Ukrainian officials and media sources have confirmed the massive overnight airstrike initiated by Russia across the Ukrainian territories. Air raid alerts resurfaced across the country for many hours and huge explosions were heard in nine out of the twenty-four regions of Ukraine.
Several injured, houses damaged and public transport disrupted
Sweeping airstrikes by Russia has injured atleast four railway workers in Kirovohrad, the central region of Ukraine and has also severely damaged the railway network and public infrastructure of the region. Ukraine’s state-owned railway department confirmed on Telegram messaging app, that the injured workers are admitted to the nearby hospital and railway services have been interrupted and delayed due to the Russian airstrikes.
Meanwhile Ukraine’s emergency services reiterated on the Telegram platform that five people were injured and twenty-eight houses were damaged in the Znamianka community of the Kirovohrad region, as an impact of severe airstrikes by Russia.
In the western city of Khmelnytskyi, public transportation system was severely disrupted due to the Russian air strikes. The regional administrative body confirmed the “significant schedule disruptions” in the movement of public transport. Regional governor also raised concerns about the fires and damages to the residential buildings.
Poland opens defensive shields
Poland, the western neighbour of Ukraine and a NATO ally opened its aircrafts and other military defensive mechanisms to shield its nation, people and the strategic assets from the massive Russian air strikes. The strikes on Ukraine can have a spill-over effect on Poland due to the geographical proximity.
“The Russian Federation once again is carrying out strikes on targets located on the territory of Ukraine”, the armed forces command of Poland mentioned in a post on the X platform.
Air attacks on Ukraine amid Putin visit to China
The Russian air strikes on Ukraine come at a critical juncture, when Russian President Vladimir Putin is not in Kremlin and is attending a military parade in China, to mark the end of the World War 2. During the SCO Summit in Tianjin China on September 1, Russian President Putin had asserted that the Ukraine war is not due to an invasion by Russia, but it is an offshoot of a coup d’état that originated within Kiev.
Meanwhile, Kremlin is also clear on its stance with respect to striking a peace deal to end the more than three year-old conflict. It affirms for no NATO presence in Ukraine or anywhere in Russia’s proximity, recognition of the annexed regions of Ukraine as Russian territories, lifting of the western sanctions on Moscow etc.
Trump’s peace efforts is in doldrums
The most striking factor in the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict is, US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts have been repeatedly shattered. The high-stake Alaska summit, the repeated white-house drama with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and irrational tariff threats on countries like India apparently to end the war in Europe, every political stunt of Trump is going in vain, given the current situation in the battle ground.
Ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict was one of the key election promises of Donald Trump during the campaign, as he claimed about the wastage of US resources due to war in Europe. Trump also had asserted that, if elected to power, he would end the ‘endless wars’ unravelling across the globe within days. However, US President is unable to realize his goals of ending the war either in Europe or in West Asia and iis struggling to champion his ambition of being the global ‘peacemaker’, though it’s been almost 10 months in the Oval office. Apparently, ‘realpolitik’ and the trajectory of 21st century geopolitics is quite different than the ambitious calculations and priorities of the US President.
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