1-8-2023 (KYIV) In a tragic turn of events, a residential building and university complex in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, fell victim to a devastating Russian missile strike. The attack resulted in the loss of six innocent lives and left dozens injured, according to Ukrainian officials.
A day after President Zelensky issued a stern warning of potential attacks inside Russia, two Russian missiles mercilessly targeted the heart of Kryvyi Rih on Monday. The steel-producing central Ukrainian city, located approximately 160km from the front line, experienced the full force of Russia’s deadly weaponry, leaving a trail of destruction and grief in its wake.
Serhii Lysak, the head of the region’s military administration, confirmed the tragic toll, stating that the attack claimed the lives of six individuals while leaving 75 others injured. Of the injured, more than 20 required hospitalization, as reported in a message shared by Lysak on Telegram.
President Zelensky promptly shared a video from the scene, capturing the aftermath of the brutal attack. The footage depicted a building engulfed in smoke, bearing a gaping hole where several upper floors once stood. Later, Zelensky revealed that the Russian military had employed Iskander ballistic missiles during the assault. He expressed sorrow that among the deceased were a 10-year-old girl and her mother, emphasizing the devastating impact on an ordinary family in an ordinary city.
In addition to the attack on Kryvyi Rih, Russian forces unleashed shelling on 130 towns and villages along the front line on the same day. The southern port city of Kherson, situated on the west bank of the Dnieper River, bore the brunt of the intense bombardment. Ukrainian officials reported four fatalities and 17 injuries resulting from the shelling. Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, shared these figures via Telegram.
Olexander Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, disclosed that among the injured were utility workers and volunteers who had been assisting the community in recovering from the devastating floods caused by a dam explosion orchestrated by Russia in June.
Natalia Humeniuk, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s southern command, addressed the nation on television, highlighting Russia’s persistent attempts to escalate attacks on the western bank of the river, despite evident shortages of munitions. Humeniuk further stated that Ukrainian strikes on critical Russian logistical routes, particularly the bridges and roads connecting the occupied Crimean Peninsula to southern Ukraine and Russia, had hindered Moscow’s ability to resupply and redeploy its occupying forces.
Kyiv has recently adopted a more assertive stance, vowing to bring the conflict closer to the Russian borders. This departure from the previous policy of strategic ambiguity regarding attacks inside Russia indicates Ukraine’s evolving tactics in this protracted war. President Zelensky’s address on Sunday evening, following two drone strikes targeting buildings in the heart of Moscow, provided the clearest indication yet that Ukraine considers such strikes a crucial element of its warfare strategy. Zelensky stated, “Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia – to its symbolic centers and military bases. And this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely justifiable process.”
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency declared that strikes in Moscow and across Russia should be anticipated as long as Russian forces continue their unjust aggression. Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence, emphasized that until the occupiers withdrew from Ukrainian territory and the perpetrators were held accountable, there could be no safe spaces within the aggressor state.
