Ukrainian authorities on Monday opened a “criminal case” against Russian soldiers held responsible for the rocket attack that destroyed a nine-story apartment building in Ukraine and killed at least 40 people, one of Moscow’s deadliest attacks on civilians outside combat zones.
At least 25 people are still missing in Saturday’s attack in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, and rescue teams continued to search the rubble in hopes of finding survivors, Ukraine’s security service said. At least 75 were injured, including 14 children, in a building housing about 1,700 people.
Seventy-two apartments were destroyed and 236 were damaged, leaving hundreds of Ukrainians homeless in the middle of winter. The security service said several dozen Russian soldiers were involved, led by Colonel Timoshin Oleg Evgenievich, commander of the Russian 52nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment.
“The security service of Ukraine is making every effort to ensure that all those involved in the terrorist attack against citizens of Ukraine receive a well-deserved punishment,” the security service said in a statement.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the attack on civilians “inhuman aggression” and added: “There will be no impunity for these crimes.”
The United Nations said on Monday it has confirmed the deaths of about 7,000 Ukrainian civilians in the war, including nearly 400 children, while recognizing the true number is much higher.
Other developments:
►The German and Dutch foreign ministers condemned the deportation by Russians of thousands of Ukrainian children, calling it a deliberate policy of cruel and inhumane abduction that tears families apart. They demanded that Russia “take into account the whereabouts of these children”.
►Two alleged Russian agents were detained by Ukrainian counterintelligence forces in Kherson and Odessa. According to investigators, during the occupation of the city, the prisoners revealed to the Russians the secret bases of the Ukrainian armed forces in Kherson.
►The Russian and Belarusian air forces on Monday began two weeks of joint exercises in Belarus, which borders Ukraine and served as a staging post for the February 24 Russian invasion.
►Ukrainian Yulianna Tunitskaya won the gold medal at the 2023 World Youth Luge Championship in Austria.
THE DEATH TOLL IS RISING:Russian missile strike destroys apartments in Ukraine; Zelensky vows revenge
Ukrainian soldiers arrive in the US for Patriot air defense training
Soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine have arrived at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to begin Patriot air defense training, the Pentagon said. The same instructors who teach US, allied and partner nations will conduct the training, “and these classes will not detract from ongoing training missions,” the Pentagon statement said. The training is expected to take several months.
Last week, the Pentagon announced that about 100 Ukrainians would be trained in the Patriot missile defense system to counter Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lobbied for the system for months, saying it would make a significant difference in strengthening the country’s defenses. The US pledged one Patriot battery in December as part of one of several major military aid packages, and Germany pledged another last week. The truck-mounted launch systems can contain up to four missile interceptors, a ground radar, a control station and a generator.
Russia may raise the age limit for regular conscription from 27 to 30 to strengthen its armed forces
Rather than risk the public backlash that would surely come with a second “partial mobilization”, the Kremlin is considering raising the eligibility age for conscription, the This is reported by the British Ministry of Defence.
Extending the maximum age of eligibility for regular conscription from 27 to 30 could help Russia meet its stated goal of growing its armed forces by 30%, according to former deputy defense minister Andrey Kartapolov, who launched the idea last year. week forward.
The defense ministry said President Vladimir Putin expressed support for the plan last year, adding that “Russian leaders hope that a change to the age criteria for routine conscription could strengthen the personnel available to fight in Ukraine, while making it less seems alarming to the population” than any other mobilization. .
Ukrainian football team pledges $25 million to help soldiers
Rinat Akhmetov, owner of one of Ukraine’s most successful football teams, has pledged $25 million to help families of soldiers who defended Mariupol before the city fell to the Russian army in the spring. Akhmetov announced the donation a day after the team, Shakhtar Donetsk, signed a deal worth $108 million to sell winger Mykhailo Mudryk to British Premier League side Chelsea. Shakhtar said that the money promised by Akhmetov was not from the football transfer. Akhmetov says the donation funds medical and psychological support for soldiers and their families.
The team hails from Donetsk province, home to Mariupol and the site of some of the fiercest fighting in the war. Shakhtar Donetsk, ranked second in the 16-team league of Ukraine, has temporarily moved to the western city of Lviv.
Kremlin prepares for push in Ukraine
The Kremlin appears to be preparing for decisive strategic action in the next six months, designed to regain initiative and end Ukraine’s string of operational successes. warns a Washington-based think tank. The Institute for the Study of War says in its most recent assessment that while Russian President Vladimir Putin has not changed his objectives for the war, “there is growing evidence that he is changing fundamental aspects of Russia’s approach to the war.” “. Russia is forming new divisions, trying to revive its defense industrial base and trying to correct deficiencies in the chain of command, the assessment said.
“The Kremlin maintains its maximalist goals of conquering all of Ukraine, despite its poor warfare to date,” the assessment said.
German defense minister resigns
Germany’s embattled defense minister Christine Lambrecht resigned Monday after spending most of her year at work embroiled in controversy, starting with questions about her qualifications for the position. She was criticized for the German government’s reluctance to send weapons to Ukraine even before the war began. While the US and other countries supplied weapons in preparation for the Russian invasion last February, Germany offered to supply 5,000 military helmets. She was recently convicted of a New Year’s Eve post she posted on social media discussing the war in Ukraine to the sound of fireworks in the background.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to appoint her replacement on Tuesday.
Contributions: The Associated Press
