Bloody weekend in Ukrainian Dnieper after shelling
2023.01.15 12:06
Bloody weekend in Ukrainian Dnieper after shelling
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – On Sunday, a day after the apartment block in the city of Dnipro was struck by a significant Russian missile attack and dozens of people were anticipated to have perished, Ukraine saw little hope of recovering any survivors.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, one child was among the 25 confirmed fatalities and 73 wounded, including 13 children. On the Telegram messaging app, he stated that 39 people had been rescued, but 43 others were still missing.
The nine-story apartment block in the city’s eastern center had collapsed, and emergency responders claimed they had heard screams for help coming from beneath piles of debris. They were taking advantage of the silence to focus their efforts. The frigid temperatures raised rescuers’ concerns further.
More than 18 hours after the attack, a group of firefighters discovered a woman still alive who was dressed casually. In their arms, they carried her to safety. From the street, dozens of grim-faced residents, both young and old, watched in horror.
A crane had previously been used to remove a body from the rubble on a stretcher by firefighters.
Borys Filatov, the mayor of Dnipro, stated to Reuters, “The chances of saving people now are minimal.” I anticipate that there will be dozens of fatalities.”
The Ukrainian Air Force claimed that a Russian Kh-22 missile hit the apartment building, which is known to be inaccurate and that Ukraine does not have the air defenses to shoot it down. During the Cold War, the Soviet-era missile was developed to destroy warships.
According to Filatov, two stairwells containing dozens of apartments were destroyed.
As fighting raged in the eastern towns of Soledar and Bakhmut, Russia launched two missile waves at Ukraine on Saturday, hitting targets all over the country.
Since October, Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February, has been bombarding the country’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones, resulting in widespread blackouts and disruptions to heating and water supply.
The Russian defense ministry did not specifically mention Dnipro as a target in a statement released on Sunday regarding its previous day of strikes.
“Every assigned object was struck. It stated that the strike’s objectives had been accomplished.
Throughout the night, rescue workers labored in search of survivors. They were seen punching and kicking their way through piles of broken concrete and bent metal on Sunday morning.
On television, Oleh Kushniruk, a deputy director of the regional branch of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, stated, “Two rooms on the second floor remain practically intact but buried.”
During Saturday’s attacks, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern command claimed that Russia had only fired half of the cruise missiles it had sent to the Black Sea.
The spokesperson, Natalia Humeniuk, stated, “This indicates that they still have certain plans.” It’s important to know that they can still be used.
Zelenskiy urged Western allies to provide additional weapons to put an end to “Russian terror” and attacks on civilian targets in his evening address following the strike.
The attack on Saturday came just as Western nations were considering sending battle tanks to Kyiv and before a meeting of Ukraine’s allies next Friday in Germany’s Ramstein, where governments will announce their most recent pledges of military support.
Britain followed Poland and France in promising additional weapons on Saturday, announcing that it would send 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks and additional advanced artillery support in the coming weeks.
Moscow is likely to view the first shipment of tanks made in the West to Ukraine as an escalation of the conflict. According to the Russian Embassy in London, the tanks would prolong the conflict.
Already, Russia’s invasion has killed thousands, displaced millions, and demolished numerous cities.
SOLEDAR
The small salt-mining town of Soledar was the focus of fighting between Ukraine’s forces and Russian forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
Ukrainian television was informed by Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern command, that Russian forces had shelled the vicinity of Soledar and Bakhmut 234 times in the past 24 hours.
Friday, Russia announced that its forces had taken control of Soledar, which had a 10,000-person population prior to the war. While this would be a minor advance, it would have psychological significance for Russian forces, which have endured months of defeats on the battlefield.
On Saturday, officials acknowledged that the situation was difficult due to raging street fighting and Russian forces advancing from various directions, despite Ukraine’s insistence that its forces were fighting to hold the town.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar stated on Saturday, “Our soldiers are constantly repelling enemy attacks, day and night.” Despite suffering significant losses, the adversary is continuing to follow their command’s criminal orders.”
According to the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, it was highly unlikely that Ukrainian forces were still in Soledar.
Putin said that the “special military operation,” as he calls it, was moving in the right direction and that he hoped that Russian soldiers would make more gains after Soledar.
He stated to Rossiya 1 state television, “The dynamic is positive.” Everything is developing within the framework of the plan developed by the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense.”
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