Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s new warning to the West about sending long -range missile systems to Ukraine comes as his forces say they disrupted Western military supplies in their first airstrikes in the capital of Ukraine for over a month.
The attack showed that Russia still has the opportunity and willingness to strike the heart of Ukraine, despite its focus on occupying territory to the east.
Putin’s comments, in a televised interview on Sunday, came just days after the United States announced plans for $ 700 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including four medium-range precision-guided missiles. system. , as well as helicopters and Javelin anti-tank systems. , Radar, Tactical Vehicles and more.
“In my opinion, all this turmoil about the additional supply of weapons has only one purpose: to prolong the armed conflict as long as possible,” Putin said. He argued that such a supply is unlikely to change the military situation for the Ukrainian government, which will only pay for similar missile losses.
If Kiev accepts long-range missiles, Putin added, Moscow “will draw appropriate conclusions and will use our method of destruction, which we have in abundance, to hit things we have not yet hit. “
The United States has not offered Ukraine a long-range long-range weapon that could fire deep into Russia.
Military analysts say Russia hopes to cross Ukraine’s eastern Donbass industrial region before U.S. weapons arrive, which could change that. The Pentagon said last week it would take at least three weeks to bring American weapons to the battlefield. Russia -backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian government in the Donbas since 2014.
Moscow also blamed the closure of communications lines to the West when it forced Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s plane to cancel its departure to Serbia on Monday for talks.
Serbia’s neighbors have closed airspace on Lavrov’s plane, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Italian television in comments released by Russian news agencies. Earlier, Serbian daily Vecernje Novosti reported that Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro would not allow Lavrov to board the plane.
“It’s another closed channel of communication,” Zakharova said.
The missiles, which hit Ukraine’s capital Kiev on Sunday, destroyed T-72 tanks and other armored vehicles supplied by Eastern European countries, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram application.
However, Ukraine said the missiles hit a train repair shop. Ukrainian railway authorities are directing journalists to a repair facility in eastern Kiev that was hit by four rockets. Authorities said no military equipment was stored there, and Associated Press reporters found no remains of any of it in the dilapidated building of the facility.
“There are no tanks and you can only testify.” Said Sergei Leshchenko, adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine.
However, a government adviser told National Television that military infrastructure was also targeted. AP reporters saw the burning building near the damaged factory. Two residents in the area said the warehouse-like smoke-emitting building was part of the tank repair facility. Police who blocked access to the site told an AP reporter that military authorities banned taking pictures there.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said that precise air-to-air missiles were used to destroy factories in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, including Druzhkivka, which repairs broken Ukrainian military equipment.
And the Ukrainian general staff said Russian forces fired five X-22 cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea towards Kiev, destroying one with air defense. Four more rockets hit the “infrastructure target”, but Ukraine said no casualties.
Prior to the attack early Sunday morning, Russia had not carried out a similar Russian airstrike over Kiev since the April 28 visit of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Russian forces remained committed to capturing the eastern Ukrainian cities of Sivierododonetsky and Lisichansk. To the west of these cities, in the cities of Slovyansk and Bakhmut, military vehicles and vehicles were seen hitting in the direction of the front line. Dozens of doctors and military ambulances worked to evacuate Ukrainian civilians and the military, many of whom were wounded in the artillery attack.
The British military said in its daily intelligence that the Ukrainian counterattack on Siverodonetsk “is likely to reduce the operational momentum of Russian forces, which had previously gained momentum with the concentration of combat units and guns”. Russian forces were advancing on the city, but Ukrainian fighters had retreated in recent days.
The statement also states that the Russian military relies in part on breakaway separatist forces in Luhansk.
“These troops are poorly equipped and trained and have no heavy equipment compared to normal Russian units,” the intelligence update said, adding that the move “indicates a desire to limit the casualties of regular Russian forces. “
– At the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, which Russia claims was captured in May after a month -long siege, the assistant mayor said the water supply of contaminated corpses and garbage causes dysentery and cholera and other diseases. A statement from the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN quoted Petro Andryushchenko as saying that Russian authorities, which control the city, had quarantined him. Your account cannot be independently verified.
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left for the southeastern region of Zaporizhia, which is partially under Russian control. He received a report about the fighting, thanked the troops and met with the refugees on his second public visit outside the Kiev area since the war began.
-The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Spain plans to supply anti-aircraft missiles and up to 40 Leopard 2 A4 tanks to Ukraine. The Spanish Ministry of Defense did not comment on the report.
– And far from the battlefield, the Ukrainian international missed the World Cup qualifiers, losing 1-0 to Wales in an emotional match against Cardiff. At home, many Ukrainians gathered in bars to watch the game.
Associated Press reporters David Keaton and Hannah Arhirova shared the report in Kiev.
Follow the AP coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Source: Huffpost
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.