War in Ukraine, Day 102 | With new attacks on Kyiv, Putin threatens to attack other targets

(Kyiv) Several Russian attacks targeted Kiev early Sunday morning, and for the first time since the end of April, Vladimir Putin threatened to strike new targets if he provided long-range missiles to western Ukraine.

Place Coqueline with Quentin Dieberkin in Donbass
French Media Company

In the east of the country, intense fighting is taking place for control of the strategic city of Chevroletonesk, where each side has been advancing for the past few days.

Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko and witnesses said several explosions had taken place in the early hours of the morning in the Dornitsky and Dniprovsky districts, southeast of the Ukrainian capital, and one of the injured had been admitted to hospital.

“I heard about six explosions at 5:57 am,” Natalia, 72, who woke up to the shelling, told AFP.

According to AFP reporters, the military has set up a security corridor around the barricade, which is railway infrastructure. The windows of a 10-story pink building were all smashed.

“The occupier is constantly launching missiles and conducting airstrikes on our country’s military and civilian infrastructure, especially in Kyiv,” the Ukrainian military civil servants wrote on its Facebook page.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian TU-95 aircraft based in the Caspian Sea fired several naval missiles in the direction of Kiev, destroying one of them.

According to various Ukrainian sources, including Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company, the railway infrastructure was targeted.

Moscow said it had destroyed tanks supplied by Eastern European countries.

“High-precision, long-range missiles were launched […] Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said:

Energoatom, the Ukrainian company that manages the country’s nuclear power plants, has, for its part, declared that a missile flew “at a very low level above the Pivtenno-Ukrainska power plant” in the Mikholev region (south), condemning an act of “nuclear terrorism.” “The missile was probably fired in the direction of Kiev,” Enercot said.

The capital, where the Russian rope was loosened in late March / early April, has not been attacked since April 28, the day of the visit of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

“Prolonging Conflict”

In the aftermath of the bombings, the Russian president warned that if the West provided Ukraine with long-range missiles, Moscow would strike new targets, aimed at “prolonging the conflict.”

If such deliveries occur, Russia will attack “sites we have not yet targeted,” Putin told the Rosia-1 television channel without further details.

The reports come just days after the United States announced its decision to supply several rocket-propelled grenades with a range of about 80 km to Ukraine.

Military experts point out that this limit is slightly higher than similar Russian systems, which would allow Kyiv forces to attack enemy artillery from inaccessible positions.

Important battles in Siverodonetsk

Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine, important fighting continued in the Siverodonetsk, the heart of the Russian offensive in the Donbass minefield. This eastern region has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014 and Moscow hopes to take full control of it.

In the last few hours, there has been progress on all sides in Severodonestk, the Ukrainian administrative capital of the Luhansk region.

“The Russians controlled 70% of the city, but in the last two days they have been pushed back. The city is divided into two and they are afraid to move freely there,” the region’s Ukrainian governor, Sergei Kaitayl, said in a telegram on Sunday morning.

Earlier on Saturday, city mayor Olexandre Striouk promised, “Our soldiers have been able to re-establish themselves and build a defensive line. Currently, we are doing what is necessary to regain full control of the city, especially through” street fights. ”

But on the contrary, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had suffered “significant losses during the war for the Siverodonets”. [jusqu’à 90 % dans plusieurs unités] Retreated towards the large neighboring city of Lisztansk.

The American Institute for War Research (ISW), the dynamics have changed, and now the Ukrainian forces are “successfully slowing down.” […] Russian attacks on Siverodonetsk with careful and effective local counter-attacks.

Fight on the other ends

Fighting continues at other ends. According to the Ukrainian Defense Minister, “Russia continues to make efforts to occupy our entire state.” Oleksi Resnikov promised that the Kremlin’s dreams would “collect” lands that he considered “its”, including “Poland, the Baltic states, Slovakia and others.”

Crimea, Donbass, southern Ukraine: In total, Russia has tripled since the start of the invasion, with Ukrainian territory covering 125,000 km2 or 20% of the country, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky.

In the southern Gershon region, Moscow has announced a presidential presidency that fears a “humanitarian crisis” over “occupied territories and the continued bombing of Ukrainian military positions” in Russian-held territories.

“The question of survival”

On the diplomatic front, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Ukraine responded on Saturday to French President Emmanuel Macron, who had reiterated the previous day that it was not necessary to “insult Russia” to secure the diplomatic exit doors.

“We are all focused on how to put Russia in its place. It will bring peace and save lives,” Dmitro Coleba replied. Macron believed his position would “insult France”.

At the same time, the USS Kearsarge was staying in Stockholm. It is the largest U.S. warship anchored in a port in the Swedish capital.

“It is important for us, the United States and other NATO nations, to show our solidarity with Finland and Sweden,” said US Commander-in-Chief General Mark Millie. Balti Sea.

On Sunday evening, in the Cardiff field, the Ukrainians will try to win another victory, which will qualify the national team for the World Cup.

“We all understand that the game against Wales is not about fitness or tactics, but about survival.