The death toll from the Dnipro apartment strike that occurred Saturday in the latest Russian assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has now risen to 44. That figure includes 4 children with an additional 79 people injured, and reports that many residents are still unaccounted for.
After allegedly suffering numerous casualties, Russian forces have deployed units of the self-propelled 2S4 Tyulpan, or Tulip, mortar, also known as the “Sledgehammer,” to Ukraine. The weapon is the world’s largest mortar and is capable of using a nuclear warhead on the battlefield.
Russia and its regional ally, Armenia, are struggling to maintain good relations after Armenia canceled planned military exercises with Russia, which were to be held under the countries’ Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
In a move that Russia is likely to interpret as an escalation, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Wednesday to provide French-made AMX-10 RC light tanks to Ukraine. Macron is the first Western leader to provide tanks to the war-torn country.
On Wednesday, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, announced that a Russian frigate armed with recently developed hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles will be deployed on a mission to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The mission could be seen as a warning to the West regarding its continued involvement in Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian officials on Thursday, multiple cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv, came under attack from a “massive” barrage of Russian missiles. Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said that more than 120 missiles had been launched across the country and had been targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Russian media reported Monday morning that a Ukrainian drone had attacked an airbase deep inside Russian territory, killing 3 soldiers. According to reports, the drone was intercepted before debris rained down on the base.
The governor of Belgorod Oblast said on Sunday that one civilian was killed, 8 others were injured, and a poultry farm sustained damage amid Ukrainian shelling that targeted the Russian city.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin made a questionable visit to neighboring Belarus, the Kremlin began calling on the U.S. to avoid further escalation of the war in Ukraine over Washington’s support for the war-torn country. The warning from the Kremlin comes as concerns mount that Belarusian forces could join the fighting in Ukraine and only days after the Pentagon announced that it would be providing long-range Patriot defense systems, with long-range missiles, to Ukraine.
Buried in a recently published New York Times deep dive into the last 10 months of the war in Ukraine is a little-known fact – Ukraine’s military and intelligence division attempted to assassinate the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov against the concerns of U.S. officials that it would lead to extreme Russian military escalation.