With a huge wave of bombing that hit the infrastructure and buildings of ten of its regions Ukrainianshe answered Russia in recent attacks on its border areas and in the stubborn resistance of the Ukrainians who defended Bahamut and other cities of Donbass.

Anti-aircraft alarm sirens woke up residents of Kyiv and many other urban centers early in the morning, from Kharkiv in the northeast to Lvov in the west and from Ddipro in central Ukraine to Odessa on the Black Sea. At least nine people have died.

air strikes

It was the first wave of bombing raids since mid-February, when the Russians temporarily halted their repeated airstrikes that began in October last year. According to Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzny, in total, the Russian military launched 81 missiles and eight Iranian-made kamikaze drones. According to him, the Ukrainian air defense managed to destroy 34 missiles and four enemy drones. “All the occupying forces can do is terrorize civilians. But that won’t help them. They will not shirk responsibility for what they have done,” said Mr. Vladimir Zelenskyand Joe Biden called the attack “heartbreaking”.

The peculiarity of yesterday’s bombing is that the Russians put their heavy artillery on the battlefield, that is, some of their most modern and expensive weapons systems. According to Kyiv, six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which can also carry nuclear warheads, were used for the first time in the Ukrainian war. Western agencies report that Russia only has a few dozen Kinzhal missiles, which President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly praised, arguing that NATO does not yet have defense systems capable of intercepting them.

The Kremlin insists that the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline would not have been possible without state support.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that these missiles were used. In a statement yesterday, he spoke of a “massive retaliatory strike” against attacks by “terrorists” in Russia’s border regions last week. The same statement mentions that the targets of yesterday’s bombing were drone bases, military factories and railways that transport weapons and troops. On the part of Kyiv, it was announced that as a result of the Russian bombardment, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, was de-energized for several hours. The technicians operating it were forced to activate a backup power system that consumes diesel fuel to avoid the threat of a meltdown of nuclear reactors. The Russian state atomic energy agency Rosenergoatom, which oversees the plant because it is under Russian occupation, said there was “no threat or risk of a nuclear accident” and that “experts work professionally at the plant.” However, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is more concerned. “Every time we roll the dice. And if we do this over and over again, someday we will be out of luck, ”he said.

In the meantime, the hype continues around the reports of American and German media, which attribute to a group of “pro-Ukrainians” without cover from the Kyiv government the sensational sabotage of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline. Commenting on this scenario, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “it is hard to believe that someone evil organized the attack. It was a difficult task, which only a well-organized state institution could do.” The Russian official repeated Moscow’s demand for an international investigation, which would also involve the Russian side.

swedish law

In Stockholm, the Swedish government introduced a new anti-terrorism bill in an attempt to fend off Turkey’s opposition to the country’s NATO membership. Ankara is pushing for a tougher Swedish stance on Kurdish “terrorists” and is threatening to only accept Finland and not the Swedes, who applied for membership at the same time as their neighbors.

Zelensky calls McCarthy

Volodymyr Zelensky has extended an invitation to U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine as Republicans who control the body appear divided over continued economic and military aid to his country. In an interview with CNN, the Ukrainian president said: “Mr. McCarthy should come here, see how we work, what the war has done to us and who is fighting. And then let him draw his own conclusions. Before being elected Speaker of the House, McCarthy said he had no intention of signing “blank checks” for Ukraine. He insisted on this position when he was asked about Zelensky’s proposal addressed to him. “I’ll be very clear: no blank checks. Fine; Therefore, from this point of view, I do not need to go to Ukraine, they will continue to inform me.” However, Zelensky did not fail to thank the US Congress for the “cross-party consensus” around helping his country.