…By Henry George for TDPel Media.
Russia launched a missile strike against several cities in Ukraine, killing at least 12 people, including three children, and injuring 17 others.
Vladimir Putin’s forces launched over 20 cruise missiles and two drones at the capital, Kyiv, and other parts of Ukraine.
Two missiles hit a nine-storey residential building in the central city of Uman, killing ten people, including two children, while another missile attack in the city of Dnipro killed a 31-year-old woman and her two or three-year-old daughter.
The death toll may rise further as rescuers continue to search for survivors in the rubble.
There were no direct hits reported in Kyiv, although fragments from intercepted missiles or drones damaged power lines and a road in one neighborhood.
Ukraine’s air defence system shot down 21 out of 23 missiles and two attack drones across the country.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attacks and called for global sanctions to be enhanced, stating that “evil can be stopped by weapons” and “every such attack, every evil act against our country and people brings the terrorist state closer to failure and punishment, not vice versa, as they think.”
Survivors of the missile strikes in Uman described the terrifying moments when the missiles hit.
Olha Turina, a resident, said, “all the glass flew out, everything flew out, even the chandelier fell.
Everything was covered in glass.
Then there was an explosion. … We barely found our things and ran out.”
The attacks come as Ukrainian forces prepare for a counter-offensive with new equipment, including tanks, supplied by Western allies.
The missile strikes are part of a deliberate intimidation strategy by the Kremlin, according to Ukrainian officials and analysts.
Russia has denied that its military aims at civilian targets, and there has been no immediate comment from the Kremlin on today’s strikes.
The attacks are the latest in a 14-month war between Ukraine and Russia, during which Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks that often indiscriminately hit civilian areas.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have remained high since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and a pro-Russian uprising erupted in eastern Ukraine.
The ongoing conflict has killed over 13,000 people, including civilians, and displaced millions.
The missile strikes are a clear violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and must be condemned by the international community.
The escalation of violence underscores the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.