Russian Attacks on Ukraine Claim 16 Lives, Including a Child
Russian strikes have tragically claimed the lives of at least 16 people in Ukraine, according to local authorities, following a wave of overnight attacks launched by Moscow on its neighboring country.
Since the onset of the four-year conflict, Moscow has almost nightly launched missiles and hundreds of drones, while Kyiv has regularly conducted retaliatory strikes within Russia.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia deployed 659 drones and 44 missiles over the last 24 hours. Ukrainian air defense units successfully intercepted 636 drones and 31 missiles.
These latest assaults occurred just after the conclusion of a 32-hour Orthodox Easter truce, which both nations marred with accusations of widespread violations.
Casualties Reported Across Ukraine
In the southern port city of Odesa, missile and drone attacks resulted in nine fatalities and wounded 23 individuals, as reported by Serhiy Lysak, head of the city’s military administration, on Telegram.
The capital, Kyiv, also suffered significant losses, with at least four people killed, including a 12-year-old child, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Kyiv’s Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko stated that at least 48 people were injured in the strikes.
Further casualties were reported in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, where three people died and 34 were wounded, said Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the regional administration, via Telegram.
Moscow’s Justification and Counter-Accusations
Russia’s Defence Ministry announced on Thursday that its overnight attacks on Ukraine targeted production facilities for cruise missiles and drones, as well as energy infrastructure, which it claimed supplied Kyiv’s armed forces.
Moscow asserted that these attacks were a direct response to Ukrainian strikes on civilian targets within Russia.
Conversely, Russian officials and media reported a major Ukrainian overnight drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse, which allegedly killed two children and ignited a large fire. Governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram, “A terrorist drone attack on residential buildings in Tuapse has claimed the lives of two minors aged five and 14.”
International Condemnation
EU Council chief Antonio Costa condemned Russia, accusing it of “deliberately terrorizing civilians” in Ukraine and denouncing the overnight strikes as a “horrendous attack against civilian targets.”
Widespread Damage and Rescue Efforts
The Russian air raids on Kyiv caused extensive damage across the Podilskyi, Obolonskyi, and Desnyanskyi districts, as confirmed by the city’s mayor.
Throughout the Ukrainian capital, explosions ignited buildings and cars, shattered windows, and damaged hotel facades, according to an assessment by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine posted on Telegram.
Debris from the attacks sparked fires in a residential building in Podilskyi, damaged a hotel, and caused a home to collapse. “A child and her mother were rescued from the rubble,” Klitschko reported on Telegram.
In the Obolonskyi district, an office building was damaged, and cars were set ablaze. At least four medics sustained injuries due to repeated shelling, Klitschko added. Falling debris also caused a fire at a two-story residential building in the Desnyanskyi district.
Photos circulated online depicted uncontrolled fires and plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
Call for More Interceptors
Al Jazeera’s Audrey Macalpine, reporting from Kyiv, highlighted that the overnight casualties underscore Ukraine’s urgent need for more interceptors. She stated, “This is reflective of a larger problem for Ukraine, which is lack of interceptors,” noting that Ukraine’s president is actively working to acquire additional units from Europe.
Diplomatic Stalemate
Recent months have seen multiple rounds of United States-brokered negotiations fail to bring the warring parties closer to a resolution to halt the fighting, which began with Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
The peace process has further stalled since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, diverting Washington’s attention towards Iran.
Even prior to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine was slow due to persistent disagreements over territorial issues.
Ukraine has proposed freezing the conflict along the current front lines, a proposition Russia has rejected. Moscow insists on controlling the entirety of the Donetsk region, despite it being partly controlled by Ukraine—a demand Kyiv deems unacceptable.
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