More Russian missiles, more rubble, more civilian deaths in the horror of war. A rain of death has once again fallen across Ukraine, with air raid warnings sounding morning and afternoon in every oblast, including the Kyiv region and the capital. An offensive from the skies that does not spare men, women and children, gutting a condominium in the city of Dnipro: at least nine dead including a 15-year-old girl, 64 injured including 12 children, the youngest just 3 years old. Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky promises that there will be no mercy against Moscow’s “terror”: “The world must stop evil”, he pleaded. While Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has appealed to the G7 and the EU for new sanctions that could “kill the Russian missile and drone industry”. It was the tenth large-scale missile attack, according to Ukrainian media: critical infrastructure and 28 residential buildings were hit in Kiev, without causing any victims. According to the head of Mykolaiv regional administration Vitaliy Kim, 17 Russian bombers took off towards Ukraine. The alarm sounded in all regions, followed by a second wave of explosions in Kiev and in all oblasts of the country, including in the west. Although the Air Force has reportedly intercepted 25 of 38 Russian missiles, the raids have hit already battered strategic infrastructure and power grids, including in Lviv and Kharkiv, bringing new emergency blackouts to most regions. There are “difficult days” ahead on the energy front, said Energy Minister German Galushchenko. While the dramatic images of the rubble of the Dnipro condominium split in half are bouncing on social media, Moldova has denounced that “fragments of a missile have fallen on the territory” of the country. “This is the third case,” Chisinau recalled. At the front, the Soledar question remains open, with Kiev’s army once again claiming to control the city, denying Moscow’s claims of having conquered it. And Zelensky is once again asking the West for arms. Because Moscow’s “terror” can only be stopped “on the battlefield in Ukraine,” said the Ukrainian leader. Which cashed in on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s commitment to supply Kiev with the much desired Challenger 2 tanks, after Poland’s promise to supply the Leopard tanks. The Ukrainian president praised the “strong support of the United Kingdom”, while the Russian embassy in London condemned the Downing Street decision: “It will lead to an escalation of hostilities in Ukraine and new victims”. And after the rumors in Rivista Difesa according to which Italy has given the go-ahead for the supply of Samp/T anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, the visit of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected in Kiev. “We have heard many pro-Ukraine statements from you,” Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, told Sky TG24. “I think Italy could be one of the countries that will lead Ukraine to victory”. On the diplomatic front, Turkey is once again pressing for a negotiated solution. And if it fails to reach a more comprehensive peace deal, Ankara has said it is ready to push for “local ceasefires”. Because neither Russia nor Ukraine “are capable of winning militarily,” said Ibrahim Kalin, a close adviser to President Erdogan. From Kiev “we appreciate all the peace initiatives, including those carried out by the Pope”, Yermak then said, announcing that “the time has come for the Pope to visit Ukraine and thus give a very clear signal that it is Russia he must stop what he started”. But the latest Russian offensive certainly doesn’t help talk about a dialogue table. Nor are the tones coming from Moscow, with President Vladimir Putin’s ‘dolphin’, Dmitry Medvedev, who ferociously attacks Japanese premier Fumio Kishida after meeting with Joe Biden in the White House. The two had warned the Kremlin against the use of atomic bombs. Kishida “should be ashamed, the only ones to have used it were the USA”, attacked Medvedev. “Such a shame can only be washed away by committing seppuku”, the Japanese ritual suicide.
