Russia launches a large-scale attack on Ukraine, killing 3 and wounding dozens
Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) – Russia launched a large -scale missile on Saturday and drones targeting the regions of Ukraine, killing at least three people and injuring dozens of others, said Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that attacks had taken place in nine regions, notably Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaviv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, kyiv, Odesa, Sumy and Kharkiv.
“The objective of the enemy was our infrastructure, our residential areas and our civilian companies,” he said, adding that a missile equipped with cluster ammunition struck a several floors building in the city of Dnipro.
“Each of these strikes is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy of Russia to intimidate civilians and destroy our infrastructure,” he said in a statement on his official telegram.
At least 26 people were injured in the attack on the Central region of Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine, local governor Serhii Lysak said. Several buildings and high height houses have been damaged in the eastern city of Dnipro.
In the kyiv region, local authorities said there had been strikes in the Bucha, Boryspil and Obukhiv regions. A house and cars have been damaged. In the western region of LVIV, Governor Maxim Kozytsky said two cruise missiles had been slaughtered.
Russia has launched 619 drones and missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said in a statement. A total of 579 drones, eight ballistic missiles and 32 cruise missiles were detected. Ukrainian forces have shot down and neutralized 552 drones, two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles.
“During air strike, tactical aviation, in particular F-16 fighters, actually worked on enemy cruise missiles. Western weapons prove their effectiveness on the battlefield,” the air force said in a press release.
Russia denies having violated the airspace of Estonia
The Ministry of Defense of Russia denied that its planes violated Estonia airspace, after Tallinn reported that three fighter planes crossed its territory on Friday without authorization and stayed there for 12 minutes.
The incident, described by the first diplomat in Estonia as an “unprecedented” foray, occurred a little more than a week after NATO planes shot down Russian drones on Poland, which hung the fears that the Moscow War against Ukraine can fend for itself.
In an online statement published early Saturday, Moscow stressed that his fighter planes had maintained neutral waters of the Baltic Sea more than 3 kilometers (1.8 mile) from Vaindloo Island in Estonia in the Gulf of Finland.
“On September 19, three mig-31 fighter planes completed a planned Karelia flight to an aerodrome in the Kaliningrad region,” he said, referring to the Russian enclave taken in sandwich between Polish and Lithuanian territory.
“The flight was carried out strict compliance with international airspace regulations and has not violated the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective surveillance,” the press release said without providing details on the surveillance operation.
On Friday, Estonian officials said Tallinn summoned a Russian diplomat to protest and also moved “to start consultations between the allies” within the framework of article 4 of NATO, which stipulates that the parties conferred whenever territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
