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At least seven people die in a Russian missile attack near Zaporizhia. The Russian military presents the situation differently. An overview of the events of the night.
Kiev – According to official figures, at least seven people, including children, were killed in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Vilnyansk in the Zaporizhzhia region on Saturday. Another 31 people were injured in the rocket attack, the civil defense announced on Sunday night. “Unfortunately, the number of victims could rise,” wrote President Volodymyr Zelenskyj on the X platform.
According to regional military administrator Ivan Fedorov, an unspecified “critical infrastructure facility” and several residential buildings were damaged in the attack. A video he released showed several burning buildings in a residential area.
The Russian Defense Ministry, however, spoke of an attack on a military target. A train station near Zaporizhia was attacked with Iskander ballistic missiles, the Interfax agency quoted the Moscow agency as saying. A train loaded with military goods was hit, claimed the Russian military leadership. The information could not be independently verified.
Just on Friday, the industrial city of Dnipro became the target of Russian missiles. At least one person died in the attack and another twelve were injured. “Our cities and municipalities suffer from these Russian attacks every day,” complained Zelensky. As a countermeasure, “we are destroying the terrorists where they are, eliminating Russian missile launchers, hitting them with long-range weapons and increasing the number of modern air defense systems in Ukraine,” he explained.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for more than two years. Air raid warnings were again in effect in many places on Sunday night, especially in the east of the country.
Selenskyj pleased with release of Crimean Tatar leader
On Saturday, Zelensky celebrated the return of Ukrainians from Russian captivity. “Ten civilians, and 90 soldiers were also released from captivity this week,” he said in a video address. A total of 3,310 people have already returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity. “And we must find all of our people and bring them back to Ukraine, every single one of them who is in captivity or has been deported – adults and children, military and civilians.”
On Friday, ten Ukrainian civilians were released from Russian captivity. Among them was Nariman Dzhelal, a leader of the Crimean Tatars. Zelensky received Dzhelal, whom he last met in 2021, for a brief conversation on Saturday.
Shortly after the meeting in 2021, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Dzheljal was arrested in Crimea, which had already been annexed by Russia since 2014, and was later sentenced to 17 years in prison. He is alleged to have blown up a gas pipeline.
Ukraine rejects accusations from Minsk about provocations
Ukraine has refuted fears in neighboring Belarus about possible advances across the shared border. Ukraine does not pose a threat, but is instead strengthening its defense lines along the border, border guard spokesman Andriy Demchenko said in Kiev on Saturday. There are no provocations. “They are probably confused themselves,” he was quoted as saying by the Unian agency.
“The real threat comes from Belarus, where there are enough Russian troops stationed,” said Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Combating Disinformation in the National Security Council. Rather, the Russian military is trying to tie down Ukrainian forces on the border with Belarus.
The border troops of the authoritarian ex-Soviet republic of Belarus (formerly Belarus) have reportedly set up additional units on the border with Ukraine. The measure was justified by alleged espionage and sabotage preparations by Ukraine. Belarus is Russia’s closest ally. dpa
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