Russia attacked Kyiv with missiles yesterday morning for the first time in more than a month, while Ukrainian officials said that, far from the capital, a counterattack in the Luhansk area, which has become the main battlefield in the east , had allowed to recover half of the city of Severodonetsk. The battle for this industrial enclave is taking heavy casualties on both sides.
Following the attack on Kyiv early yesterday morning, dark smoke could be seen from many miles away in two outlying districts of the city. Official sources said the attack affected repair work on various railway cars. As expected, Moscow spread another version of events and said that it had destroyed several armored vehicles sent by Eastern European countries to Ukraine.
At least one person is known to have been hospitalized, although there were no immediate reports of deaths. The attack was a sudden reminder of war in a capital where normal life has largely returned since Russian forces were driven from its outskirts in March.
“Today’s [Sunday] missile attacks on Kyiv have only one goal: to kill as many as possible,” tweeted Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak. Yesterday’s was the first major attack in Kyiv since late April, when a missile killed a journalist.
The capital had not been in the viewpoint of the invading army’s operations, especially since in recent weeks Russia has focused its destructive power mainly on the front lines in the east and south.
Russia has concentrated its forces, for example, in the small eastern industrial city of Severodonetsk, which has become the scene of one of the largest ground battles of this war. The invaders’ goal is to capture one of the two eastern provinces, Luhansk, which they claim on behalf of pro-Russian separatists.
There is no reliable or verifiable information about the development of the fighting in this enclave. Although yesterday Russia remained silent after assuring on Saturday that it had taken control of the city, yesterday Ukrainian sources said they had mounted a counterattack in Severodonetsk that would have allowed them to recover half of their territory.
The war effort is causing obvious wear and tear on both sides, although, for the time being, Ukraine is counting on replenishment from the West, especially the United States. It is in this sense that Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a warning: the Russian armed forces will attack targets that have hitherto been spared if Ukraine is supplied with long-range missiles.
“If they supply them, we will draw the appropriate conclusions and use our weapons, which we do not lack, to attack those targets that we have not hit so far,” he threatened.
Putin gave this notice after the White House announced a new aid package to Ukraine worth 700 million dollars, which includes Himars missile launchers, with a range of up to 70 kilometers. The US made this decision after the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, promised not to use them against Russian territory.
Putin assured that the US decision will not fundamentally change the balance of power on the ground, since the weapons of the US and other countries are intended to replenish the war material lost by Ukraine during the hostilities.
