LAST UPDATE | 18 May 2023
UKRAINE SAID “UNPRECEDENTED” air attacks had rocked its capital and other areas early this morning, a day after it reached an agreement with Russia to extend a deal allowing grain exports across the Black Sea.
In the port city of Odessa, one person was killed and two were wounded after a missile hit industrial infrastructure, the military said.
The military said its air defence units had destroyed 29 of the cruise missiles and shot down four drones.
Russian strikes on the capital Kyiv have reached an intensity not seen since a wave of attacks started last autumn.
The deal, a rare example of cooperation between the warring sides, was welcomed by the United Nations and the United States, though both called for more certainty over the exports as Russia has threatened to end the pact, which is crucial to global food security.
But doubts about the viability of the deal were quickly raised after Ukraine accused Russia of launching an extraordinary series of air attacks on Kyiv and other regions early Thursday.
“A series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in their power, intensity and variety, continues,” said Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv’s civil and military administration, adding that no casualties had been reported in the capital.
The attack follows other recent barrages in which Ukraine claimed to have downed several of Russia’s hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.
Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said that the most recent barrage included six Kalibr missiles and two Iskander-K missiles.
The United States also confirmed that one of its Patriot air defence systems supplied to Kyiv had been damaged, following claims by Russia its forces had destroyed one of the advanced systems.
Ukraine’s army reported several explosions in Kyiv’s Desnyansky district and said a fire had broken out at a business in the city’s Darnytskyi neighbourhood as a result of falling debris.
The military also reported “cruise missile” attacks in the central Vinnytsia region, and local media reported explosions in Khmelnytskyi, about 100 kilometres further west.
Kyiv’s anti-aircraft defences were working, according to Serhii Popko, head of the city’s civil and military administration, who urged people to stay in bomb shelters.
One person died and two more were wounded as a result of a missile strike on the village of Tsyrkuny in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, governor Oleg Sinegubov said.
The Russian defence ministry said that its forces hit “all” targets.
Moscow did not specify which targets had been hit, only saying it aimed at “large depots of foreign weapons and equipment as well as enemy reserves.”
G7 leaders arrived in Hiroshima in Japan to weigh tighter sanctions on Russia, surrounded by reminders of the harrowing cost of war.
An EU official said the leaders meeting in Japan would discuss sanctioning Russia’s billion-dollar trade in diamonds, hoping to further starve Moscow of funds for its war in Ukraine.
“We believe we need to limit exports from Russian trade in this sector,” the official said.
Separately, a train carrying grain derailed in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula in what Moscow-installed officials today called a deliberate act.
“Train carriages loaded with grain derailed in the Simferopol region,” said Crimea head Sergei Aksyonov. The railway operator said the incident was caused by “the intervention of third parties”.
Telegram channel Mash, which claims to have sources close to Russian law enforcement, said the disruption was caused by an explosive device that left a large crater.
One regional parliament member also said the incident was caused by an explosive device, without giving evidence.
Baza, another Russian Telegram outlet with police sources, distributed images of what it said was the aftermath of the incident, showing several overturned rail cars.
Earlier this month, explosive devices derailed two Russian trains in a region bordering Ukraine over consecutive days.
Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been hit intermittently by explosions at military facilities since Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
The grain deal came after Ukraine’s foreign minister met China’s special envoy in Kyiv, and insisted that the war-torn country would not accept any peace plan that relied on giving up territory.
China, a close ally of Moscow, has not publicly condemned Russia’s invasion, and envoy Li Hui sought to promote Beijing-led negotiations to resolve the conflict.
In his meeting with Li, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stressed “Ukraine does not accept any proposals that would involve the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict”, his ministry said.
Since Russia invaded, Western arms — mostly from the United States — have poured into Ukraine, including Patriot systems to help shield against relentless missile strikes targeting civilians and infrastructure.
One of only two Patriot systems confirmed to be in Ukraine was damaged by an unspecified projectile landing nearby, US officials confirmed Wednesday, though they said it was still functioning.
The Russian defence ministry said Tuesday that its forces had struck a Patriot system in Kyiv with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile, but the claim was not confirmed.
Ukraine’s air defences have played a key role in protecting the country from strikes and preventing Moscow’s forces from gaining control of the skies.
But as Russia faced increasing setbacks on the ground, it began air attacks that have disrupted electricity, water and heat to millions of people.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which has a central role in the grain deal, announced the two-month extension, saying Russia had agreed not to block ships from leaving two Ukrainian ports.
“These agreements matter for global food security; Ukrainian and Russian products feed the world,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
“I hope we will reach a comprehensive agreement to improve, expand and extend the initiative.”
Russia has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the deal, which was meant to expire on May 18, and again on Wednesday denounced “disparities” in how it is implemented.
Kyiv has accused Russia of effectively still blocking its ships by refusing to register them and conducting lengthy inspections.
“It’s a good thing that (the deal) has been extended,” said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. “Unfortunately, Russia continues even in a moment of extension to rhetorically hold it hostage in various ways.”
On the ground, fighting continued for control of the eastern town of Bakhmut.
Ukraine is seeking to take back territory occupied by Russian forces in the wake of the February 2022 invasion and also areas seized by Russia in 2014.
The battle for Bakhmut has turned into the longest standoff of the war. Ukraine is now saying it is advancing in the area, retaking Russian positions in its suburbs.
In a sign of the conflict’s toll on Russia’s economy, the statistics agency Rosstat said Wednesday that the country’s gross domestic product shrank by 1.9 percent in the first quarter of 2023.
The economy was weighed down by another wave of Western sanctions, including a ban by the European Union on Russian petroleum products, on top of an oil price cap agreed with the G7 and Australia.
© Agence France-Presse
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