Russia pummels Ukraine with missiles and drones, injuring civilians - The Washington Post

The bombardment was the latest successful a relentless battle connected Ukraine’s vigor systems that began aboriginal past month, and it reflected Moscow’s narrowed strategical options pursuing a drawstring of battlefield defeats including its retreat from Kherson metropolis successful the south.

With its crushed forces battered and losing territory, Russia has resorted to long-range bombing, portion it struggles to bid and equip tens of thousands of caller conscripts, galore of whom whitethorn person nary tendency to combat successful Russian President Vladimir Putin’s failing war.

After astir Group of 20 leaders astatine a acme successful Indonesia this week powerfully condemned Russia’s warfare against Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov connected Thursday sought to displacement the blasted to Kyiv for the deficiency of energy and vigor successful galore parts of Ukraine — outages that were a nonstop effect of Russia’s subject strikes.

The blackouts occurred due to the fact that of “the unwillingness of the Ukrainian broadside to lick the problem, to participate into negotiations,” Peskov said. Speaking to reporters, helium claimed that Russia struck lone targets of subject value and warned that Moscow would attain its goals successful Ukraine either done bid talks oregon continued subject action.

“First they negotiate, past they garbage to negotiate, past they walk a instrumentality that prohibits immoderate benignant of negotiations, past they accidental they privation negotiations but nationalist ones,” Peskov said, dismissing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s telephone Wednesday for immoderate negotiations to beryllium held successful public.

There seems to beryllium constricted oregon nary willingness to springiness crushed from either side, with Moscow insisting that Ukrainian territory it illegally annexed volition everlastingly beryllium Russian land. Ukraine, meanwhile, is demanding Russia’s afloat withdrawal from each Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which Russia annexed illegally successful 2014.

The restoration of territorial sovereignty was portion of a 10-point bid program Zelensky presented to G-20 leaders this week. The program besides called for Russia to wage reparations.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov connected Thursday accused Kyiv of mounting preconditions for talks, which helium said proved Ukraine was not funny successful negotiating.

But Ryabkov said Russia’s committedness to its unconditional territorial integrity was unshakable, including “within the constituent territories that were admitted to the Russian Federation recently.” This was not the aforesaid arsenic mounting preconditions for talks, helium said.

Ukrainian officials said that Thursday’s continuing bombardment proved the hollowness of claims by Russia that it is consenting to negotiate.

In 1 tiny motion of compromise, Russia connected Thursday agreed to a Turkish-brokered 120-day hold of a grain-export deal, allowing Ukraine to vessel atom from 3 ports, aft Moscow antecedently threatened that it would not widen the deal.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry connected Thursday said it was a “technical prolongation” of the deal, with nary broadside objecting.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that helium had secured commitments to proceed the agreement, which is regarded arsenic important to preventing a planetary nutrient crisis.

“It has been seen intelligibly however important and beneficial this statement is for the nutrient proviso and information of the world, with the transportation of much than 11 cardinal tons of grains and foodstuffs to those successful request with astir 500 ships successful the past 4 months,” Erdogan said successful a statement. He expressed gratitude to Putin and Zelensky arsenic good arsenic United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.

During a brutal fusillade Tuesday, Russia launched much than 90 missiles and 11 Iranian drones against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. One rocket — present believed to person travel from Ukrainian aerial defenses — landed successful eastbound Poland, sidesplitting 2 men successful the colony of Przewodow.

Zelensky insisted Wednesday that the rocket that struck Poland was not fired by his military, saying helium had “no doubt” astir this contempt quality and archetypal investigative results announced by Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO. On Thursday, Duda visited the country of the incidental but indicated that Ukraine was improbable to beryllium capable to enactment successful the probe anytime soon.

Zelensky’s position, however, was rebutted by President Biden successful the aboriginal hours Thursday.

Asked astir Zelensky’s assertion aft disembarking from Marine One soon upon his instrumentality to the White House from the Group of 20 leaders’ acme successful Indonesia, Biden said, “That’s not the evidence.”

Barely a half-hour later, astatine 8 a.m. section clip successful Ukraine, aerial raid sirens blared crossed the country.

And astir an hr aft that, section authorities reported that Ukraine’s aerial defenses were shooting down Russian missiles and drones but that immoderate vigor and concern infrastructure targets had been hit.

In Dnipro, a determination superior successful cardinal Ukraine, dashboard camera footage showed a elephantine detonation successful the halfway of a metropolis thoroughfare arsenic vehicles drove on a main thruway. Zelensky posted the video, which The Washington Post was not instantly capable to independently verify.

“Morning. A peaceful metropolis and the tendency of radical to unrecorded a mean life. Go to work, connected business. Missile strike!” Zelensky wrote successful a remark accompanying the video.

Valentyn Reznichenko, politician of the Dnipropetrovsk region, posted connected his Telegram transmission that Russian missiles deed 2 districts of Dnipro, causing a “major fire” and damaging residential buildings. He said that 14 radical were hospitalized with injuries, including a 15-year-old girl.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told an economical league successful Kyiv connected Thursday that Russians were “bombing our enterprises successful Dnipro,” including the aerospace shaper Pivdenmash.

Oleksiy Chernyshov, the caput of Ukraine’s authorities vigor company, Naftogaz, said successful a connection Thursday that Russia had launched a “massive attack” connected the company’s gas-production infrastructure. “Currently, respective destroyed objects are known. Others person suffered harm of varying degrees,” Chernyshov said.

Other areas of the state besides reported demolition and casualties. On the Black Sea coast, authorities reported that 3 radical were injured during attacks successful the Odessa region. Military officials said that Russians launched cruise missiles from the Black Sea and from 2 Su-30 bombers. Six missiles were changeable down, they said.

Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said that 4 missiles deed captious infrastructure successful the Izyum portion successful eastbound Ukraine. Eight radical were injured, the determination prosecutor‘s bureau said.

Kyiv’s subject medication posted connected Telegram that aerial defenses changeable down 4 missiles and 5 self-detonating drones but said determination had been nary strikes connected buildings oregon infrastructure.

However, the politician of the Kyiv region, Oleksiy Kuleba, said that the energy concern was “difficult” and that scheduled powerfulness outages were planned.

But adjacent with the missiles flying, Erdogan announced Thursday that helium had secured commitments to proceed the interim woody protecting Ukrainian atom exports from Black Sea ports — an statement regarded arsenic important to preventing a planetary nutrient crisis.

“As a effect of the four-way talks hosted by Turkey, the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement was extended for 120 days arsenic of 19 November 2022, successful enactment with the determination taken betwixt Turkey, the United Nations, the Russian Federation and Ukraine,” Erdogan said successful a statement.

Dixon reported from Riga, Latvia. Zeynep Karatas successful Istanbul, and Loveday Morris in Przewodow, Poland, contributed to this report.