Russian forces take aim at foreign weapon supply lines
RUSSIAN forces pounded targets across Ukraine, taking aim at supply lines for foreign weapons in the west and intensifying an offensive in the east, as the European Union moved to further punish Moscow for the war with a proposed ban on oil imports.
The Russian military said on Wednesday it used sea-and air-launched precision guided 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.
The defence minister said a steel mill in Mariupol – the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in that city – was sealed off, a day after Russian troops began storming it. Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, said attacks in the eastern Donbas region left 21 civilians dead.
The flurry of attacks over the past day come as Russia prepares to celebrate Victory Day on May 9, marking the Soviet Union’s defeat over Nazi Germany.
This year, the world is watching for signs of whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to declare a limited victory – or expand what he calls a “special military operation” to a wider war. While the Russian attacks were across a wide swath of the country, some were concentrated in and around Lviv, the western city close to the Polish border that been gate-way for Nato-supplied weapons.
Explosions were heard late on Tuesday in the city, which has seen only sporadic attacks during the war and has become a haven for civilians fleeing the fighting elsewhere.
The mayor said the strikes damaged three power substations, knocking out electricity in parts of the city and disrupting the water supply. Two people were hurt.
The strikes on the train stations were meant to disrupt the delivery of western weapons, Russian defence ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said, while the minister warned any such deliveries are legitimate targets.