Ukrainian authorities announced that a Russian missile attack on the port of Odessa killed three people and wounded 13 others, while Ukrainian bombing targeted the town of Nova Khakovka, injuring one person and cutting off power.
Sergei Prachuk, a spokesman for the military administration in Odessa, said the Russian attack targeted a shopping mall, destroying its warehouses and setting fire to an area of 400 square meters.
In the Telegram application, he added that 4 missiles were fired from a ship in the Black Sea, and that three of the dead were employees of a commercial warehouse hit by a Russian cruise missile of the “Caliber” type, and 7 others. Injured, indicating “possibility of being under rubble”.
Prachuk released a video clip and images showing the multi-story building that lost parts of its walls and shattered windows, and showed fire crews battling flames in what appeared to be a warehouse.
Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense forces shot down two missiles, the military said.
On the other hand, the governor of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, Pavlo Kirilenko, said that Russian forces killed 3 civilians in another missile attack, two in Kramatorsk and a third in Kostiantynivka.
He said, “The missiles hit private houses in two cities and caused heavy damage. At least five private houses were destroyed, and more than 20 houses were damaged in Kramatorsk. Two houses were destroyed in Kostiantynivka and 55 were damaged.”
Ukrainian Air Force says it destroyed 3 missiles and 9 drones overnight.
Ukrainian bombing
On the other hand, pro-Russian officials in the town of Nova Khakovka reported that Ukrainian shelling wounded one person in the town and cut off electricity to the nearby village of Plutovai.
The Kagovka dam was destroyed in the city last week, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes in one of Europe’s biggest industrial disasters in decades.
Ukraine and Russia deny targeting civilians in their military operations, and both sides have exchanged accusations of bombing a flood-hit area after a dam collapse.
Counter attack
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted his country must fight what he described as enemy agents and – in a meeting with journalists specializing in military affairs in the Kremlin – said Russia could have been better prepared for attacks in border areas.
Ukraine has lost between 25% and 30% of the military vehicles it received from the West since its counteroffensive began, and the country’s human losses since the counteroffensive began on June 4, he said. More than Russian losses.
Russia lost 50 of its tanks in the war, some of which could be repaired, while Ukraine lost more than 160 tanks and 360 armored vehicles during the counterattack, Putin said.
After months of waiting, Ukraine launched its offensive to retake areas controlled by Russian forces, and over the weekend announced its first successes, while Moscow announced that all attacks had been repelled.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive began after a series of attacks targeting Russian lands, including the Belgorod border region.
Nuclear weapons
In a related context, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said his country had begun acquiring Russian tactical nuclear weapons, some of which he said were three times more powerful than the two atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945.
“We have missiles and bombs from Russia,” Lukashenko said in an interview with Russia’s state channel Russia-1, broadcast by Belarus’ official Belda news agency Telegram channel.
In a related development, Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said a new US military aid package for Ukraine pushes Washington deeper into the conflict.
More weapons and equipment are also available to support Ukrainian forces after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced a new $325 million defense aid package for Ukraine.
On his Twitter account, Blinken had a call with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Chen Gang during which he discussed ongoing efforts to open communication channels and bilateral and global issues.
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