07:10 – Kiev returns under attack by Russian missiles
From our correspondent, Lorenzo Cremonesi
ZAPORIZHZHIA — It had been several weeks since Kiev had not been hit again from missiles. There had been some drone alerts lately and they hadn’t even felt the atmosphere of a new normality that now characterizes the capital. But early this morning the area of the capital has once again come under fire by Russian missiles.
For now there are still no reports of damage or victims, they could arrive soon. Unless military targets were hit and then it would be silence. Instead, we know of damage and victims in the rest of the country. There are reportedly at least 5 dead, including a woman and a five-year-old child in Dnipro. Some urban centers in the rest of the center of the country were affected, in addition to Dnipro also Kremenchuk and Poltava. For the second day in a row, the center of Mykolaiv in the south was attacked again. Here it seems that the Russians are trying to disturb the preparations for the next Ukrainian offensive which could start in the coming weeks. The arrival of Western military aid and the onset of heat are bringing the time of the attack closer.
05:48 – Eleven Russian missiles shot down by Ukrainian air defense
Eleven Russian cruise missiles were shot down over Kiev by Ukrainian air defense, causing no casualties or serious damage. «According to preliminary data, 11 cruise missiles were destroyed in the airspace of Kiev. In addition to the missiles, two drones were also shot down,” a spokesman for the municipality said on Telegram.
05:00 – Explosions in the night. In Dnipro, a woman and a three-year-old child died
Explosions in Kiev and the region surrounding the capital were reported in the early morning hours by Interfax Ukraine and Telegram channels. There are no details on which targets were hit or damage and casualties. Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Poltava in central Ukraine and Mykolayiv in the south are affected cities. The attacks come a day after the Kremlin said it would welcome anything that could lead to an end to the conflict, referring to a phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday. It was the first time leaders had spoken out since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. But Moscow said it has yet to achieve the goals of its “special military operation” in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, saying it was necessary to protect Russia. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected it, saying the invasion was an unprovoked land grab by Putin, which has led to the largest land war in Europe since World War II. Russian forces have suffered setbacks throughout the conflict and have been trying for 10 months to fight their way into the shattered remains of Bakhmut, once a city of 70,000. Russia sees Bakhmut as a key stepping stone to other cities in eastern Ukraine, now its main military target.