Ukraine Says Several Die in Russian Attacks Amid Worries Over New Weapon (Worthy News Radio)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Kyiv said Wednesday that several people died in Russian attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine amid concerns about a new drone being used by Moscow. It follows a night when more than a dozen Russian drones and a missile targeted military and critical infrastructure.
The eastern Ukrainian city had been abandoned last year by hastily retreating Russian forces. But on Wednesday, Russia reportedly struck Kherson again in an attack that the governor says killed one person and injured two others. Another drone strike was said to have killed another 59-year-old woman in Nikopol in southern Ukraine.
Wednesday’s strikes came after Ukraine’s Air Force noted that Russia launched a score of drones and a missile in an overnight attack that targeted military and critical infrastructure.
Regional officials said the Kremenchuk oil in the central region of Poltava was struck, setting it ablaze.
Yet the air force said it prevented more damage by destroying 18 of the 20 Russian-launched Shahed drones before they reached their targets, as was the missile.
However, a senior United Nations official said Russian strikes were inflicting “unimaginable suffering” on the people of Ukraine and that more than 18 million Ukrainians – 40 percent of the population – needed humanitarian assistance.
Ramesh Rajasingham, the director of coordination in the UN humanitarian office, said thousands of civilians had been killed in strikes on homes, schools, fields, and markets since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
NEW DRONE
It comes amid Western concerns that Russia is using new Lancet kamikaze drones at the front to attack Ukrainian Defence Forces artillery.
The British Ministry of Defense said Russia’s Lancet drone is designed to be piloted at a distance over enemy territory. It “waits until a target is identified before diving towards it and detonating.”
The ministry warns that with its attack capability, Lancet has been a step change in how Russia uses this category of weapons.
Western leaders seem to suggest that it underscores the need for more funding for Ukraine’s military as it slowly progresses in its counter-offensive against invading Russian troops.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Russia would be successful in Ukraine unless Washington’s support for Kyiv continued. “You know, in Ukraine, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has felt that he can wait us out. And that’s part of his strategy, the main part of his strategy,” he said.
“He feels that the West will get tired of supporting Ukraine, and he’ll soon have his way. If that’s the case, if we don’t support Ukraine, then Putin wins. But Putin will not stop in Ukraine. We know that we all know that. And so I think it is important to do what’s necessary to support Ukraine and Israel and to help them defend their sovereign territory,” Austin added.
He suggested that without Western military support for Ukraine, Russia would feel strong enough to attack other nations. “And you know there is no question in my mind that sooner or later there will be, he will challenge [the Western military alliance] NATO, and we`ll find ourselves in a shooting match.”
He spoke at a U.S. Senate hearing on Joe Biden’s request for $106 billion to fund plans for Ukraine, Israel, and American security. Yet, with more weapons arriving, there is also concern about a rushing death toll in a war that is believed to have killed and injured hundreds of thousands since Russia’s military invaded Ukraine in February last year.
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