IGOR GIELOWSÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) - Continuing the most violent phase against civilians in the Ukrainian War, Moscow and Kiev exchanged attacks this Tuesday (17). At least ten people were killed in northern Ukraine, and the Russian capital was the target of one of the biggest drone attacks of the war.
Russia kills 10 in Ukraine, and Kiev launches mega-attack on Moscow
IGOR GIELOWSÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) - Continuing the most violent phase against civilians in the Ukrainian War, Moscow and Kiev exchanged attacks this Tuesday (17). At least ten people were killed in northern Ukraine, and the Russian...
In a new front of friction with the West, Russia said that Ukraine's use of British weapons on Russian soil involves London in the conflict and demands a response. Such threats have been made before, but the situation is more acute.
- The deadliest attack against Ukrainians was in Petchenihi, a town in the northern region of Kharkiv.
- According to President Volodimir Zelenski, "a place with a post office and shops, surrounded only by residential buildings", was hit.
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In a new front of friction with the West, Russia said that Ukraine's use of British weapons on Russian soil involves London in the conflict and demands a response. Such threats have been made before, but the situation is more acute.
The deadliest attack against Ukrainians was in Petchenihi, a town in the northern region of Kharkiv. According to President Volodimir Zelenski, "a place with a post office and shops, surrounded only by residential buildings", was hit.
"We definitely need to respond to this Russian attack," wrote the president in the X. According to the local government, at least 17 people were injured. The day before, another 10 people had been killed on both sides of the border, a number that reached 19 on Sunday (16).
As Folha de S.Paulo showed, this wave of attacks against civilians is the most intense since March 2022, the first month of the invasion by Vladimir Putin's forces against the neighbor.
In July, an average of 21.8 civilians died per day, according to data from Acled (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project).
Later, the Russians hit Kiev and other regions again. According to DTEK, the largest private energy company, one of its thermal power plants was seriously damaged in the early evening and had to be shut down.
On the battlefronts, where the dead are numbered in the thousands, but statistics are not revealed side by side, Russia made some progress again this Tuesday, according to its Defense Ministry.
The agency announced the capture of two more villages in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine: Krasnopodillia and Orikhuvatka. The first is close to Dobropillia, a city that was once the object of intense attacks by the Russians and a vital supply line for the provisional capital of the province still in Kiev's hands, Kramatorsk.
The second, further north, is about 15 km from Sloviansk, which with Kramatorsk represents what remains of the so-called "fortress belt" of Ukrainian defense in the region, which is 85% Russian controlled. This doesn't mean they are about to fall, but it indicates renewed pressure.
In the opposite direction, Kiev launched one of the biggest attacks of the war against Moscow, firing 637 drones into the Russian capital region. Of these, 180 were intercepted flying directly to targets in the city, according to the local government.
So far, there have been no reports of injuries or major damage, unlike what had been occurring. Again, a warehouse of the company that controls 45% of Russia's online retail, Wildberries, was one of the targets.
The Ukrainian campaign against Russian logistics and refined fuel production has been one of the tones of the war this year.
The disruption in the distribution of goods, used by the country's middle class, and the queues for fuel undermined Putin's approval and support for the conflict. According to the newspaper Izvestia published this Tuesday, only 28% of the country's gas stations have diesel and gasoline, compared to 41% a week earlier.
The actions have been attributed to Zelensky's recent success in boosting his domestic long-range drone industry, but also the start of production of Flamingo cruise missiles, which can hit targets up to 3,000 km away.
The problem for Kiev lies in reports that Russian air defenses have now shot down most Flamingos in flight. According to the German magazine Focus, Moscow uses A-50 radar planes to monitor the missiles.
On the offensive side, analysts also point to the arrival of the first batches of an order for 150,000 British drones, in particular the Nyan jet-powered suicide model, from BAe Systems.
It is a robot plane with a reduced weapons load and short range, 20 kg and 250 km respectively, which does not reach Moscow for example, but is difficult to intercept. In addition to it, the Ukrainians also purchased the Ultra reconnaissance drone, from the company Windracers.
This Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov issued a warning to London, saying that there would be a response to the use of such drones against Russian soil. It was a reaction to a report in the Sunday Times newspaper on Sunday that reported Nyan's first deployment against Russia.
The British government neither confirmed nor denied the content of the text, and this Tuesday the Ministry of Defense in London said it would continue supplying the equipment to the Ukrainians.
Throughout the war, this type of aid always provoked controversy. Under the Joe Biden administration, the US banned the use of Western weapons against targets inside Russia, fearing escalation. They then relaxed the rule, but went back. Donald Trump vetoed the supply of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kiev.
Also on Tuesday, a drone hit a bus stop used by employees of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. One person died and 15 were injured, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The incident did not affect nuclear facilities. Russia blamed Kiev for the attack.
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