Putin’s airstrike has never been more brutal

class=”sc-97fd9fa8-0 jNFKxv”>

The Russians have never been more brutal than Thursday night: the regime in Moscow fired 81 rockets and eight combat drones into Ukraine. Electricity went out briefly in Kiev and Kharkiv. Fire hazard: Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia can only cool its fuel elements thanks to diesel generators.

President Volodymyr Zelensky (45) spoke of a “violent night”. For its part, the Russian regime describes the attack as an “act of revenge” for the alleged attack by Ukrainian troops on the Russian Bryansk region a few days ago. What Moscow is hiding: This attack was not carried out by Ukrainians, but by anti-Putin far-right forces.

None have been more violent. The Russians fired, among other things, six Kinzhal supersonic missiles, against which the Ukrainian air defense systems are powerless. At the same time, the Ukrainians managed to intercept almost half of the missiles with the German-supplied “Iris-T” air defense system. For the first time in a long time, the projectiles hit targets in the area around the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. At least five people were killed.

Timofey Mylovanov, former economy minister of Ukraine, sees a direct link between the recent missile attack and the precarious situation in Donbass. “I don’t think this is the start of a new offensive. This is a sign of Russian desperation because they can’t take Bakhmut,” writes Myolvanov on Twitter. Bachmut remains the most active site along the 1,300-kilometer front. Yevgeny Prigozhin, 61, head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, says his troops captured the entire eastern part of the city on Wednesday. Oleksander Syrskyi (57), head of the Ukrainian ground forces, made it clear again on Thursday that Ukraine would not give up on the city and would continue to fight.

The front pockets barely move. Yet hundreds of soldiers on both sides die every day. About 70,000 Russian soldiers have been killed so far, according to the US Center for Strategic and International Studies. According to Ukrainian information, about 13,000 Ukrainian fighters also fell (end of December). There are also more than 8,000 civilian casualties, including nearly 500 children. For example, the German Ministry of Defense assumes that Russia will launch a new major offensive in April.

Probably not for a long time. US secret services expect Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin (70) to prepare for a long war. Lithuanian intelligence warns Russia could continue its attacks for at least another two years. At the same time, the West continues to supply weapons to Ukraine. Germany and Poland have announced that they will send 28 Leopard 2 main battle tanks in March. Slovakia and Poland also want to provide at least ten MiG-29 fighter jets. This was announced by the Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad (41) on Facebook.

Source: Blick