At least two people were killed and 20 injured by a Russian strike on an apartment building on the morning of Monday, July 31, in Kryvyi Rig, in central Ukraine, according to a new report given by the Ukrainian Minister of Interior. “The Russians hit the city with two missiles,” one of which destroyed several floors of a “residential building,” Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram messaging.
Two people were killed and 20 were injured, he said, adding that “five to seven people are under the rubble”. The other missile hit the building of an educational institution, he added. “They hit residential buildings, a university building, a crossing. Unfortunately, there are dead and injured. There may be people under the rubble,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on Facebook, denouncing the “Russian terrorism”. On images of the strikes published on Facebook by the president, the corner of a destroyed multi-story apartment building can be seen blackened by flames. Debris littered the road past the building where firefighters were busy. The educational establishment is gutted in the middle, according to the images.
“Powerful day” for Ukraine on the front line, says Zelensky
A senior Ukrainian official reported heavy fighting in the northeast of the country, with Kyiv forces holding their lines and making gains in some areas. President Volodymyr Zelensky described Sunday as “a good day, a powerful day” at the front, particularly near Bakhmout, where Ukrainian forces say they are regaining ground lost when Russian forces took the town in May.
Reuters also reported that the Russian military said it had halted Ukrainian forces in the northeast. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian forces were “trying to drive us out” from high positions in the northeast occupied by Moscow after its February 2022 invasion but later taken over by Ukrainian troops.
Russia: drone attack on a police station in a region bordering Ukraine
A Ukrainian drone attack targeted a police station in the Russian region of Bryansk, bordering Ukraine, without causing any casualties, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz announced on Monday. “Ukrainian forces attacked the Troubchevsky district overnight,” Alexander Bogomaz wrote on Telegram. “A drone hit the police station in this district. No casualties,” he said, adding that the building’s windows and roof were damaged.
Drone attacks against Russian territory and the Crimean peninsula annexed in 2014 have multiplied in recent weeks, against the backdrop of a Kiev counter-offensive that began in early June. On Sunday morning, Russia announced that it had repelled two separate Ukrainian drone attacks overnight, one targeting the annexed Crimean peninsula and the other Moscow.
Attacks on Moscow and its surroundings, located about 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, have been rare since the start of the conflict in February 2022. In recent months, however, several drone incursions have targeted the Russian capital, including one against the Kremlin in last May.
New Ukrainian drone attacks in Moscow and Crimea
Russia announced on Sunday that it had repelled two separate Ukrainian drone attacks overnight, which targeted a major business district in Moscow and annexed Crimea, without causing any casualties. In Crimea, “sixteen Ukrainian drones were destroyed by anti-aircraft defense,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. “Nine other Ukrainian drones were neutralized by electronic warfare means and crashed in the Black Sea,” he added, adding that the attack had no casualties.
Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced on Telegram that “Ukrainian drones attacked last night. The facades of two office towers in the city were slightly damaged. wounded”. Several windows of these buildings in the business district of “Moscow City”, the most important of the Russian capital, were blown out, steel beams made visible and documents scattered on the ground, according to an AFP photographer.
The attack of three drones in total was also foiled, one was shot down and the other two “neutralized by electronic warfare”, crashing into a complex of buildings, according to the Russian ministry. Without mentioning this attack, Kiev having the habit of not claiming its possible operations carried out in Russia, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted on Sunday that the “war” is coming “on the territory of Russia, in its symbolic centers and its military bases “.
Pope calls on Russia to return to grain deal with Ukraine
Pope Francis on Sunday called on the Russian authorities to return to the agreement that allowed Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea despite the war, citing the millions of people suffering from hunger. “Let us not stop praying for the martyred Ukraine where the war destroys everything, including the wheat and this represents a serious offense to God, because the wheat is his gift to feed humanity and the cry of millions of brothers and sisters who suffer from hunger ascend to heaven”, he said after the Angelus prayer in front of thousands of pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter’s Square.
“I appeal to my brothers, the authorities of the Russian Federation, so that the Black Sea Initiative is restored and that the wheat can be transported in safety”, concluded the Argentine pope. In a post on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the “important call”.