The bombing was the latest in a series of attacks on Ukraine’s energy systems that began early last month, and reflected Moscow’s shrinking strategic options after its battlefield defeat and retreat from the southern city of Kherson.
With its ground forces decimated and out of territory, Russia has resorted to long-range bombing while struggling to train and equip tens of thousands of new conscripts, many of whom are reluctant to join Russian President Vladimir Putin’s failed war.
After most G20 leaders sharply condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine at a summit in Indonesia this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday tried to pin the blame on Kiev for power and heat shortages in much of Ukraine. A direct result of Russian military strikes.
The power outage was caused by the “unwillingness of the Ukrainian side to resolve the issue and conduct negotiations,” said Peskov. In an interview with journalists, he said that Russia only struck targets of military importance, and warned that Moscow will achieve its goal in Ukraine either through peace talks or by continuing military actions.
“First they negotiate, then they refuse to negotiate, then they pass a law prohibiting negotiations, and then they want to negotiate, but they want to negotiate openly,” Peskov said, rejecting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for any talks on Wednesday. knock in public.
Moscow insists that the territory it illegally annexed from Ukraine will remain Russian territory forever, with little or no willingness on either side to acquiesce. Ukraine, on the other hand, demands Russia’s complete withdrawal from the entire territory of Ukraine, including Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Restoring regional sovereignty was part of a 10-point peace plan Zelensky presented to G-20 leaders this week. The plan also required Russia to pay compensation.
On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Kiev of setting preconditions for talks, saying it proved Ukraine was not interested in talks.
However, according to Ryabkov, Russia is unquestionably committed to its unconditional territorial integrity, including “within the constituent territories recently accepted into the Russian Federation.” This is not the same as setting preconditions for negotiations, he said.
Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday that the continued bombardment proved that Russia’s claims that it was ready to negotiate were empty.
In a small sign of compromise, Russia on Thursday agreed to extend a Turkish-brokered grain export deal by 120 days, allowing Ukraine to ship grain from three ports, after Moscow earlier threatened not to extend the deal.
On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the agreement was a “technical extension” and no one objected.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he has made commitments to continue the agreement, which is considered crucial to preventing a global food crisis.
“With over 11 million tons of grain and food delivered to those in need by nearly 500 ships in the last four months, it is clear how important and beneficial this agreement is to the world’s food supply and security. Erdogan in a statement. He thanked Putin and Zelensky, as well as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
In Tuesday’s fierce firefight, Russia fired more than 90 missiles and 11 Iranian drones at Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said. One missile – now believed to have come from Ukraine’s air defense forces – landed in eastern Poland, killing two people in the village of Przewodow.
On Wednesday, Zelensky insisted that the missile that hit Poland was not fired by its forces, despite intelligence and preliminary findings released by Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO, which he said had “no doubt”. On Thursday, Duda visited the scene, but noted that Ukraine will not be able to participate in the investigation anytime soon.
However, President Biden rejected Zelensky’s position early on Thursday.
Asked about Zelensky’s claim after he got off Marine One shortly after returning to the White House from a G20 summit in Indonesia, Biden said, “That’s not evidence.”
Half an hour later, at 8 a.m. local time in Ukraine, air raid sirens rang out across the country.
About an hour later, local authorities said Ukrainian air defense forces were shooting down Russian missiles and drones, but some energy and industrial infrastructure targets were hit.
In Dnipro, located in the central part of Ukraine, a large explosion occurred in the middle of the city streets while cars were moving on the central highway. Zelensky released the video, which the Washington Post could not independently verify.
“Morning. A quiet city and people’s pursuit of a normal life. Go to work, business. Missile strike!’ Zelensky wrote in the comments accompanying the video.
Valentin Reznichenko, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, wrote on his Telegram channel that Russian missiles hit two districts of the Dnipro, causing a “big fire” and damage to residential buildings. According to him, 14 people were hospitalized with injuries, including a 15-year-old girl.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmykhal said at an economic conference in Kyiv on Thursday that the Russians are “bombing our factories in Dnipro, including the aerospace manufacturer Pivdenmash.”
Oleksiy Chernyshov, head of Ukraine’s state energy company, said in a statement Thursday that Russia had launched a “massive attack” on the company’s gas production infrastructure. “At present, several destroyed objects are known. The rest were damaged at various levels,” said Chernyshov.
There are also destruction and casualties in other parts of the country. On the Black Sea coast, the authorities reported that three people were injured in the attacks in the Odesa region. Russians fired cruise missiles from the Black Sea and two Su-30 bombers, military officials said. According to them, six missiles were shot down.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said four missiles hit critical infrastructure in the Izyum region of eastern Ukraine. Eight people were injured, the regional prosecutor’s office said.
Kyiv’s military administration announced on its Telegram page that air defense forces shot down four missiles and five self-exploding drones, but that no buildings or infrastructure were hit.
However, the governor of Kyiv region, Alexey Kuleba, said that the electricity situation is “difficult” and announced that planned power outages are planned.
But despite the missiles flying, Erdogan announced on Thursday that he had made commitments to continue an interim deal to protect grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports – a deal seen as crucial to averting a global food crisis.
“According to the decision made between Turkey, the United Nations, the Russian Federation and Ukraine as a result of the quadrilateral negotiations held under the auspices of Turkey, the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement has been extended for 120 days from November 19, 2022. Erdogan in a statement.
Dixon reported from Riga, Latvia. Zeynep Karatas and Loveday Morris in Istanbul in it Przewodow, Poland contributed to this report.
