Monday’s missile strikes will likely lead to the second round of emergency repairs for Ukraine’s electrical engineers, often to facilities that have repeatedly been struck over the past few months. In an earlier statement, Kyiv officials discussed moving away from highly disruptive emergency blackouts, which can last for hours, toward more predictable scheduled power cuts, which should provide some much-needed predictability for the civilian population.
The plans may no longer be in operation, but it appears that Monday’s attack will cause less damage than previous ones. Moreover, the absence of Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones was another notable feature of the latest Russian strikes. The Ukrainian government recently reported that Russia had exhausted its supply of unmanned vehicles. An official from the Ukrainian military stated that Russia had been unable to deploy them due to cold weather.
Either way, they will be used in mid-November at the earliest. In October, Russia began a coordinated attack on Ukraine’s power grid on a large scale. In the past few months, approximately half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been damaged, leaving millions of Ukrainians without power during winter. Due to the tremendous damage caused to civilian infrastructure, some Western leaders have considered this strategy a war crime. Defeating power grids does not necessarily violate international law, but they must be proportionate to whatever military advantage they may yield.
Russia Claims Ukraine Hit its Air Bases
On Monday, Russian air bases were struck by Ukrainian drones deep within Russian territory, according to the Kremlin, shortly before the Russian military launched an attack on Ukrainian homes and buildings that killed at least 40 people. Because it struck an airfield that housed bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the unprecedented attack on Russia put the war in danger of escalating significantly. A recent statement by President Vladimir Putin appeared to implicate nuclear weapons to defend his country.
Source: Web
A truck bombing on October 8 destroyed the bridge connecting Russia’s mainland with the Crimean Peninsula, resulting in another bold attack from Russia. Russian forces have bombarded Ukrainian territory almost weekly since this attack. By driving across a partially repaired bridge on Monday, Putin attempted to show his country’s ability to rebound after the embarrassment. Putin undertook an expensive effort to solidify his claim to Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. He opened the 19-kilometer bridge in 2018 to demonstrate the legitimacy of his claim.
A retaliatory barrage hit several Ukrainian regions on Monday, knocking out basic services as Moscow aims to hit harder as winter approaches. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, stated that four people were killed during the barrage on Monday. However, Zelenskyy again displayed defiance, praising workers who immediately attempted to restore power following the incident. In addition, Zelenskyy’s nightly address stressed the importance of each downed Russian missile as a concrete demonstration that terror can be defeated.
US Condemns Russian Strikes
The White House has condemned Russian strikes against Ukraine as a reminder of the brutality of the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense of the United States, and Oleksii Reznikov, Secretary of Defense of Ukraine, condemned Russia’s brutal air attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. The Pentagon stated that Austin indicated the United States’ unwavering commitment to assisting Ukraine in countering Russia’s war of aggression.
Following Austin’s commitment to providing additional munitions for NASAMS – advanced surface-to-air missile systems – and capabilities to counter unmanned aerial systems, air defense was emphasized as a top priority for US security assistance efforts. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave his nightly video address stating that four people had been killed due to Russian strikes.
“The only way to maintain peace is to dismantle Russian terrorist capabilities, liberate our entire country, and put the murderers behind bars,” he declared. Russian missile strikes were reported across the country by Ukrainian officials early on Monday morning. Civilians were urged to seek shelter as air raid sirens sounded. The Russian missile attacks on houses, buildings, and power infrastructure, which Ukrainian authorities had expected, demonstrate Russia’s strategy of depriving Ukraine of electricity, heat, and water during the year’s coldest months.
Ukraine’s state-owned energy company, Ukrenergo, confirmed this week that Russian forces had struck its energy infrastructure, causing power outages. The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, indicated that the country’s power system remains operational and intact. The water company reports that in these areas such as Kryvyi Rih, Cherkasy, and the Black Sea port of Odesa, the pump stations have been without power, making adequate water supplies unavailable for the population.
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