Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and the decision to suspend participation in a grain export program were responses to a drone attack on Moscow’s Crimean fleet, which he blamed on Ukraine.
The head of state said at a press conference on Monday (31) that Ukrainian drones used the same maritime corridors that grain ships transited under the agreement brokered by the UN.
Kiev has not claimed responsibility for the attack and denies using the grain program’s security corridor for military purposes. The UN reported that no grain ships were using the Black Sea route on Saturday, when Russia noted that its ships in Crimea were attacked.
Meanwhile, on the 250th day of the war, Russian missiles hit areas across most of Ukraine, with explosions recorded in the capital Kiev. The bombings hit infrastructure facilities in at least six Ukrainian regions on Monday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced in a statement on Facebook.
“That’s not all we could have done,” Putin warned at the televised press conference.
Ukrainian officials said energy infrastructure, including hydroelectric dams, had been hit, disrupting power, heating and water supplies.
Oleh Synehubov, governor of the northeastern region of Kharkiv, wrote on Telegram that about 140,000 residents were left without power after the incident, including about 50,000 residents of Kharkiv city, Ukraine’s second largest.
The Ukrainian military said it shot down 44 of 50 Russian missiles launched, but the attacks left 80% of Kiev without water supplies, officials said. Ukrainian police said 13 people were injured in the latest attacks.
For the past three weeks, Russia has attacked Ukrainian civilian infrastructure using long-range missiles and Iranian-made “suicide drones” that fly towards a target and self-destruct.
According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, 18 targets, mainly energy infrastructure, were hit in missile and drone strikes in 10 Ukrainian regions on Monday.
Source: CNN Brasil
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