Kiev is still under attack, explosions in Crimea
Nine attacks in 18 days, “unprecedented in power, intensity and variety”. It’s another night of explosions, like that experienced by the Ukrainian capital Kiev, once again withstanding a barrage of missiles and drones from the Russians, who continue to target the city, forcing citizens to sleep in shelters and fear . But if night is the time of the Russians, then the day is that of the unclaimed revenge of the Ukrainians in occupied Crimea, where a train “carrying grain” derailed in Simferopol with no casualties. A total of eight carriages derailed, five of which overturned, in what the region’s pro-Russian railways said constituted an attack, while Kiev limited itself to clarifying that this route is being used to transport arms for the Russians and that this is the case as long as invaders would stay on the peninsula, “there will be no peace for this area”. Meanwhile, Ukraine is pleased with a new success of its air defense, which shot down 29 of 30 cruise missiles and 4 drones during the night, the Air Force reported. While in Kiev the falling debris caused fires and damage to non-residential buildings in three districts, the consequences are even more serious in Odessa, where one person died and two others were injured after the rocket attack. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have hit “large stockpiles of foreign arms and military equipment, as well as enemy reserve forces” and emphasized that “all intended targets were hit”. But in the meantime, Moscow is suffering another wound in Crimea on the day Ukraine commemorates the forced deportation of the peninsula’s Tatars by Soviet authorities. “Now more and more international leaders are realizing that without returning Crimea to Ukraine, there will be no return to peace,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, emphasizing once again that Kiev’s goal remains restoring the 1991 borders may be. A thought was also repeated to Chinese envoy Li Hui during his visit to Kiev: when the Beijing representative urged the parties to create the conditions for peace talks, the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak informed him that “the Ukrainian peace plan provides comprehensive answers to all questions contains “challenges brought by this war”.