Sunday, May 4, 2025
HomeForeignUkraine War: Russian Missiles Pound Major Cities Days After Kherson Pull-Out

Ukraine War: Russian Missiles Pound Major Cities Days After Kherson Pull-Out

Russia has launched one of its biggest barrages of missiles yet against Ukraine, days after its troops were forced to withdraw from Kherson.

The capital Kyiv was among the cities hit, with officials saying at least one person was found dead.

There were strikes across Ukraine, from Lviv in the west to Chernihiv in the north.

As well as following Russia’s setback in Kherson, the attacks come as world leaders meet at the G20 in Bali.

There Moscow faced fierce condemnation for the war in Ukraine.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said several Russian missiles were shot down but warned that at least half of Kyiv’s residents were without electricity due to emergency outages, in what he called a “necessary step to balance the power system”.

Describing the situation as “critical”, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, accused Russia of carrying out “another planned attack on energy infrastructure facilities”.

He said the situation in Kyiv, in particular, was “extremely difficult”.

Air raid alerts sounded across the country on Tuesday, with reports of power outages in several cities. There are no further details on casualties at this stage.

In video shared by President Zelensky’s office, what looks like a block of flats can be seen on fire, with flames billowing from windows.

A 22-year-old resident, Oleksandra, told Reuters news agency that she saw from her window “as the rocket was flying, a bright fire, and the sound of something flying very close by”.

Andriy Yermak, a presidential adviser, said the strikes were Russia’s response to President Zelensky’s “powerful speech” to the G20 summit.

During the virtual speech, Mr Zelensky addressed what he referred to as “G19” leaders – snubbing Moscow – and said he was “convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped”.

A draft declaration from the summit, seen by news agencies, said “most” countries agreed the war was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy.

Mr Lavrov said the declaration had been “politicised” by Ukraine’s Western allies.

In the past week Moscow has pulled its troops from the southern city of Kherson, the only regional capital it captured since launching its invasion in February.

These strikes are the first by Russia since the withdrawal was completed.

When Moscow has suffered losses on the ground during this war, it has often taken to the air to retaliate.

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular

Latest Post