MOSCOW reacted angrily yesterday after reporting that Ukrainian pilots hit one of its oil installations in Russia.
Footage showed two helicopters dropping S-8 missiles on a storage facility in Belogrod, sparking a massive fire and injuring two workers.
Despite continuing to slaughter Ukrainian women and children in indiscriminate assaults, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s minions argued Ukraine was to blame and threatened to pull out of peace negotiations.
“This is not anything that can be viewed as setting suitable conditions for the continuation of discussions,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
However, Ukraine claimed that Russian assertions that it was responsible for the hit “did not correspond to reality.”
It was Russia’s first successful airstrike since World War II.
And Moscow suffered a tremendous humiliation when Mad Vlad’s soldiers evacuated crucial Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky cautioned that, despite the fact that Russia has yet to conquer a major city after five weeks of fighting, the country has “battles ahead.”
“We still need to go down a very difficult route to obtain all we desire,” he remarked.
Ukraine has retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka, which are located on the important supply lines connecting Chernihiv and Kyiv.
And, after handing over responsibility of the extremely polluted Chernobyl nuclear facility to the Ukrainians, Russian forces left the heavily contaminated site early.
Energoatom, the state power provider, said the decision was made after troops absorbed “substantial doses” of radiation while excavating trenches in the forest in the exclusion zone around the shuttered facility.
In another another show of optimism for Ukrainians, Mayor Vitali Klitschko removed the alcohol prohibition in Kyiv yesterday.
The Sun saw the reopening of pubs and clubs in the southern port of Odessa, where live music had returned to the city after weeks of living under the dread of a Russian onslaught.
People drank shots while toasting “Slava Ukraini” — Glory to Ukraine — as enormous crowds celebrated in a magnificent show of defiance.
On Thursday night, local pin-up Valari, lead vocalist of The Cutes band, performed at Odessa’s More Music Bar.
“This is a f*** you to Vladimir Putin,” he shouted, holding the national flag behind the stage. You will not destroy us, nor will you destroy Ukraine.
After five weeks of warfare that has killed thousands and displaced four million people, a fresh round of talks has been arranged.
Oleksii Laremenko, Ukraine’s deputy health minister, claimed Russian forces were still targeting residential areas, hospitals, and social infrastructure across the war-torn nation.
The war in Ukraine, however, has been a “strategic disaster for Russia” and a “strategic failure for Putin,” according to the White House.
The UK will also provide single-use “loiter” weaponry similar to the Switchblade UAV used by the US.
Anti-aircraft and anti-ship systems might possibly be deployed to attack ships in the Black Sea.
In other news, Mr Zelensky has sacked two senior officers, dubbing them traitors in a rare display of dissent among Ukraine’s ranks.
He accused the two generals, both of whom worked for the national security service, of neglecting to safeguard the country.
“With regard to antiheroes,” he said. I don’t have time to deal with all of the traitors right now. But they will all be punished in time.”
It came as it was discovered that captive troops had been exchanged, with Ukraine claiming to have recovered 86, including 15 women.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, stated that the troops had “already returned home.”
“I would want to address all of our [people] who are still being kept captive: We will fight for everyone of you,” she stated. And will return you home. “Remain strong.”
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that an attempt to evacuate residents from the besieged city of Mariupol had been postponed.
“The ICRC team, which had been on its way to Mariupol on Friday to ensure the safe passage of civilians, was forced to return to Zaporizhzhia because preparations and conditions rendered it impossible to advance,” it stated.
It was also reported elsewhere that China attempted a cyberattack on Ukraine’s military and nuclear installations immediately prior to the invasion.
According to Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, over 600 websites were subjected to thousands of hacking attempts coordinated by the Chinese government.
