Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine’s infrastructure during Monday rush hour for the third time this month, sending commuters scrambling for cover and crippling basic services for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media that 80% of the battered capital was without water and that strikes on energy facilities left 350,000 apartments without power.
Missile and drone infrastructure strikes were also reported in Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia and several other regions. The government will introduce emergency electricity cutoffs across Ukraine, according to Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
The strikes came after Moscow claimed its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea was attacked over the weekend. Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia would rather “fight civilians” than fight on the battlefield.
“Don’t justify these attacks by calling them a ‘response,” he said. “Russia does this because it still has the missiles and the will to kill Ukrainians.”
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Other developments:
►Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down 44 Russian missiles Monday morning.
►Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and many top members of his government arrived in Kyiv on Monday in the latest show of support from European leaders for Ukraine.
Russia’s new recruits reaching front with outdated weapons, report says
Thousands of Russian recruits are reporting to front with weapons that “are likely in barely useable condition” and require a different ammunition from what Russian regular army troops are using, the British Defense Ministry said in its latest war assessment. Photos indicate the rifles are AKMs, which date back to 1959.
The integration of reservists with contract soldiers and combat veterans in Ukraine will mean Russia will have to push two types of small arms ammunition to front line positions, the ministry noted.
“This will likely further complicate Russia’s already strained logistics systems,” the assessment said.
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Contributing: The Associated Press
Story Credit: usatoday.com