Russia’s missile strikes targeted Ukraine’s railway infrastructure on Tuesday night, causing chaos in the network in one of the largest long-range bombings since the February 24 invasion of Moscow.
Russia has fired 18 cruise missiles at eight regions of Ukraine, including the western city of Lviv, destroying or severely damaging three power substations that power the rail network, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The Ukrainian Air Force said the missiles were fired mainly by bombers over the Caspian Sea. Several of them were captured by the Ukrainian air defense.
“In order to destroy Ukraine’s transport infrastructure, the Russian enemy fired missiles at sites in Dnepropetrovsk, Kirovograd, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kiev, Zakarpattia, Odessa and Donetsk regions,” the Ukrainian armed forces said.
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Nearly 50 trains were delayed by hours after the attacks.
Russia has stepped up rocket attacks on railway infrastructure, including a strike last month on Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine that killed more than 50 people, and targeting five stations last week.
Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday’s attacks were aimed at cutting off the flow of weapons from the country’s western supporters.
The Russian bombing hit Transcarpathia, a region in western Ukraine on the border with Hungary, for the first time.
Fresh supplies of longer-range weapons are crucial in helping Ukrainian forces counter Russian offensives in the country’s far east and south, where Moscow has been concentrating its efforts recently.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Telegram last night that with its numerous cruise missile strikes, Russia was “trying to pour out its helplessness because it cannot defeat Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s railways have proved a lifeline over the past two months, evacuating millions of civilians, delivering supplies and bringing international leaders to Kyiv to show solidarity with President Zelensky.
The UK’s defense intelligence said on Wednesday that Russia had assembled 22 battalion tactical groups – a general military unit of about 800 people – near the town of Izyum in preparation for a new offensive.
“Although it is struggling to break through the Ukrainian defenses and gain momentum, Russia most likely intends to … . take the cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk ”in Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, writes on Twitter.
“Taking these positions would consolidate Russian military control over the northeastern Donbass and provide a starting point for their efforts to cross Ukrainian forces in the region,” the UK intelligence added.
Since shifting its offensive to eastern and southern Ukraine in early April, Russia has made only limited territorial gains. Ukraine’s General Staff said it had repulsed 12 enemy attacks in the Donbass region on Tuesday.
Russian and Ukrainian military claims cannot be verified independently.
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