As a result of Russian explosions, 26 people were killed, and Ukraine announced an imminent counteroffensive.

A spate of Russian missile and drone attacks have killed at least 26 people this Friday in Ukraine, whose authorities have announced preparations for their counter-offensive are “finishing.”

“Preparation is coming to an end,” – said the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Alexey Reznikovin connection with a counter-offensive expected within a few months to return the territories occupied by Russia in the east and south of Ukraine.

“The equipment was promised, prepared and partially delivered. In a broad sense, we are ready”He added at a press conference in Kyiv, referring to the shipment of Western equipment, including tanks and armored vehicles, as well as ammunition.

The minister added: “As soon as the will of God, the weather and the decision of the commanders, we will do it.”

Early in the morning, the first large-scale Russian attacks since the beginning of March hit several Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned them and promised to respond with “Russian terror”. For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Moscow bombed “military facilities in Ukraine” with “precision weapons.”

In the Ukrainian city of Uman, with a population of about 80,000, at least 23 people, including four children, have died when a rocket hit a residential building, regional governor Igor Taburets said.

“I want to see my children, dead or aliveDmitry, a 33-year-old man whose building in Uman was hit by a rocket, told AFP. “They are under the rubble,” he added.

The man said he was from Lugansk, an eastern region under Russian control. “I’ve seen a lot, but I haven’t lost my children yet,” she said.

In Uman, in the center of the country, about 200 km south of Kyiv, AFP journalists recorded a destroyed apartment building and debris scattered on the ground.

Attacks on Kyiv and the Dnieper

IN Dnieperin central-eastern Ukraine, another terrorist attack killed two, according to Mayor Boris Filatov, who said the victims were a woman and a three-year-old child.

The Ukrainian military said on Telegram that they had shot down “21 out of 23 X-101/X-555 cruise missiles and two drones.”

The attack was carried out “at about 04:00 am” (01:00 Moscow time) from Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers in the Caspian Sea, the same source said.

IN Kyiva power line was cut by falling debris, which authorities said also caused damage to the highway.

In the city Ukrainianfragments of a downed rocket fell on the building, injuring a girl who had to be hospitalized, the local governor said. Ruslan Kravchenko.

Throughout the winter, Russia continuously shelled Ukrainian cities and the country’s infrastructure, but in recent months the shelling has ceased.

Meanwhile in Donetskthe main Moscow-controlled city in eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian authorities said on Friday that nine people were killed and 16 wounded in attacks by Ukrainian forces.

Expected counteroffensive

The possibility of a counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army, backed up by material brought in by the West, would mean the war would enter a new phase more than a year after the invasion began in February 2022.

NATO allies and partners have transferred 230 tanks and 1,550 armored vehicles to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

From my side, Russiawhich controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, has mobilized hundreds of thousands of reservists to support its territorial offensives in the east and south, and maintains the goal of conquering the entire territory of Ukraine. Donbassan eastern region known for its industrial activity.

Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops is concentrated in the east of the country, where there is a battle for control of the city of Bakhmut, which is almost completely destroyed.

Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Marat Khusnullin On Friday, he said he had visited Bakhmut and promised that Russia would rebuild the city.

At the diplomatic level, the possibility of a ceasefire or a peace agreement is hardly outlined, despite some initiatives to this effect in recent months from China or Brazil.

The President of Ukraine asked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday to help him return to the country children “deported” by Russia, who number 20,000 in Kyiv.

On the other hand, the European Commission announced that Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia agreed, despite their initial reluctance, to extend the abolition of tariffs and duties on Ukrainian grain imported by the EU countries.

According to AFP