Russia carried out new attacks for the third night in a row against the port cities of Mykolaiv and Odessa in southern Ukraine. At least three people were killed and a Chinese consular building was damaged, authorities in the attacked country said. Moscow claimed to have destroyed production and storage facilities for naval drones. Meanwhile, the European Union extended economic sanctions against the Kremlin for the invasion for another six months.
Two Ukrainian ports were the target of Russian attacks in the early hours of this Thursday, July 20. Missiles and drones hit Odessa for the third night in a row. The invading troops also attacked Mykolaiv, another Black Sea port.
Ukrainian authorities, cited by Reuters, reported at least three people dead and more than 20 injured, including children. The Chinese consulate in Odessa was also damaged.
“We didn’t even have time to hide, although we have a small basement in our facilities to take shelter. It was very strong, there was dust everywhere, we couldn’t see. Then we went out into the street to see what had happened,” Vitaly told AFP. resident of that port city.
Video from body cameras of patrol police officers who were the first to arrive at the scene of the occupiers’ nighttime strikes on Odessa. One person was killed, while eight others were injured. This target was not a military facility. This is pure terrorism. pic.twitter.com/XwLumLbdX0
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) July 20, 2023
Several residential buildings, as well as shops or cafes were affected, some even went up in flames. Rescue teams had to search for survivors among the rubble.
Like many residents, Iryna Personova saw her apartment destroyed. “I have lived here for 40 years, there is not a single military target nearby (…) Putin is a demon, he is evil,” he said.
Russia confirms “retaliatory strikes”
“The Russian Armed Forces continued retaliatory air and sea-based precision weapons attacks against drone production and storage centers in the Odessa region (…) In addition, fuel infrastructure and ammunition depots were destroyed nearby Mykolaiv,” confirmed Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry.
Last Monday, July 17, an attack, attributed to kyiv, against a bridge built by the Russians in Crimea – a province annexed by Vladimir Putin since 2014 – unleashed the anger of Moscow, which promised revenge.
Governor Kiper indicated that the Ukrainian Air Force shot down 12 Iranian drones and two Kalibr missiles in Odessa, but that its defenses were unable to shoot down all the missiles fired by the Kremlin military.
“Unfortunately, it was not possible to destroy all the missiles,” he said, adding that the missiles launched by Moscow “are extremely difficult to destroy.”
Port cities on the Black Sea have been the target of several attacks this week. An onslaught against Odessa on Wednesday, July 19, even destroyed 60,000 tons of grain destined for export.
The facts are recorded after last Monday Russia de facto suspended the agreement that allowed the export of Ukrainian grains from the port area that it bombarded.
The Kremlin refused to extend the pact reached with Turkey and the UN in July 2022, after alleging that the parties did not comply with provisions to export Russian food and fertilizers.
Meanwhile, Russian-imposed authorities in the Ukrainian province of Crimea accused Volodymyr Zelensky’s army of carrying out an assault in that region. The governor assured that drones, which would have been launched by kyiv, caused the death of a teenager and several administrative buildings were damaged.
Joint training between Wagner and Belarus, on the border with Poland
Belarus, Vladimir Putin’s great ally in his war against Ukraine, announced Thursday that training began between its military forces and the mercenaries of the Wagner group, on the border with Poland.
“During the week, units of special operations forces, together with representatives of Wagner, will carry out combat training tasks on the Brestski field,” the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.
Nine columns of Wagner mercenaries have reportedly arrived in the country since the failed mutiny against the military leadership in Moscow, ordered by the former head of the group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, at the end of June. Belarus had assured that it would receive the members of the paramilitary group after an agreement between the parties and in which President Alexander Lukashenko mediated.
In response, Poland decided to strengthen its border with Belarus and sent troops to the east of the country.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced on Twitter on July 8 that more than 1,000 Army soldiers had started moving in the direction of that border.
Russia denounced an aggressive act by Warsaw. “Poland’s aggressiveness, hostile attitude towards Belarus and Russia is, of course, a matter of great attention,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.
The European Union extends sanctions against Russia
The Council of the EU decided this Thursday to extend the economic sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine for 6 months.
These sanctions include various economic areas such as trade, finance, technology, its hydrocarbon industry, and transportation. Among them, the ban on importing oil into the EU from Russia and the removal of several Russian banks from the SWIFT international system.
Some individual measures were also taken, such as asset freezes and travel restrictions for several Russian diplomats.
Several sanctions had been adopted since 2014, after the illegal annexation of Crimea, but they were multiplied at the beginning of 2022, after the start of the Russian invasion.
The EU countries once again expressed their “strong condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which constitutes a manifest violation of the United Nations Charter.”
They also recalled their financial, diplomatic, military and humanitarian support for the attacked nation “for as long as it is necessary.”
With EFE and AFP
