Russia fired 30 cruise missiles against different parts of Ukraine early yesterday in the latest nighttime test of Ukrainian air defenses, which shot down 29 of them, officials said.
One person died and two were wounded by a Russian missile that got through and struck an industrial building in the southern region of Odesa, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the region’s military administration.
Amid the recently intensified Russian air assaults, China said its special envoy, Li Hui (李輝), met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during talks in Kyiv earlier this week with Ukraine’s chief diplomat.
Photo: AFP / Press service of the National Police of Ukraine in Kyiv region
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba emphasized the importance of his country’s territorial integrity in a meeting with Li, his ministry said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Kremlin-installed authorities in occupied Crimea reported the derailment of eight train cars yesterday because of an explosion, prompting renewed suspicions about possible Ukrainian saboteur activity behind Russian lines.
Overnight, loud explosions were heard in Kyiv as the Kremlin’s forces targeted the capital for the ninth time this month in a clear escalation after weeks of lull and before a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using newly supplied advanced Western weapons.
Ukraine also shot down two Russian exploding drones and two reconnaissance drones, authorities said.
The missiles were launched from Russian sea, air and ground bases, Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi wrote on Telegram.
Several waves of missiles were aimed at areas of Ukraine between 9pm on Wednesday and 5:30am yesterday, he said.
Russian forces used strategic bombers from the Caspian region and apparently fired X-101 and X-55 missiles developed during Soviet times, Kyiv said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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