00:41Russia: All targets were hit in missile strike against Ukraine's military command, associated energy facilities - Konashenkov
Missiles from the Russian Armed Forces were reportedly launched on Saturday against Ukraine's military command and energy facilities striking all designated targets, claimed Moscow’s Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov during a briefing on Sunday.
DefMin spokesperson added, that 'in Donetsk direction, assault forces of the Southern Military District, in cooperation with airborne units supported by Army Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery, successfully advanced in the direction of the northern suburbs of Artemovsk, Donetsk People's Republic, and the Sol railway station'.
"Over 80 Ukrainian servicemen, two tanks, three armoured fighting vehicles, and three motor vehicles have been neutralised during the past 24 hours," Konashenkov said.
In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Saturday that 'Russia has launched another heavy missile attack on Ukrainian cities' and 'more than 30 missiles launched towards Ukraine during the day, more than 20 were shot down'.
"In the city of Dnipro, a residential building has been destroyed in this Russian attack. The death toll is growing every hour. <…> Unfortunately, energy infrastructure facilities have also been hit. In this regard, the most difficult situation is in the Kharkiv region and Kiev region," Zelensky noted on his Telegram channel.
The adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Aleksey Arestovich said in a YouTube programme on Saturday that a missile that hit a nine-storey residential building in Dnipro was shot down by Ukrainian air defence forces.
"No one will blame Ukraine. <...> Everyone understands perfectly well - there would have been no Russian strike, there would have been no tragedy, regardless of the specific mechanism of its occurrence," Arestovich later wrote on his official social media page.
Nevertheless, the Air Force published a statement signed by Commander of the Air Force of Ukraine Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk denying Arestovych's claims. As stated, a Kh-22 missile launched from the Kursk Oblast hit the building at about 15:30 on Saturday.
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine have no firepower capable of shooting down this type of missile", affirmed Ukrainian Air Force.
In addition, a Saturday evening briefing by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that 'the enemy has not abandoned its intentions to fully capture Donetsk Region. To this end, it is concentrating its main efforts on offensive actions in the Bakhmut [Artemovsk] direction'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February after recognising the independence of the DPR and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
00:41Mandatory credit: Russian Ministry of Defence
Missiles from the Russian Armed Forces were reportedly launched on Saturday against Ukraine's military command and energy facilities striking all designated targets, claimed Moscow’s Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov during a briefing on Sunday.
DefMin spokesperson added, that 'in Donetsk direction, assault forces of the Southern Military District, in cooperation with airborne units supported by Army Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery, successfully advanced in the direction of the northern suburbs of Artemovsk, Donetsk People's Republic, and the Sol railway station'.
"Over 80 Ukrainian servicemen, two tanks, three armoured fighting vehicles, and three motor vehicles have been neutralised during the past 24 hours," Konashenkov said.
In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Saturday that 'Russia has launched another heavy missile attack on Ukrainian cities' and 'more than 30 missiles launched towards Ukraine during the day, more than 20 were shot down'.
"In the city of Dnipro, a residential building has been destroyed in this Russian attack. The death toll is growing every hour. <…> Unfortunately, energy infrastructure facilities have also been hit. In this regard, the most difficult situation is in the Kharkiv region and Kiev region," Zelensky noted on his Telegram channel.
The adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Aleksey Arestovich said in a YouTube programme on Saturday that a missile that hit a nine-storey residential building in Dnipro was shot down by Ukrainian air defence forces.
"No one will blame Ukraine. <...> Everyone understands perfectly well - there would have been no Russian strike, there would have been no tragedy, regardless of the specific mechanism of its occurrence," Arestovich later wrote on his official social media page.
Nevertheless, the Air Force published a statement signed by Commander of the Air Force of Ukraine Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk denying Arestovych's claims. As stated, a Kh-22 missile launched from the Kursk Oblast hit the building at about 15:30 on Saturday.
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine have no firepower capable of shooting down this type of missile", affirmed Ukrainian Air Force.
In addition, a Saturday evening briefing by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that 'the enemy has not abandoned its intentions to fully capture Donetsk Region. To this end, it is concentrating its main efforts on offensive actions in the Bakhmut [Artemovsk] direction'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February after recognising the independence of the DPR and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.