Comment KYIV, Ukraine — Buoyed by military setbacks and apparent isolation in a week of key global meetings, Russia on Thursday launched its second major missile barrage against Ukraine in three days, accusing Kyiv of rejecting peace talks and warning of further attacks on critical infrastructure. Thursday’s attacks wounded many civilians and damaged infrastructure in the south and east of the country, including natural gas facilities, Ukrainian officials said, as Russia sought to undermine Ukraine’s economy and undermine its will to fight during the cold winter months. of the country. On Thursday, the first snow fell in Kyiv. The bombing was the latest in a relentless assault on Ukraine’s energy systems that began early last month and reflected Moscow’s limited strategic options after a series of battlefield defeats, including its retreat from the southern city of Kherson. With its ground forces battered and losing ground, Russia has resorted to long-range bombing as it struggles to train and equip tens of thousands of new conscripts, many of whom may not want to fight in the Russian President’s failed war Vladimir Putin. After most Group of 20 leaders at a summit in Indonesia this week strongly condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday sought to blame Kyiv for power and heat shortages in many regions of Ukraine – holidays that were a direct result of Russia’s military incursions. The blackouts happened because of “the reluctance of the Ukrainian side to solve the problem, to start negotiations,” Peskov said. Speaking to reporters, he claimed that Russia had only hit targets of military importance and warned that Moscow would achieve its goals in Ukraine either through peace talks or continued military action. Border village in eastern Poland hit by deadly fallout from war next door “First they negotiate, then they refuse to negotiate, then they pass a law banning any kind of negotiations, then they say they want negotiations but public,” Peskov said, rejecting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call on Wednesday for any negotiations to take place. in public. There appears to be little or no willingness to back down on either side, with Moscow insisting that the Ukrainian territory it illegally annexed will forever be Russian land. Ukraine, meanwhile, is demanding Russia’s complete withdrawal from all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Restoring territorial sovereignty was part of a 10-point peace plan that Zelensky presented to G-20 leaders this week. The plan also called for Russia to pay reparations. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Thursday accused Kyiv of setting conditions for talks, which he said showed Ukraine was not interested in negotiations. But Ryabkov said Russia’s commitment to its unconditional territorial integrity was unwavering, including “within the constituent territories recently admitted to the Russian Federation.” That was not the same as setting conditions for talks, he said. Ukrainian officials said Thursday’s continued shelling proved the hollowness of Russia’s claims that it is willing to negotiate. In a small sign of compromise, Russia on Thursday agreed to a 120-day extension of a grain export deal brokered by Turkey, allowing Ukraine to ship grain from three ports, after Moscow had previously threatened not to extend the deal. Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that it was a “technical extension” of the agreement, with no side objecting. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he had secured commitments to continue the deal, which is seen as critical to averting a global food crisis. “It has been clearly seen how important and beneficial this agreement is to the world’s food supply and security, with the delivery of more than 11 million tonnes of grain and food to those in need by almost 500 ships in the last four months. “, Erdogan said in a statement. He expressed gratitude to Putin and Zelensky, as well as to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In UAE, Russians fleeing Ukraine war seek success in ‘Dubaisk’ During a violent standoff on Tuesday, Russia fired more than 90 missiles and 11 Iranian drones at Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. A missile — now believed to have come from Ukrainian air defenses — landed in eastern Poland, killing two men in the village of Przewodow. Zelenskiy insisted on Wednesday that the missile that hit Poland was not fired by his military, saying he had “no doubt” about it despite information and initial investigation results announced by Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO. On Thursday, Duda visited the scene of the incident but said Ukraine was unlikely to join the investigation anytime soon. Zelenskiy’s position, however, was contradicted by President Biden early Thursday. Asked about Zelensky’s claim after disembarking from Marine One shortly after returning to the White House from the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Indonesia, Biden said: “That’s not the evidence.” Just half an hour later, at 8 a.m. local time in Ukraine, air raid sirens sounded across the country. And about an hour after that, local authorities reported that Ukraine’s air defenses had shot down Russian missiles and drones, but that some energy and industrial infrastructure targets had been hit. In Dnipro, a regional capital in central Ukraine, dashcam footage showed a giant explosion in the center of a city street as vehicles moved along a main thoroughfare. Zelensky released the video, which the Washington Post could not immediately independently verify. “Morning. A peaceful city and people’s desire to live a normal life. Go to work, for work. Missile strike!” Zelensky wrote in a comment accompanying the video. Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, posted on his Telegram channel that Russian missiles hit two districts of Dnipro, causing a “big fire” and damage to residential buildings. He said 14 people were treated for injuries, including a 15-year-old girl. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal told an economic conference in Kyiv on Thursday that the Russians were “bombing our businesses in Dnipro”, including the aerospace company Pivdenmash. Missile in Poland was an accident, NATO says. But the fear of diffusion remains. Oleksiy Chernyshov, head of Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz, said in a statement Thursday that Russia had launched a “massive attack” on the company’s gas production infrastructure. “Several damaged objects are currently known. Others have suffered varying degrees of damage,” Chernysov said. Other parts of the country also reported damage and casualties. On the Black Sea coast, authorities said three people were injured during attacks in the Odesa region. Military officials said the Russians fired cruise missiles from the Black Sea and two Su-30 bombers. Six missiles were shot down, they said. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said four rockets hit critical infrastructure in the Izyum region of eastern Ukraine. Eight people were injured, the district attorney’s office said. Kyiv’s military command posted on Telegram that air defenses shot down four missiles and five self-exploding drones, but said there were no hits on buildings or infrastructure. However, Kyiv Oblast Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said the electricity situation was “difficult” and planned blackouts were being planned. But even with the missiles flying, Erdogan announced on Thursday that he had secured commitments to continue the interim deal to protect Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports – a deal seen as critical to averting a global food crisis. crisis. “As a result of the quadrilateral talks hosted by Turkey, the agreement on the Black Sea Grain Corridor has been extended for 120 days from November 19, 2022, according to the decision reached between Turkey, the United Nations, the Russian Federation and Ukraine , ” Erdogan said in a statement. Dixon reported from Riga, Latvia. Zeynep Karatas in Istanbul and Loveday Morris in Przewodow, Poland, contributed to this report. Understanding the Russia-Ukraine conflict See 3 more stories
