Ukraine: Moscow targets infrastructure during massive bombings

Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram that Russian forces on Monday launched 55 cruise missiles, one air-to-surface missile, 22 anti-aircraft missiles and 5 drones "against civilian targets in Ukraine. ". In the south of the country, "the enemy continues to undermine the directions of a possible offensive of our troops and to destroy critical infrastructure", also indicated the Ukrainian general staff of the southern region in a press release.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, "all the strikes achieved their objective".

On Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke on the phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and thanked him for the anti-aircraft defense weapons provided by his country. "We need to build an anti-aircraft shield over Ukraine," he tweeted.

"Today was one of the most massive bombings of our territory by the Russian Federation," Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Telegram. He however claimed that "the destruction is not as critical as it could have been" thanks to these defense systems, in particular the German Iris-T which "has proven to be the most effective (100%)" .

"The enemy uses four or five times as many missiles to achieve at least some results," Arestovych argued.

- "Massive attack" -

In kyiv, where at least five explosions were heard Monday by AFP journalists, "80% of consumers in the capital" are deprived of water, Mayor Vitaly Klitscho said on Telegram, adding that "350,000 households were without electricity".

The Russian armed forces said they carried out "strikes with high-precision and long-range weapons (...) against the military command and energy systems of Ukraine".

“Russian terrorists have once again launched a massive attack against energy system facilities in a number of regions,” said an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

According to Prime Minister Denys Chmygal, "missiles and drones hit 10 regions, damaging 18 facilities, most of them related to the energy system".

“Hundreds of localities” are without electricity “in seven regions” of Ukraine, he added.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at least 12 countries had already pledged to supply his country with equipment, such as generators.

- "Russia fights civilians" -

Separately, more than 100 people lined up in western Kyiv to get water from a park fountain after suffering water cuts from Russian shelling on Monday, journalists said. from AFP.

"Instead of fighting on the military ground, Russia is fighting civilians," he castigated Mr. Kouleba.

These new massive strikes come after the announcement this weekend by Moscow of the suspension of its participation in the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports, vital for the world food supply.

On Monday, the Kremlin warned that it would be "dangerous" and "difficult" to continue implementing the Ukrainian grain deal without Moscow.

The Russian army demanded "commitments" from Ukraine not to use the corridor intended for grain exports for military purposes.

"There can be no question of guaranteeing the security of anything in this area until Ukraine makes additional commitments not to use this road for military purposes," the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.

For the spokesman of the US State Department Ned Price, this request "resembles either collective punishment or collective extortion".

In the evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that "Ukraine must guarantee that there will be no threat to the safety of civilian ships", accusing kyiv of having used the grain corridor for the drone attack. which he attributes to him and which pushed Moscow to suspend the agreement on Ukrainian exports.

- "The commitment of Ukraine" -

Two cargo ships loaded with grain, however, left Ukrainian ports on Monday and took the humanitarian maritime corridor bound for Turkey, according to the specialized site Marine Traffic.

Twelve ships were due to leave Ukrainian ports during the day and four others to head towards them, said the Joint Coordination Center (JCC), responsible for overseeing the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea.

After meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, President Zelensky assured that his country was determined to "remain a guarantor of world food security" and to continue its grain exports.

Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced that it has begun its inspections in Ukraine, requested by this country after President Putin accused it of erasing evidence of the preparation of a "dirty bomb ".

IAEA inspectors have "begun - and will soon complete - verifying the activities of two sites in Ukraine", said the UN agency, based in Vienna.

In the evening, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in turn rejected Russia's accusations against Ukraine on this subject.

The IAEA also indicated that the main electricity supply to one of the reactors of the Zaporozhzhya nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian forces, had been cut following the explosion of a mine. This incident "underlines the fragility of nuclear security" in this plant, worried the director general of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, in a press release.