Russia is massively bombing Ukraine and preparing for a long war

Yesterday morning, Ukraine was faced with new Russian missile strikes, as a result of which water was cut off in the capital city of Kiev and electricity was cut off in the country. Russia is preparing for a long war against Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday, adding that NATO allies must continue supplying arms until President Vladimir Putin realizes he “cannot win on the battlefield.”

According to the governor of the region, according to preliminary information, at least two people were killed as a result of a strike that hit a residential building in Kryvyi Rih (South) yesterday. In November, another person was killed as a result of artillery fire targeting a residential area of ​​the city of Kherson, which was retaken by Ukrainian forces. According to the Kyiv authorities, “about 40 rockets” of Russia targeted the capital, 37 of which were shot down by anti-aircraft defense. Others did not specify what kind of damage it caused. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that the damage to the energy infrastructure caused “interruptions in water supply in all areas of the capital”.

A long war

In turn, the Russian occupation of the Luhansk region (East) of Ukraine accused the Ukrainian forces of shelling two stations with artillery fire yesterday morning, as a result of which 8 people were killed and 23 were injured. Having suffered a series of military setbacks in the country’s northeast and south this fall, Russia opted for massive strikes aimed at destroying grids and transformers in October, nearly a decade after the war began. sank. “There is no sign that Putin has given up his goal of controlling Ukraine,” NATO’s secretary general warned. “We should not underestimate Russia. He is preparing for a long war, Mr. Stoltenberg said. We see that they are gathering more forces, they are ready to take more casualties, they are trying to get more weapons. »

The countries of the Alliance, led by the United States, have given Ukraine billions of dollars worth of weapons to resist Russian forces. According to the head of NATO, “the fastest way to achieve (an end to the conflict) is to provide military support (to Kiev) so that President Putin understands that he cannot win on the battlefield, but he has to sit down and negotiate. with good intentions”.

According to US sources, Washington is finalizing plans to send its most advanced Patriot missile batteries to the area, which would add to other Western air defense systems already supplied to Kiev. However, in addition to replenishing their stockpiles, NATO member countries will need to ensure that they have enough ammunition and spare parts to keep the weapons that have been deployed so far operational. As the latest wave of massive bombings has targeted energy infrastructure and civilian facilities in the country, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has responded by demanding that the West “deliver to Ukraine one howitzer, one tank to Ukraine, one armored vehicle to Ukraine for every missile or missile.” A drone targeting Ukraine”.

Putin-Lukashenko meeting

This week, Ukraine’s Western allies met at a conference in Paris to find nearly a billion euros to help the country save and repair its infrastructure, with many cities without electricity for just a few hours a day. Morning strikes in Kyiv also led to the closure of the subway yesterday so that the stations functioned as shelters. Wrapped in their coats, sitting on the ground or on the steps of escalators, some spent four hours there from the start of the warning at 8:00 a.m. (local time) until it was lifted at noon. “It has become a normal thing. I woke up this morning to see a rocket in the sky and I wasn’t surprised. I saw this and knew that I had to go to the metro,” says 25-year-old actress Lada Korovai. In the second half of the day, the municipality said on Telegram that “due to damage to the energy system and an emergency power outage”, the subway will remain at the parking lot for the rest of the day. By Wednesday, the capital had already been targeted by 13 explosive drone strikes, which the military said had been struck.

Faced with a show of Western support in Paris, Russian and Belarusian presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko will meet in Minsk on Monday for a summit aimed at further strengthening their alliance. Belarus, Russia’s only ally in this war, lent its territory to allow Russia to attack Kiev at the start of the invasion on February 24. However, faced with Ukrainian resistance, the Kremlin had to give up the occupation of the capital. According to Mr Lukashenko, Monday’s summit will be “above all (above all) devoted to the economic sphere”, but the two leaders will also talk about the “politico-military situation around their countries”.

In an interview published on Thursday, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Valery Zalujny said that he is sure that Russia will attempt a new attack on Kiev in the first months of 2023. Fighting has been concentrated since spring. In the east and south of Ukraine. Since September, Moscow has had to cede large areas there and has since mobilized 300,000 reserve troops to reinforce its lines. Fighting is particularly fierce around Bakhmout and Avdiivka, two towns in the east that Russian forces are trying to capture.

Source: AFP