Renewed Russian Strikes Adding To Anxiety in Ukraine (Worthy News Radio)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Pope Francis, who admitted to organizing a peace mission, has appealed for prayers and peace in Ukraine after residents in Kyiv were kept awake overnight by the first massive Russian drone strike in nearly two weeks. Attacks were also reported elsewhere, including in southern Ukraine, where several residents were injured. The ongoing clashes added to the suffering of the people Francis described as “tried.”
Air raid sirens wailed across Kyiv rousing bleary-eyed residents, Worthy News observed. The overnight Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital came after a 12-day break.
Blasts resembling the sound of air defense systems hitting targets could be heard, and orange flashes were visible in the sky.
Ukrainian authorities later claimed that their air defense systems destroyed all targets on their approach. Military officials say Russian shelling also hit a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Sunday, injuring several people.
The shelling reportedly struck a high-rise residential building, a pharmacy, and a restaurant. The victims, now being treated in hospital, include a 50-year-old man. Heavy combat between Ukrainian and Russian forces is said to be continuing in Kherson, near the destroyed Antonivsky Bridge over the Dnipro River.
While Ukraine has claimed some progress in its counter-offensive against invading Russian troops, all is not well at the frontline as criticism has emerged over at least some Western weapons.
COMPLAINTS OVER WEAPON
A Ukrainian commander complained that the highly mobile French AMX-10 RC infantry fighting vehicles – sometimes described as light tanks – are “impractical” for frontline attacks. He said one four-person crew had already died because of the vehicle’s thin armor.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked French President Emmanuel Macron recently for sending light combat tanks to Kyiv, and Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, was even filmed riding in one.
Yet after nearly 500 days of war, residents try to cope with the anxiety linked to an armed conflict that killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of people. “Even in this summer period, let us never tire of praying for peace,” said Pope Francis, speaking to the faithful in Vatican city on Sunday, after earlier admitting that the Vatican was attempting to reach peace between Russia and Ukraine. “In a special way, pray for the people of Ukraine who are so tried.”
Across Ukraine’s border in Poland, where more than 3.5 million refugees from Ukraine have arrived since Russia’s invasion in February last year, there are concerns about the war’s regional impact.
On Sunday, Poland’s government announced it would send 500 special police officers to its border with Belarus, a close ally of Russia.
Last week, Warsaw announced a tightening of security due to concerns over the presence of the Russian Wagner mercenary group in Belarus. Russian president Vladimir Putin offered Wagner forces the choice to relocate to that country. But that has led to fears in Poland and other eastern members of the NATO military alliance that their presence will cause greater instability in the region.
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