‘Missile terrorism’ alleged as Russian onslaught continues
Complaining that the West is ‘‘stuffing Ukraine with weapons’’, Russia has continued bombarding railway stations and other supply line targets across the country.
Heavy fighting was also raging at the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in the ruined southern port city, according to the mayor. The commander of the main Ukrainian military unit inside the plant said Russian troops had broken in.
The Russian military said it had used sea- and air-launched missiles to destroy electric power facilities at five railway stations across Ukraine, while artillery and aircraft also struck troop strongholds and fuel and ammunition depots.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of ‘‘resorting to the missile terrorism tactics’’.
The flurry of attacks comes as Russia prepares to celebrate Victory Day on May 9, marking the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The world is watching for whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to declare victory in Ukraine or expand what he calls the ‘‘special military operation’’. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the speculation as ‘‘nonsense’’.
The attacks on rail infrastructure were meant to disrupt the delivery of Western weapons, a Russian Defence Ministry spokesman said. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the West was ‘‘stuffing Ukraine with weapons’’.
■ The Belarusian military has launched large-scale drills to test the readiness of its armed forces to respond quickly to ‘‘possible crises’’ and counter threats from the air and ground, its Defence Ministry says.
Belarus said the training exercise would not ‘‘pose any threat to the European community as a whole or to neighbouring countries in particular’’. The country borders Ukraine to its south, Poland to its west, and Lithuania and Latvia to its north.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian
President Vladimir Putin, allowed Russian troops to assemble and conduct military drills in Belarus in the run-up to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Lukashenko has denied accusations that he could send troops to fight along
side Russia’s forces. Belarusians who oppose Lukashenko’s 28-year rule have joined the battle against Russian troops in Ukraine. Lukashenko’s support for Russia has made Belarus a target of additional sanctions from Western governments. – AP, Washington Post