Kyiv / MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) – In eastern Ukraine, Russia has continued its attacks on a broad front. The Defense Ministry in Moscow claimed that several Ukrainian weapons depots had been destroyed in airstrikes. The Ukrainian General Staff in Kyiv reported that in the area around Kharkiv – the country’s second largest city – the Russian army is trying to recapture lost positions with the support of artillery. The information from the combat zones can hardly be checked independently. The Russian war of aggression on the neighboring country has lasted more than four months.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia is said to have used banned cluster munitions in rocket attacks on the city of Sloviansk on Saturday night, killing at least four people. Civilian areas where there are no military installations were hit, Mayor Vadym Lyakh reported in the online messenger service Telegram. Cluster munitions are missiles and bombs that burst in mid-air over the target, releasing many small explosive devices. Their use is protected under international law.
Ukraine also accused Russia of dropping phosphorus bombs on Snake Island in the Black Sea, which has since been evacuated. Such bombs, which can cause severe burns and poisoning, are not explicitly prohibited. However, their use against civilians and in urban areas is prohibited. The spokesman for the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, Igor Konashenkov, did not respond to any of the allegations. Russia cleared the strategically important island it captured earlier in the war this week.
The Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak spoke of a change in the Russian army’s conduct of the war. “It’s a new tactic by Russia: attacking neighborhoods and putting pressure on Western political elites to force Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table.” Moscow pays no attention to how the world reacts to “inhuman attacks” with cruise missiles on residential areas. However, this tactic will not work, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyj’s adviser.
According to British estimates, Russia is increasingly using inaccurate missiles in Ukraine. The reason is probably that stocks of modern, accurate weapons are dwindling, according to the Ministry of Defense in London. Surveillance footage shows that a shopping center in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk was most likely hit by a Ch-32 missile. This is a further development of the Soviet missile Ch-22, which is still not optimized to hit ground targets accurately. At least 20 people were killed in Kremenchuk’s attack on Monday.
Britain protested Russia’s treatment of prisoners of war following reports of the capture of two more Britons in eastern Ukraine. “We condemn the exploitation of prisoners of war and civilians for political ends and have raised this with Russia,” the Foreign Ministry said. The Russian state agency TASS had previously reported, citing pro-Russian separatists, that two Britons had been charged with “mercenary activities”.
According to its own statements, the Russian army hit numerous military targets in air raids. Ministry spokesman Konashenkov claimed that Ukraine had suffered “high losses in people and material”. Residential buildings and other civilian facilities in Ukraine have repeatedly been damaged in Russian attacks in recent months. The Ukrainian general staff also spoke of high losses on the opposing side on Saturday. The information cannot be checked precisely.
At a conference for Ukraine, which starts in Lugano on Monday, the Ukrainian government intends to present ideas for the country’s reconstruction. It is a question of coordinating future tasks with donor countries and financial institutions. There are representatives from around 40 countries and around 20 international organizations. At the start, President Selenskyj is to be connected via video. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is expected to visit Paris on Monday. It will also be about the war in Ukraine./wo/DP/nas