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On Friday, Russian airstrikes pounded Ukrainian cities, killing 26, including five children, despite Kyiv’s claims that preparations for a counteroffensive against Moscow’s forces were almost complete.
One of the deadly new attacks targeted a residential building in the historic Ukrainian city of Uman, where AFP journalists witnessed rescuers removing bodies from a demolished home.
After a series of Russian airstrikes that were intended to cripple Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the winter, there had been a weeks-long lull before the barrage of nearly two dozen missiles overnight.
Workers in Uman, where a yearly Hasidic pilgrimage takes place, discovered another child’s body under the debris on Friday night. According to the authorities, 23 people, including four children, were killed in Uman by Russian cruise missiles.
Earlier in the day, Dmitry, a 33-year-old local from the eastern city of Lugansk, which is governed by Russia, said, “I want to see my children; they are under the rubble.”
In the center of the 80,000-person city, rescuers were using cranes to search among the wreckage of the multi-story housing block for survivors.
“I’ve seen a lot, but I’ve never lost my kids. Now, whether they’re alive or not, I want to see my kids,” Dmitry said.
The central city of Dnipro, which was already in mourning following a strike on a tower block in January that left more than 40 people dead, was also struck by Russian missiles.
Authorities reported that a 31-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter were killed in their sleep during the Dnipro attacks.
Hospitalized were the parents of the young woman.
Authorities in the area reported that “neighbors say that it was a quiet and kind family.”
Separately, authorities in the southern Kherson region reported on Friday night that three people were injured and one person, aged 57, was killed when Russian forces shelled the village of Bilozerka.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, denounced the most recent barrage and promised retaliation.
In his evening address, he claimed that “only absolute evil can unleash such terror against Ukraine.”
Mykhaylo Podolyak, one of his advisers, tweeted: “Give us weapons if you don’t want THIS to spread around the world. many weapons. Add sanctions as well.
Moscow claimed that it had attacked Ukrainian military reserves and that “all assigned objects were hit.”
Moscow-Nine people, including an eight-year-old girl in the city of Donetsk, were killed by Ukrainian shelling, according to newly installed officials in eastern Ukraine.
“We are prepared”
Kyiv, one of the cities attacked on Friday, had no confirmed casualties.
The capital had not experienced a missile attack in more than 50 days, but 12 drones of Iranian manufacture attacked it last week; eight of them were shot down without causing any casualties.
In total, Ukraine claimed to have shot down 21 of 23 Russian missiles as well as two attack drones.
The recent arrival of Western equipment essential to the nation’s war effort has strengthened the air defense system of the nation.
The latest attacks occurred as Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, declared that his nation was almost ready to push back against firmly established Russian positions.
In order to form units and aid Ukraine in retaking territory from Russian forces, NATO allies and partners have given it 1,550 armored vehicles and 230 tanks, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“Equipment has been prepared, promised, and delivered in part. We are prepared on a global scale, Reznikov said.
Throughout the entire conflict that Russia started in February 2022, Kiev has vowed to drive Russian troops from the eastern and southern Ukrainian regions.
Regarding the intended offensive, Reznikov continued, “Preparations are coming to an end.”
“Only means of surviving”
“We will do it as soon as it is God’s will, the weather, and the decision of the commanders.”
The eastern Donbas region has seen the majority of the fighting, especially around the nearly completely destroyed city of Bakhmut.
Several Ukrainian soldiers told AFP that Russian special forces were also involved in the bloody clashes in Bakhmut, in addition to members of the mercenary group Wagner.
Alex, 34, who lives close to Bakhmut, said the circumstances were challenging.
He stated, “We are short on soldiers, and we have both many wounded and dead.”
“You have to hide behind a corpse sometimes in the trenches,” he said. It is the only means of surviving.
Marat Khusnullin, the deputy prime minister of Russia, announced on Friday that he had visited the troubled city for the first time and promised that Moscow would rebuild it.
Moscow has fostered its relationship with China in an effort to find allies to support its protracted war effort.
This week, the leaders of Ukraine and China spoke on the phone, with Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly supporting negotiations for peace.
Following the conversation between Xi and Zelensky on Wednesday, Russia alleged that Ukraine was undermining peace efforts.
Zelensky claimed on Friday that he had asked Xi to assist in repatriating Ukrainian children who had been sent to Russia.
