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Russia has expanded its attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and is likely to expand its target range further, the UK MoD has said.
Five civilians were killed in Russian attacks in the Donetsk region last day, while in Nikopol several dozen high-rise buildings and private buildings, gas lines and power lines were damaged by Russian attacks, the governors of these regions said on Sunday.
In an intelligence report, the Defense Ministry said Russia had fired several thousand long-range missiles against Ukraine since the invasion began. “However, over the past seven days, Russia has increased its attacks on civilian infrastructure, although it is unlikely to see an immediate impact,” the ministry said.
“Faced with setbacks at the front lines, Russia has likely broadened the range of attacks to try to directly undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and government.”
It comes after Vladimir Putin on Friday warned that Ukraine’s full-scale counteroffensive risked provoking “more serious” action by Moscow, claiming that “so far we have reacted with restraint.”
He vowed to continue his “military special operation” in his speech to reporters after attending a meeting of Asian world leaders, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in Uzbekistan.
Russia “steps up attacks on civilian targets” after military setbacks, Britain says
Russia has stepped up its attacks on civilian targets, although according to British intelligence it has “no immediate military effect” as Vladimir Putin’s forces face backlash.
A Defense Ministry statement on Sunday said Russia had escalated its long-range missile attacks over the past week after reports of forces lacking sufficient resources or morale to continue Ukrainian counterattacks.
Strikes were fired at a power grid and a river dam in Kryvyi Rih, causing extensive downtown flooding.
Read the whole story here.
Furvah ShahSeptember 18, 2022 12:15 p.m
EU calls for war crimes tribunal over mass graves in Izyum, Ukraine
The European Union has called for a war crimes tribunal after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said evidence of torture was found in bodies exhumed in Izyum in eastern Ukraine.
The city was retaken by Ukrainian forces, who found a mass burial site containing around 450 graves, some showing signs of torture.
Jan Lipvasky, the Czech Republic’s foreign minister, said on Saturday that Russia’s attacks on the civilian population were “unthinkable and abhorrent”.
“We mustn’t overlook that. We stand for the punishment of all war criminals,” he wrote on Twitter.
“I call for the swift establishment of a special international tribunal that will prosecute the crime of aggression.”
Furvah ShahSep 18, 2022 11:45 am
Two dead when a Russian tank attacks a civilian car
According to Ukrainian media, two people were killed after a Russian tank attacked a civilian car in Kharkiv Oblast.
The city’s governor, Oleh Synyehubov, said two women were killed after the tank fired on the car in the village of Strilecha, which borders Russia.
Furvah ShahSep 18, 2022 11:15 am
‘Maybe we’ll never find them’: Desperate Ukrainians are forced to crawl through the dead in search of lost loved ones
All day long, Ukrainian women search through photos of dead bodies posted by Russian soldiers showing their killings in a desperate search for their missing loved ones.
In the raw images of frozen gray faces, blood-smeared torsos, and remains, they look for the glint of something recognizable: a scar or a ring.
“Twenty hours a day I go through these telegram channels looking for him,” said Maria, her face drawn with sadness.
“We are a community of women searching for our loved ones. We all need to sift through the photos of the dead. We have to see if they are there.”
Bel Trew of the Independent writes.
“Maybe we’ll never find her”: Desperate Ukrainians search for their loved ones
The Missing: Bel Trew follows families who may never know the fate of their loved ones
Schweta SharmaSep 18, 2022 10:45 am
In an intelligence update today, Britain’s MoD said Russia had fired several thousand long-range missiles against Ukraine since the invasion began, but this had increased over the past week.
“Over the past seven days, Russia has increased its attacks on civilian infrastructure, although it is unlikely to see an immediate impact,” the ministry said in the tweet.
The strikes have hit targets including a power grid and a dam, he added.
“Faced with setbacks at the front lines, Russia has likely expanded targets to directly undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and government,” the ministry said.
Katy CliftonSep 18, 2022 10:26 am
Russia “may not have sufficient reserves” to withstand another attack by Ukraine
According to defense experts, it is unclear whether the Russian front-line forces have “sufficient reserves or adequate morale” to withstand another concerted attack in the eastern parts of Ukraine.
Analysts at British Defense Intelligence believe that after a successful counteroffensive by Ukrainians, Moscow established a defensive line between the Oskil River and the town of Svatove, forcing the Kremlin to cede parts of the territory.
The zone is considered important in part because it lies on the border of the Luhansk region, which is part of the Donbass that Russia is striving to “liberate” as one of its key war goals.
Russia “may not have sufficient reserves” to withstand another attack by Ukraine
It comes as bodies were being dug up at a mass grave site near the town of Izium
Schweta SharmaSeptember 18, 2022 10:00 am
Zelenskyy: Crimea will return to Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Reuters that Ukraine could only live peacefully if it regained all its territories, including the annexed Crimea.
But he said Ukraine is not ruling out diplomacy in its goal of retaking Crimea.
“There is no way out. We have to evacuate the territory. It may happen that Crimea will be returned through diplomatic channels,” said Zelenskyy.
(EPO)
Schweta SharmaSeptember 18, 2022 9:00 am
Russia has expanded the target location for strikes – British intelligence
Russia has likely expanded the site it is preparing to strike in a bid to undermine the morale of Ukraine’s forces as Moscow faces backlash, Britain’s Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update on Sunday.
“Over the past seven days, Russia has increased its attacks on civilian infrastructure, although it is unlikely to see an immediate military impact,” it added.
That mission category included strikes against the power grid and a dam on the Inhulets River at Kryvyi Rih, she added.
Schweta SharmaSep 18, 2022 8:15 am
Russia Wreaks Damage With Iranian Kamikaze Drones – Report
Iran’s Shahed-136 drones, imported by Russia, have dealt a severe blow to Ukrainian forces Wall Street Journal reported citing Ukrainian commanders.
The Iranian drones, repainted in Russian colors and renamed Geranium 2, are hitting Ukrainian tank and artillery positions in the northeastern Kharkiv region, said Colonel Rodion Kulagin, commander of artillery of Ukraine’s 92nd Mechanized Brigade.
The drones struck and destroyed two 152mm self-propelled howitzers, two 122mm self-propelled howitzers and two BTR infantry fighting vehicles within his brigade’s area of operations, he said.
Military experts examining photos of the wreck in Kharkiv told the outlet that it appeared to be the work of Shahed-136 drones.
It is the latest version of Iran’s delta wing design.
Schweta SharmaSep 18, 2022 7:06 am
Bodies are identified at the mass grave of Izyum – Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said some bodies exhumed from the mass graves found in Izyum have already been identified.
Ms Vereshchuk said the trial is being carried out with the support of the government’s Missing Persons Commissioner, Oleh Kotenko, who is currently in Izyum.
“He says terrible things, that’s true. Exhumation will be done, then identification, some bodies have already been identified,” she said.
“Relatives of those identified who have performed DNA testing will be informed. It is a very difficult process and I am very sorry that people receive such data. But unfortunately we see this terrible number of people, graves, mass graves, tortured civilians,” Ms. Vereshchuk said.
Schweta SharmaSep 18, 2022 6:45 am
