Ukrainian War, Day 923 – 2024-09-04 03:51:09

A devastating blow from Russia to Pultava

A Russian missile strike killed more than 50 and wounded more than 270 people in the Ukrainian city of Pultava, Ukrainian officials confirmed Tuesday evening. However, the clearing and rescue work at the scene of the attack continues, which is why the number of victims will be specified later.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced Finnish time in the afternoon that Russia had struck the city with two ballistic missiles. So far, this is the most destructive attack that Russia has made against Ukraine this year.

According to news agencies, the Russian attack was aimed at the Institute of Military Communications. According to the Ukrainian ground forces, military personnel were also killed in the attack.

According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, because of the ballistic missiles, people had very little time to take shelter when the alert was given. It said on its Telegram channel that people did not gather in bomb shelters under the missiles.

– The time between the alarm and the arrival of the deadly missiles was so short that it happened during the evacuation of people to the bomb shelter, the ministry said.

– This tragedy is yet another proof of the cunning of the enemy, who will not stop at any crime when trying to scare Ukrainians.

Zelenskyi has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the attack and the events leading up to it. The Ukrainian ground forces also intend to find out whether sufficient measures were taken for the safety of the soldiers.

Ukrainian war reporter Jury Butusov severely criticized the military leadership of Ukraine, which has not intervened in the mass gatherings of soldiers. According to him, not a single leader has been punished for previous attacks on military bases.

– Therefore, it is not surprising that mass gatherings are allowed to continue. No one bears responsibility, no analysis is done and those in power do not learn from the mistakes that are allowed to continue as the number of victims multiply, he writes in Telegram.

A well-known Ukrainian journalist also visited Finland in May Illia Ponomarenko harshly criticizes the leadership of Ukraine and President Zelensky.

– Yes, Zelenskyi swears to investigate this tragic case, but it is not enough. It is not enough to publish a statement and let things be. Again, he writes on social media.

– These “examinations” promised by Zelenskyi must finally begin to reveal the names of those whose deadly negligence allowed Russia to do this again and again.

A deadly attack on a hotel in Zaporizhia from Russia

Russia’s bombing campaign against Ukraine continued the night before Tuesday, and according to the Ukrainian authorities, at least three people were killed.

In Zaporizhzhia, Russia bombed a hotel where a 38-year-old woman and her eight-year-old son fell victim to the attack. In addition, the family’s father and 12-year-old daughter were injured in the attack, Reuters reports.

Late Monday, Russian forces also fired missiles into the center of Dnipro, killing one person and wounding six others, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region Serhi Lysak said on Telegram on Tuesday.

Russia has not commented on the attacks. It has claimed since the beginning of the war it started that it does not attack civilian targets.

Throughout the war of aggression, which lasted more than two and a half years, Russia is accused of thousands of war crimes, such as indiscriminate bombings, rapes, torture, executions and the forced transfer of children to Russia.

Rescuers search for people in the ruins caused by Russian bombing in Zaporizhia. State Emergency Service of Ukraine

EU criticizes Mongolia

On Tuesday, the European Union criticized Mongolia, which did not detain Russian President Vladimir Putin, who visited the country on Monday.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin last year. Mongolia is the first ICC member state visited by Putin since the arrest warrant was issued.

In principle, Mongolia would have had an obligation to arrest Putin, but in practice the ICC lacks a mechanism to compel member states to carry out arrests.

– The EU regrets that, as a member state of the Rome Statute of the ICC, Mongolia did not comply with its obligation under the statute to comply with the arrest warrant, the Union states in its published statement.

Mongolia has responded to the criticism by pointing out that it gets most of its fuel and more than a fifth of its electricity from Russia.

– The deliveries of these are extremely important for our existence and our people, a representative of the Mongolian government informs Politico.

Before Putin’s visit, Ukrainian lawmakers had appealed to the Mongolians to arrest Putin, who is suspected of war crimes, during his visit.

Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merežko said that Putin’s visit to Mongolia is a well-planned provocation.

– He wants to show that no one cares about the ICC arrest warrant. If his provocations are not acted upon, the ICC’s reputation will suffer badly, he said.

Also ICC spokesperson Fadi El-Abdallah said earlier that Mongolian authorities have an obligation to arrest Putin and hoped that all member states would cooperate and comply with arrest warrants.

– If there is no cooperation, ICC judges can make a decision on the matter and inform the General Assembly of the contracting states about it. The General Assembly must then take the measures required by the situation.