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Rescuers work at the site of a building destroyed during a Russian missile attack, amid Russian attacks, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, on April 17, 2024. Image Credit: Reuters
Three Russian missiles crashed into the downtown area of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on April 17, hitting an eight-story apartment building and killing at least 11 people, officials said.
At least 22 people were injured in the early morning attack, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said. Chernihiv is located 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of the capital Kyiv, near the border with Russia and Belarus, and has a population of about 2,50,000.
Also Read | Zelensky says Ukraine pulled out of missiles to protect key plant
The latest Russian bombardment is approaching a critical juncture as the war stretches into its third year and the lack of much military support from Ukraine’s Western partners puts it more at the mercy of the Kremlin’s large forces.
During the winter months, Russia made no dramatic advances along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, instead focusing on offensive warfare. However, military analysts say Ukraine’s lack of artillery ammunition, troops and armored vehicles has allowed the Russians to gradually push forward.
A critical factor for Ukraine is holding up approval in Washington of an aid package for Ukraine that includes roughly $60 billion. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he would try to move the package forward this week.
According to the Washington-based think tank Institute for the Study of War, Ukraine’s need is now acute.
“The Russians are emerging from a positional war and are beginning to restore maneuverability to the battlefield as U.S. military aid to Ukraine has been delayed,” ISW said in an assessment late Tuesday.
“Ukraine cannot sustain its current course without a rapid resumption of US aid, especially air defense and artillery that only the US can provide with speed and scale,” it said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed to the West to provide his country with more air defense systems. He said of the Chernihiv strike, “This would not have happened if Ukraine had acquired sufficient air defense equipment and if the world’s resolve to counter Russian terrorism had been sufficient.” Mr. Zelensky said in an interview with PBS earlier this week that Ukraine’s air defense missiles recently ran out while defending against a major missile and drone attack that destroyed one of Ukraine’s largest power plants, part of a recent Russian campaign. .
Ukrainian troops are digging in, building fortifications in anticipation of a major Russian offensive, which Kyiv officials say could come as early as next month.
Ukraine has been using long-range drone and missile strikes behind Russian lines designed to disrupt Moscow’s war machine.
A Ukrainian drone was shot down over the Tatarstan region early Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. About 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) east of Ukraine is the same area targeted in early April by Ukraine’s deepest strike so far inside Russia.
Ukrainian drone developers are expanding the range of weapons.
Another Ukrainian drone was shot down over the Mordovia region, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) east of Moscow, the ministry said. It is 700 kilometers (430 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
About an hour before the Mordovia attack, Russia’s civil aviation authority suspended flights at airports in the country’s two largest cities, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan, Tatarstan, due to safety concerns.
Also, there were unconfirmed reports that a Ukrainian missile had hit an airbase in occupied Crimea. Neither Russian nor Ukrainian officials confirmed the strike, but local authorities temporarily closed the road to the airfield. Russian news agency Toss Windows of a mosque and a private house in the area were shattered in the blast, the local mayor said.
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