Russian mass attack on Ukraine: revenge for the Kursk operation?

On August 26, Russia again carried out a massive missile and UAVs attack on Ukraine. As a result of the Russian attack, 15 regions were affected today. More than a hundred missiles of various types and about a hundred “Shahed” drones. The enemy used various types of weapons: drones, cruise missiles, and “Kinzhals”.

Russian occupants hit an apartment building in Lutsk. According to the head of the regional military administration, the apartment building was damaged by fragments of a Russian drone, which caused a fire. According to the mayor of the city, Ihor Polishchuk, one person was killed in the attack at 8 a.m. 

Later, at about 10 am, another residential building in the regional center was damaged as a result of an enemy attack. Unfortunately, the attack resulted in one casualty. 

In the Kyiv region, missile attack by Russian aviation damaged infrastructure facilities, private homes, and commercial buildings. The number of wounded in the attack in Kyiv region increased to 3 people, including a 5-month-old child.

In the morning, the Russian army launched a missile attack in Odesa region. The target was the energy and civilian infrastructure of the region. Seven people were wounded in the attack, including a 10-year-old, 7-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl. This was reported by the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper.

There were also explosions in Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih. According to the head of the military administration, Serhiy Lysak, a 69-year-old man was killed in the shelling and several fires broke out.

Russia hit a private house in Zaporizhzhia district. A man was killed in the shelling, said Ivan Fedorov, head of the military administration. Another woman was also injured.

It is known that during the massive shelling in Rivne region, an energy infrastructure facility was hit. As a result of the attack, settlements in the area were cut off from electricity. Preliminary reports indicate no injuries or deaths.

As a result of the attack in Lviv region, energy facilities were damaged, causing power outages in Lviv and the region.

In the Poltava region, Russians hit an industrial facility. According to Philip Pronin, head of the Poltava regional military administration, five people were injured in the attack. As a result of the attack, emergency power outages were introduced in the region.

Three people were wounded in Mykolaiv region as a result of a massive rocket attack, reports Vitaliy Kim, head of the military administration.

In Sumy region, a railroad infrastructure facility was hit. The contact network and buildings were damaged, and an assistant driver was wounded. He was hospitalized, his life is not in danger.

The Russian army hit an infrastructure facility in Ivano-Frankivsk region. Three people were injured in the shelling, said Svitlana Onyshchuk, head of the regional power company.

Residential buildings and critical infrastructure facilities were damaged in Zhytomyr region. A woman was killed in a Russian missile attack, authorities said.

Explosions were also heard in Kharkiv. There was a hit in the Nemyshlyansky district in an open area – there were no casualties, said the head of the Regional military administration Oleg Sinegubov. In Kharkiv region, an industrial facility in the Izium district was hit. One person was killed and two people were wounded.

In Vinnytsia region, critical infrastructure facilities were hit, said Zabolotna, first deputy head of the Regional military administration. 

News media and their reaction to the Russian attack

The New York Times reported Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the Kursk region of Russia on Aug. 6, seeking to shift the dynamics of the war, and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had pledged a decisive response. It was not clear whether the attacks on Monday signaled part of that retaliation or whether Moscow was seeking to increase the pace of its military gains this year in the east of the country.

Reuters reported power cuts and water supply outages were reported in numerous places, including parts of Kyiv, as officials said the attack – 2-1/2 years into Russia’s full-scale invasion – targeted power or other critical infrastructure in at least 10 regions.

Monday’s missile and drone salvo was Russia’s most intense in weeks, coming as Ukraine is claiming new ground in a major cross-border incursion into Russia’s southern Kursk region while Russian forces steadily inch forward in Ukraine’s east, closing in on the transport hub of Pokrovsk.

South China Morning Post have not yet written anything about the morning shelling of Ukraine, the article will be updated.

Qatar state-owned media Al Jazeera write only about Ukraine called on Belarus to pull back what it described as significant levels of Belarusian forces and equipment, including tanks and artillery, deployed in the Gomel region at their common border. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned Belarus against making “tragic mistakes” while under pressure from Moscow. At the same time, there is no justification for the mass attack on Ukraine.

Reaction of Western and Ukrainian politicians to Russia’s missile attack on Ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the morning attack. He noted that the consequences of the Russian strike are now being dealt with across the country.

It was one of the largest strikes – a combined one. More than a hundred missiles of various types and about a hundred “Shahed”. And like most previous Russian strikes, this one is just as vile, targeting critical civilian infrastructure. It hit most of our regions, from Kharkiv and Kyiv to Odesa and the western regions. Unfortunately, there are casualties. My condolences to all the families and friends. There are dozens of wounded – everyone is being provided with the necessary assistance, – the President of Ukraine said.

The head of state also said that despite the large number of damages in the energy sector, restoration work is already underway. 

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security of Ukraine responded to the combined missile attack on Ukraine:

As the people of 15 regions of Ukraine are hit by wave after wave of Russian missiles, North Korean missiles and Iranian drones, we’d like to remind our US, UK and German partners that we know the exact launch positions of almost everything the Russians send. We again kindly ask that policies limiting our reach be updated.

Sergej Sumlenny, who is the managing director of the European Resilience Initiative Center, commented on the missile attack on Ukraine: 

President of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko reacted to the massive missile strike.

Today’s missile attack on Ukraine is not revenge for Kursk. This is revenge for the fact that we are Ukrainians and do not want to be with Russia. Only for this is Putin taking revenge, — Oleksiy Goncharenko wrote in the network Х.

 

The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal also said that 15 regions were affected by the Russian massive attack today.

Russian terrorists have once again targeted the energy infrastructure. Unfortunately, there is damage in a number of regions. Ukrenergo has been forced to use emergency power outages to stabilize the system. The heads of the Regional Military Administrations have been tasked to deploy the Unbreakable Points if necessary,  – said Denys Shmyhal.

 

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov comments on Russia’s morning attack:

Russia’s combined attack on Ukraine, aimed at destroying critical infrastructure and intimidating the civilian population, is not only an act of terror, but probably revenge for the operation in the Kursk region. This barbarism demonstrates that the dictator will not stop at any method to try to break the will of the Ukrainian people.

At this crucial moment, we once again call on our international partners to keep their promises regarding the supply of air defense systems to Ukraine, because the lives of millions of people depend on it. In addition, the US, Germany, Great Britain and France should remove all restrictions on long-range attacks by Western weapons deep into Russia.

It is difficult for Ukraine to fight the evil empire with its hands tied  – it is a battle not only for our freedom, but also for the peace and security of the entire civilized world, – said Volodymyr Savchenko, the head of The Ukrainian Review.

At the time of writing the article, the presidents of the world’s leading countries and the heads of international organizations have not commented on this morning’s attack at all.

Conclusion

This was one of Russia’s largest attacks on Ukraine in recent times, covering 15 regions of the country. The military strikes targeted critical infrastructure, residential buildings, and other civilian targets, resulting in widespread destruction, loss of life, and numerous injuries.

Given the events in Russia’s Kursk region, it is possible that these strikes are part of Russia’s “response” to Ukraine’s actions. However, Ukrainian and international politicians point out that this aggression is still aimed at intimidating the Ukrainian people and destroying infrastructure. Ukrainian government has already begun work on the aftermath, and reiterates the importance of support among allies to assist Ukraine in order to stop further attacks by Russia.

 

Kateryna Yashchuk