At least 13 die in missile strike
Russia intensified its campaign of terror Monday with a missile strike that appears to have killed or wounded scores of people in a crowded shopping mall in the central Ukraine city of Kremenchuk.
At least 13 people were dead, said regional governor Dmytro Lunin. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the number of possible victims was “unimaginable,” adding that the target presented “no threat to the Russian army” and had “no strategic value.” Another missile hit a local sports arena, an Ukrainian official said.
Russia launched 60 missiles into Ukraine over the weekend – a barrage that killed civilians and destroyed and damaged apartment buildings – in what could be a protest of the G-7 meetings in Germany or the arrival of U.S.-rocket artillery for Ukrainian troops, a senior Defense Department official said Monday.
The missile attack that struck apartments may have targeted a nearby munition factory, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about intelligence assessments.
Ukraine aid package to include advanced air defense systems
A new aid package for Ukraine will include new air-defense systems, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday.
He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the G-7 about Sunday’s missile attacks on Kyiv and asked for additional air-defense capabilities that could shoot down missiles.
“We do intend to finalize a package that includes advanced medium- and long-range air- defense capabilities for the Ukrainians, along with some other items that are of urgent need, including ammunition for artillery and counterbattery radar systems,” Sullivan said, according to a pool report.
“What we’re trying to do with this point is tailor our military assistance to the particular, immediate needs of Ukrainians on the battlefield.”
Sullivan said Zelenskyy made clear to officials that a lengthy, grinding conflict is not in the interest of the Ukrainian people. Zelenskyy, Sullivan said, wants to see his military and Western allies who are supporting it use the next few months to get Ukraine “in as good a position as they can possibly be in.”
Russian hacker group claims responsibility for cyber attacks
Lithuania was hit with cyber attacks Monday, days after Moscow promised to retaliate over transit sanctions that cut off some goods from Russia’s Kaliningrad region.
Lithuania’s Defense Ministry said an “intensive” attack was targeting “the secure national data network, other Lithuanian public authorities and private companies.”
Killnet, a Russia-affiliated hacker group, says it launched the attacks in retaliation for the restrictions imposed by Lithuania, which cited European Union sanctions.
Lithuania restricted the transit of sanctioned steel and ferrous metals to Kaliningrad, cut off from Russia but sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. Russia has accused Lithuania and the EU of violating international agreements.
Lysychansk is latest Ukraine city to be blasted by Russian artillery
Russian missiles and artillery pounded the eastern city of Lysychansk on Monday, bringing “catastrophic destruction” to the last city in the Luhansk region not controlled by the invading forces.
Gov. Serhiy Haidai said at least five high-rise buildings were destroyed, one of them holding 10 apartments.
“The Russians do not stop destroying housing, industrial and administrative facilities,” he said on Telegram. “There is no hour when the enemy artillery calms down.”
Capturing Lysychansk would give Russian forces virtually complete control of Luhansk, one of two regions making up Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region that has been the target of Russia’s aggression since a brief, failed run at the capital Kyiv.
G-7 leaders may cap prices for Russian oil
The Group of Seven nations are moving closer to capping the price that countries can pay for Russian oil, a senior U.S. official said. The official said leaders aim to further restrict President Vladimir Putin’s cash flow, bring down prices at the gas pump and provide greater stability to energy markets.
Leaders were said to be zeroing in on the way Russian oil is shipped. The U.S. official said G-7 leaders are planning to direct their governments to take urgent steps to design a price cap mechanism for countries that do not participate in the economic alliance.
No additional details on a potential price cap and how it would work were immediately available.
At the G-7 meeting his country is hosting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russia’s invasion broke the rules of international cooperation and “in relations with Russia, there can be no way back to the time before the Russian attack on Ukraine.”
Russians moving into homes left vacant by Ukrainians who fled
About 7,500 civilians remain in Sievierodonetsk, two days after the last sections of the city fell to Russian troops, Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said. Russian soldiers have begun moving into houses left vacant by Ukrainians who fled the city, he said.
“They put their soldiers and officers into the houses,” Striuk said. “They act like the city belongs to them.”
Last week, Gov. Serhiy Haidai announced that Ukrainian troops would conduct a “tactical withdrawal” from the charred ruins of a city that just months ago was home to over 100,000 people.