Ukraine Attacking Russia Amid Nuclear Worries
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russia faced major Ukrainian assaults Friday, with Kyiv determined to bring the war to Russian territory more than two years after Moscow invaded Ukraine, triggering Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.
On Friday, Russia began evacuating people from parts of its western region of Lipetsk after a “massive attack” by Ukrainian drones, regional governor Igor Artamonov said.
He wrote on social media early Friday that Lipetsk had “been subjected to a massive UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] attack.”
He later reported explosions “far from civilian buildings” and damage to a local power facility.
At least six people were injured, he said.
Shortly afterward, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti and TASS news agencies reported a fire had broken out at a military airfield outside Lipetsk, with a population of about half a million people.
However, Artamonov denied reports on social media that the entire city was evacuated, calling it “Ukrainian psychological warfare.”
VILLAGES EVACUATED
Lipetsk lies about 460 kilometers (286 miles) south of Moscow and about 300 kilometers (190 miles) from Ukraine’s eastern border.
Four villages were evacuated after a local emergency was declared in the Lipetsk municipal district.
It came as elsewhere, Russian troops battled to push back Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region on the fourth day of one of the largest cross-border incursions of the war.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Russian military and border guards have blocked Ukrainian forces from pushing deeper into the region in southwestern Russia.
It added that the army is attacking Ukrainian fighters trying to advance into the area from Ukraine’s Sumy region.
“Attempts by individual units to break through deep into the territory in the Kursk direction are being suppressed,” the ministry said.
TROOPS ADVANCING
Ukrainian troops had advanced as much as 15 kilometers (9 miles) into Russian territory, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
Kyiv has defended its tactics after Russia made gains on the battlefields.
However, the clashes highlighted international concerns about a broader conflict involving the U.S. and Russia, both nuclear-armed nations.
In a clear warning to the U.S. and allies supporting Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said in recent days it initiated a third and “final phase” of drills to practice the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons.
The exercises are being done in conjunction with Belarus, which has since last year played host to Russian tactical nuclear arms, raising concerns within the U.S.-led NATO military alliance.
It came as Ukraine received its first deliveryof U.S. F16 fighter jets that Kyiv says are needed to protect its airspace against Russian missiles and drones.
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