Day 358: Russia Launches Renewed Missile Strikes on Infrastructure Facilities.

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Facts

  • Russia launched renewed missile attacks on infrastructure facilities across Ukraine in overnight attacks on Thursday — striking sites in the central regions of Poltava and Kirovohrad as well as the western region of Lviv.1
  • Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, said Russia launched a total of 36 missiles, adding that 16 of them were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses. There were no reports of related civilian casualties at this stage.2
  • An additional Russian attack was also recorded in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, striking the city of Pavlohrad. One civilian was reported killed and seven more were injured.3
  • Meanwhile, in Russian attacks on the Donetsk region over the past day, Ukrainian officials said six civilians were killed and 13 more were injured.4
  • Elsewhere, after initially pledging two battalions of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine — equivalent to 62 vehicles — German defense minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday that it's proving difficult to deliver that many vehicles at this stage. He noted that, as things stand, Germany will send 14 Leopard 2 tanks while Portugal will deliver three.5
  • In other news, in video captured by the Associated Press, a mercenary fighting for Ukraine could be seen wearing what appears to be a patch belonging to the terror group Islamic State. Russia has previously accused Ukraine of recruiting Islamic State fighters from Syria, but Kyiv denied the allegation.6

Sources: 1Ukrinform (a), 2Ukrinform (b), 3Ukrinform (c), 4Ukrinform (d), 5Ukrainska pravda and 6Hindustan times.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CNBC. Russia's deliberate targeting of energy infrastructure — unnecessarily increasing the suffering of civilians — amounts to war crimes. This continuing barbarity must be confronted.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Tass. Attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are a direct consequence of the failure of the country's leadership to meaningfully engage in peace talks and mistaken belief they can defeat Russia on the battlefield. These attacks will stop once a more sober position is reached.

Predictions