Russia hits Ukraine again as UN grain deal extended
Explosions were heard in several parts of Ukraine, including the southern port of Odesa, Kyiv and the central city of Dnipro
KYIV: Russian airstrikes inflicted more damage on Ukraine on Thursday, with the latest barrage smashing into energy infrastructure, apartment buildings and an industrial site. At least four people were killed and five others wounded in drone and missile strikes around the country, authorities said.
Separately, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres announced an extension of a four-month-old deal to ensure the safe delivery of export of grain, foodstuffs and fertilisers from Ukraine through the Black Sea just days before it was set to expire.
Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry said agreement had been reached on extending by 120 days a deal that allows for the export of food and fertilisers from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
Fresh strikes
Explosions were heard again on Thursday morning in several parts of Ukraine, including the southern port of Odesa, the capital Kyiv and the central city of Dnipro.
“Missiles are flying over Kyiv right now,” Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal as saying at a conference.
“Now they are bombing our gas production, they are bombing our enterprises in Dnipro and Yuzhmash ( missile factory).”
State energy company Naftogaz confirmed that gas production facilities in eastern Ukraine had been damaged or destroyed.
The United Nations’ humanitarian office (OCHA) warned of a serious humanitarian crisis in Ukraine this winter.
“Millions are facing constant power cuts, and the lack of energy is also affecting water pumping,” it said in a statement.
Fighting in east
Officials reported heavy fighting in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which Russia claims to have annexed along with the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in September after holding what it calls “referendums” there condemned as illegal by Kyiv and the West.
“In the direction of Svatove and Kreminna ( in Luhansk region), the Ukrainian military has managed to push the enemy back a bit. Local residents say they can hear battles going on nearby,” regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said in a TV broadcast. “In the direction of Bilohorivka (also in Luhansk), the Russians are constantly attacking, trying to recapture the territory of the village, which has been completely destroyed,” Gaidai added.
Moscow’s forces retreated from the southern city of Kherson last week after a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Investigators in the Kherson region uncovered 63 bodies bearing signs of torture after Russian forces left the area, Ukraine’s interior minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.
US, Russia clash at UN
Meanwhile, the US and its Western allies clashed with Russia at the UN Security Council on Wednesday over responsibility for a deadly missile strike in Poland near the Ukrainian border, an event the UN political chief called “a frightening reminder of the absolute need to prevent any further escalation” of the war in Ukraine.
Also, the top US general, Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, played down chances of any outright military victory for Kyiv in the near term, saying Russia still had significant combat power in Ukraine despite setbacks.