In addition to energy sites, railways are also increasingly targeted in Russian raids on Ukraine, which aim to disrupt the supply lines to the war effort and the country’s daily life, while on the ground Moscow’s offensive continues in the east and south and the government is grappling with its most serious corruption scandal. Since July, bombings on the railway system have increased threefold, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said. “Since the beginning of the year there have been 800 attacks on railway infrastructure and over 3,000 have been damaged,” Kuleba reported, quoted by the Guardian, speaking of damages of a billion dollars. Moscow continues to say it targets only military targets, namely energy infrastructure that powers the defense industrial complex and railway lines that transport weapons and troops to the front. But it is impossible to distinguish the damage caused to the Ukrainian armed forces from that inflicted on the civilian population. Meanwhile, Kiev continues to be shaken by the corruption scandal in the energy sector, which has so far led to the indictment of seven people and the resignation of two ministers, and is touching President Volodymyr Zelensky with the accusations made against his collaborator Timur Mindich. The National Anti-Corruption Office said it had presented a motion to arrest former deputy prime minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, while the Ukrainian leader tried to react by announcing a reform of all national bodies in the name of transparency, with a complete “financial audit” and the change of directors. After the massive raids that took place during the night between Thursday and Friday, the Ukrainians reported further attacks with three missiles and 135 drones, with a death toll of at least three in the Kherson region and one in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukrainian forces continue drone raids on Russian energy infrastructure. The General Staff said that another oil refinery, in Ryazan, was hit with “numerous explosions” and a “large fire”. On the ground, the epicenter of the fighting remains Pokrovsk, where the Russians claim to have continued their advance in the western, north-western and eastern parts of the town over the last 24 hours. The Ukrainians claim to have blown up the road connecting the city to Selydove, a town about twenty kilometers to the south, in to the Russians. According to the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Ukrainian air assault forces, which also publishes what it describes as a video of the action, it allowed the enemy to be prevented from “using this route to infiltrate Pokrovsk with light vehicles”. another village, Yablokovo, while the southern Ukrainian forces have announced their withdrawal from the settlement of Novovasylivske in order to assume “more favorable defensive positions”. The EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, has meanwhile intervened with a video message at the Marathon for Peace organized by the CISL in Rome, stating that “Europe must speak in a language that Russia understands: that of force”. But it is not yet clear whether within the EU an agreement will be found to use the frozen Russian assets or, to support Kiev, it will be necessary to resort to other instruments. Italy, meanwhile, is “about to send another package of military aid”, announced Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. “Not because we are at war with Russia but because we want Ukraine to be able to defend itself while waiting for a confrontation to reach a ceasefire”, he underlined.
John
John, founder of Odnako, combined his journalism degree with technical expertise to revolutionize global news consumption. Before Odnako's 2011 launch, he gained diverse experience across the media and tech fields, setting a solid foundation for his mission to provide comprehensive, unbiased news. His vision and leadership have since established Odnako as a trusted, innovative news platform worldwide.