Explosions were heard in several parts of the country, including the southern port of Odessa, the capital Kiev, the central city of Dnipro and the southeastern region of Zaporizhia, where officials said two people were killed. Prime Minister Denis Smykhal said targets included the massive Pivdenmash defense plant in Dnipro, although he did not give details of any damage, and state energy company Naftogaz said gas production facilities in eastern Ukraine had been damaged or destroyed in a “massive” missile strike. attack. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released video, apparently taken from a dash cam, showing a driver’s journey through Dnipro interrupted by a huge explosion ahead that sent flames and black smoke pouring into the sky. Ukrainian officials inspect a damaged building during the demining of a residential area in Novoselivka, Donetsk region, on Wednesday. (Andry Andriyenko/The Associated Press) “No matter what the terrorists want, no matter what they try to achieve, we must get through this winter and be even stronger in the spring than we are now, even more ready for the liberation of our entire territory than “What are we now?” Zelensky said. At least 15 people were injured in Dnipro, three were injured in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and at least one was injured in Odesa, local officials said. Ukrainian officials also reported heavy fighting in parts of eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine victory not likely in short term: Pentagon
Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities in recent weeks in some of the heaviest missile attacks since it invaded Ukraine in February. As a result, many Ukrainians are subject to rolling blackouts. Ukraine has said its air defenses have shot down many of the missiles and drones launched in recent weeks. Kyiv city officials said four missiles and five Iranian Shahed drones were destroyed near the city on Thursday. The latest attacks prompted Ukrainian officials to make fresh appeals to its international allies to send more air defense systems. On Wednesday, the top US general, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, played down the chances of any outright military victory for Kyiv in the near future, saying Russia still has significant combat power in Ukraine despite the setbacks. However, Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin both said the United States would support Ukraine for “as long as necessary.” The Current18:56 Russia’s continued aggression as winter approaches As world leaders met at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, Russia launched its largest missile barrage yet. Today, these leaders issued a statement saying they would “repulse in the strongest possible terms” Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Matt Galloway talks to Sviatoslav Yurash, Member of Parliament in Ukraine. and Kerry Buck, former Canadian ambassador to NATO.
Ukraine claims the Kherson victims were tortured
The missiles came a day after Western leaders met at both the G20 in Indonesia and a NATO summit in Brussels, agreeing that Tuesday’s explosion at a grain facility in Przewodow, Poland, near the Ukrainian border, was likely a misfire. Ukrainian air defense. projectile. Zelensky demurred, saying: “I have no doubt that it was not our missile,” Ukrainian media reported on Wednesday. He said he based his conclusion on reports from the Ukrainian military, which he “can only trust.” WATCHES | The context of the Przewodow missile tragedy is important, says the Polish ambassador to Canada:
Missile strike in Poland ultimately Russia’s fault: Ambassador
“Whether it was a Russian missile, whether it was Ukrainian air defense, or whether the missile came from Mars, it’s Russia’s fault,” said Polish ambassador to Canada Witold Dzielski. “This situation wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the Russians.” Moscow had denied responsibility and the Russian Foreign Ministry said the “chaos” surrounding allegations of Russian involvement in the missile was “part of a systematic anti-Russian campaign by the West”. Moscow’s forces withdrew from the southern city of Kherson last week after a Ukrainian counter-offensive. It was the only regional capital that Russia had captured since its February 24 invasion, and the retreat was the third major Russian retreat of the war. Investigators in the Kherson region have discovered 63 bodies bearing signs of torture after Russian forces withdrew from the region, Ukraine’s interior minister said Thursday. A Ukrainian soldier signs a child’s flag in central Kherson on Wednesday. (Murad Sezer/Reuters) Ukraine’s Interfax news agency quoted minister Denis Monastirsky as saying on national television: “The investigation has just begun, so many more dungeons and burial sites will be revealed.” Russia denies that its troops target civilians or that they have committed atrocities. Mass graves have been found in other places previously occupied by Russian troops, including some with civilian corpses showing signs of torture.
Extension of the grain agreement
Meanwhile, an agreement aimed at reducing global food shortages by facilitating Ukrainian agricultural exports from southern Black Sea ports was extended for 120 days on Thursday. Ukraine had requested a one-year extension. The agreement, originally reached in July, created a protected maritime transit corridor and was designed to ease global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oilseeds. I welcome the agreement of all parties to continue the Black Sea Grain Initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of grain, food and fertilizer exports from Ukraine. The initiative demonstrates the importance of tactful diplomacy in finding multilateral solutions. — @antonioguterres Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations is also “fully committed to removing the remaining barriers to the export of food and fertilizers from the Russian Federation” — a part of the deal that Moscow sees as critical. A drop in shipments from Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February played a role in this year’s global food price crisis, but there have been other major factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing climate crises, such as droughts in both Argentina and and in the United States states.
