The Kremlin doubled down on warning that any deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine would represent a significant and dangerous escalation of tensions between Russia and the military alliance.
When asked to comment on a petition posted on the Ukrainian presidential website Tuesday calling for NATO troops from the US, UK and EU to be sent to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that such a move posed a “huge danger.”
Earlier Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters French troops will be targeted by the Russian army if they are deployed on Ukrainian soil.
In other news, Russia used more than 50 missiles and 20 drones to attack Ukraine’s infrastructure overnight, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday, with the country’s energy network suffering a “massive blow.”
DTEK, the largest energy company in Ukraine, said on Telegram that Russia had attacked three of its thermal power plants, causing “another extremely difficult night for the Ukrainian energy industry.”
Kyiv targeted in Russian air attack overnight, officials say
Ukraine’s military said Wednesday that the capital Kyiv was targeted by Russian missiles overnight.
“The Russians hit Kyiv with Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 cruise missiles, all targets were destroyed by air defense forces, there were no casualties,” the military said on Telegram.
Ruslan Kravchenko, the head of Kyiv regional military administration, said on Telegram that Russian forces had attacked the capital with one-way attack drones and cruise missiles. Air raid warnings lasted four hours, he said.
“No hits to residential or critical infrastructure objects were recorded,” he said, although falling debris (as a result of intercepted drones and missiles) injured several people and some residential buildings, he noted.
“Damage to power lines was recorded. One of the villages [in the Kyiv region] is partially without electricity. Energy workers are already working quickly to restore power,” he said.
Russia says it seized two more Ukrainian villages
Russian forces claimed Wednesday that they had seized two more villages in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.
Russia’s defense ministry said its central and western grouping of troops had occupied Novokalynove in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, and Kyslivka, in Kharkiv, northeast Ukraine.
The ministry did not provide evidence for its claims, announced on Telegram, although Russian forces have been making incremental advances in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks.
It was widely reported that Russian forces had been looking to try to capture the strategically-valuable town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk before the May 9 Victory Day military parade in Moscow, but the latest territorial gains, or “liberations” as Russia calls them, are not located near Chasiv Yar. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank noted Tuesday that “Russian forces continued assaults near Chasiv Yar on May 7, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline.”
Russian strike hits school sports field, injures children and adults
A Russian air strike hit a school sports field in Ukraine’s city of Kharkiv on Wednesday, injuring multiple children and adults, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.
Three male teenagers were injured while playing soccer, Syniehubov said, adding that two of them were in a serious condition and had been taken to hospital. A young girl as well as three adults were also injured, some of whom were also hospitalized, he said.
Railway station in Kherson targeted, state rail operator says
Railway infrastructure in the southern city of Kherson came under fire Wednesday, the state-owned rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said.
“Ukrzaliznytsia is under the enemy’s sights again! On the morning of May 8, the terrorist country attacked the civilian railway infrastructure in Kherson. As a result of enemy strikes, the tracks at the city station were damaged,” the railway network said on Telegram.
Railway officials limited the movement of a train on the Kyiv-Kherson route, but said 99 passengers on the affected train were safe. The rest of Ukrzaliznytsia’s trains continue to run according to schedule.
Russian officials continue to claim that their armed forces are not targeting civilian infrastructure.
Russia used more than 50 missiles and 20 drones in overnight attacks, Zelensky says
Russia used dozens of missiles and drones to attack Ukraine’s infrastructure overnight, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday morning.
“More than 50 rockets and more than 20 “shaheds” [drones] were used to hit infrastructure in the Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzia, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk also posted on the social media platform that, overnight, Russian forces had “launched a combined strike with missiles of various types and attack UAVs. In total, the enemy used 76 means of air attack – 55 missiles and 21 attack drones.”
“The whole world should clearly understand who is who,” Zelensky said.
“The whole world has no right to give Nazism another chance,” he said, noting that the latest attack took place on the international Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation commemorating those who died in World War II.
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
