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Ukraine conflict – day 286: Moscow accuses Kyiv of 'nuclear terrorism' at Zaporizhzhia
CGTN
Europe;Ukraine
Critical power infrastructure was hit during a Russian missile attacks in Odesa region. /State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters
Critical power infrastructure was hit during a Russian missile attacks in Odesa region. /State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters

Critical power infrastructure was hit during a Russian missile attacks in Odesa region. /State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters

TOP HEADLINES

· A third Russian airfield has been set ablaze following a drone strike, a day after Ukraine used its new ability to enter hundreds of kilometers deep into Russian air space with attacks on two Russian air bases.

· Russia said three of its military personnel were killed in two of the Ukrainian drone attacks on its air bases, while another set fire to an oil storage tank. Kyiv has not directly claimed responsibility for the strikes.

· Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said Ukraine's continued shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was deliberately creating the threat of a catastrophe in what he described as "nuclear terrorism." Ukraine denies shelling the Russian-controlled facility.

· Ukraine's air force said that over 60 missiles of the more than 70 fired at Ukraine by Russia had been shot down.

· About half the region surrounding Kyiv will remain without electricity for the coming days after the latest Russian missile strikes on power facilities. The U.S. is convening a virtual meeting with oil and gas executives to discuss how it can support Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

· Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited troops in the eastern Donbas region to mark Armed Forces Day. "Thank you for this resilience and strength. You are an outpost of our independence," he wrote on Telegram post.

· Russia is set to receive 60 soldiers in a prisoner swap with Ukraine on Tuesday, according to Moscow.

· Opposition representatives from five Russian regional councils have sent appeals urging President Vladimir Putin to end the country's partial military mobilization for its war in Ukraine.

· The Kremlin has said it agrees with the U.S. about the need for lasting peace in Ukraine, but does not see the prospect of negotiations at the moment, after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the conflict would end "almost certainly with diplomacy."

A satellite image shows bomber aircrafts at Engels Air Base in Saratov, Russia. /Satellite image 2022 Maxar Technologies/Reuters
A satellite image shows bomber aircrafts at Engels Air Base in Saratov, Russia. /Satellite image 2022 Maxar Technologies/Reuters

A satellite image shows bomber aircrafts at Engels Air Base in Saratov, Russia. /Satellite image 2022 Maxar Technologies/Reuters

IN DETAIL

Ukraine uses drones to strike deep into Russian territory

A third Russian airfield was set ablaze on Tuesday from a drone strike, a day after Ukraine schowcased its apparent new ability to attack hundreds of kilometers deep into Russian air space with two strikes on Russian air bases.

Officials in the Russian city of Kursk, located closer to Ukraine, released pictures of black smoke above an airfield after the latest strike. The governor said an oil storage tank there had been set alight but there were no casualties.

The attack comes one day after Moscow confirmed it had been hit alleged Soviet-era drones – at Engels air base, home to Russia's fleet of giant strategic bombers, and in Ryazan, just a few hours' drive from Moscow. Kyiv has not overtly claimed responsibility for the strikes but celebrated them.

"If Russia assesses the incidents were deliberate attacks, it will probably consider them as some of the most strategically significant failures of force protection since its invasion of Ukraine," Britain's defense ministry said.

"The Russian chain of command will probably seek to identify and impose severe sanctions on Russian officers deemed responsible for allowing the incident."

Russia's defense ministry said three service members were killed in the attack at Ryazan. Although the attacks struck military targets, it said they were acts of terrorism, adding that the aim was to disable Moscow's long-range aircraft.

Ukraine never admits responsibility for attacks inside Russia. When asked about the attacks, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleskiy Reznikov repeated a longstanding joke that explosions at Russian bases were caused by careless cigarette smokers.

"Very often Russians smoke in places where it's forbidden to smoke," he said.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the attacks on the long-range aircraft airbase would complicate Moscow's operation against Ukraine. "Yesterday, thanks to their unsuccessful smoking, we achieved a very big result," he said.

The Tupolev long-range bombers that Russia stations at Engels air base are an important part of its strategic nuclear arsenal, similar to the B-52s deployed by the U.S. during the Cold War. Russia has used them in its campaign since October to destroy Ukraine's energy grid with near weekly waves of missile strikes.

The Engels base, near the city of Saratov, is at least 600 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian territory.

Russia responded to Monday's attacks with what it called a "massive strike on Ukraine's military control system."

Source(s): Reuters

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