Russian Armed Forces Continue Massive Strikes on Ukraine Energy System & Military Command - MoD

©AFP 2022 / YURIY DYACHYSHYN

The Russian military began large-scale precision missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, military communications and command posts on Monday, in retaliation to Saturday's terror attack against the Crimean Bridge and other acts of terror attributed to Kiev.

Russia is continuing its campaign of precision missile strikes on Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense has indicated.

"Today the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued to conduct massed strikes using high-precision, long-range air and sea-based weapons at military command and control facilities and the energy system of Ukraine. The goal of the strikes has been reached. All designated targets were hit," MoD spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian media reported that a nationwide air alert had been issued, and that a series of explosions occurred in Kiev, Odessa, Vinnitsa, Rovno, Krivoy Rog, Zhitomir, Khmelnitsky, Nikolayev, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, and Lvov. Explosions were followed by power outages in some areas.

Tuesday's strikes were the second straight day of attacks targeting Ukrainian electricity infrastructure and command and communications systems used by the Ukrainian military. Monday's strikes hit targets across over 1,000 km, destroying or damaging multiple military facilities, and causing widespread power outages. Ukrainian media reported that 11 people were killed and over two dozen others injured, and that as many as 200 missiles were used.

President Putin said that the attacks were a response to Ukrainian attacks targeting Russian territory, including Saturday's attack on the Crimean Bridge, which killed three civilians, the TurkStream gas pipeline, Russian electricity and transport infrastructure, and the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, among others. Putin warned that "if attempts to carry out terror attacks against our territory continue, Russia's responses will be tough and will correspond in scale to the level of threat posed to the Russian Federation."

Ukrainian officials boasted about Kiev's responsibility for the Crimean Bridge attack on social media and to the New York Times. However, a senior Ukrainian official responsible for sabotage operations tricked into speaking to Russian pranksters accidentally revealed that Washington "has the right to veto all of our operations," and that Kiev couldn't "move forward" with an attack on the Crimean Bridge unless US officials approved it.

Until now, Russia has generally avoided targeting critical infrastructure in the course of the special military operation in Ukraine, keeping in line with the goals outlined at its outset, which President Putin characterized as the "de-Nazification" of the government in Kiev, and the "de-militarization" of the nation's armed forces to halt attacks on the Donbass.

The escalation coming in the wake of the Crimean Bridge explosion threatens to intensify the conflict, with Western media reporting that the Zelensky government has reiterated its demands for longer-range missiles to enable it to strike deep into Russian territory.

Moscow has repeatedly warned the United States and its NATO allies against sending advanced weaponry to Ukraine, saying such deliveries threaten to expand the crisis, and that part of these arms - including things like portable anti-aircraft weapons which could shoot down civilian airliners, could end up on the international weapons black market and in the hands of terrorist groups.

The Russian military and militias and officials in the Donbass and other border regions have also indicated that the Ukrainian side uses a major portion of its Western-sourced heavy weaponry to launch indiscriminate attacks against civilians.

Russian MoD briefing:

• In the Kupyansk direction, the enemy, using two companies, made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the positions of Russian troops;



• In the Krasny Liman direction, two Ukrainian company tactical groups again tried to cross the Zherebets River. Up to 20 Ukrainian servicemen and four pickup trucks were destroyed;



• In the Zaporozhye direction, the enemy carried out counterattacks with three company tactical groups. All attacks were repelled. More than 30 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, and three armored fighting vehicles were destroyed;



• In the Nikolaev-Krivoy Rog direction, Russian troops, supported by artillery, dispersed the enemy and pushed them back to their previous positions. About 150 Ukrainian servicemen, six tanks, and 14 vehicles, including armored fighting vehicles, were destroyed



• Two fuel storage bases for Ukrainian military equipment were destroyed near the cities of Dnepropetrovsk and Pavlograd in the Dnepropetrovsk region;



• In the Dnepropetrovsk region, the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopter

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's latest statements:

• Biden's words about meeting with Putin are more for media consumption than for real politics;



• Sweden's statement about not admitting Russia to the investigation into terrorist attack on the Nord Stream pipelines amounted to "double standards";



• Russia does not refuse to conduct talks with the US on the sidelines of the G20 summit;



• Putin and Erdogan will be able to discuss Turkey's mediation in the negotiations in Astana;



• Russia's ban on the case of the Nord Stream terrorist attack is a double standard;



• The West condemns Russia for strikes on Ukraine, but turns a blind eye to the actions of Kiev;



• Saying that Russia has not responded to a request for negotiations is a lie: there was no request in the first place