Day 475: Russian missile strike kills 11, injures dozens in Kryvyi Rih

A Russian missile strike hits Kryvyi Rih, killing 11 and injuring dozens. Ukrainian troops advance in three areas of the front line. Ukraine eyes Australian F-18s to boost air capabilities.

Russian missile strike hits Kryvyi Rih, killing 11, injuring dozens

Overnight on June 13, an air raid alert was declared all across Ukraine. Russia conducted another major drone and missile strike, targeting Kyiv and other cities in various parts of the country. In Kryvyi Rih, in Dnipropetrovska region, missiles hit an apartment building and a warehouse. A few hours later, Russia launched more missiles. An air raid alert lasted more than an hour in all of Ukraine. 

A Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih claimed 11 lives. Four people were killed in a five-story apartment building, and seven more in a warehouse of a private company. “That was a warehouse of bottled water employing about 25 workers that stayed open around the clock. The water was sent to destinations across Ukraine. A few days ago, several trucks of water were sent to Kherson,” Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told the local TV channel “Rudana”.

The missile strike damaged a 600-square-meter warehouse facility and ignited a fire at a smaller one, a 60-square-meter building. The fire was extinguished. Six cars were damaged. The youngest of the victims at the warehouse was 17. June 14 is a day of mourning for the victims of the attack.

Kryvyi Rih’s mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said that a further of 28 people were wounded, twelve of them were in hospital and three were in critical condition. The injuries include burns, fractures, and lacerated wounds, a chief doctor of one of Kryvyi Rih’s hospitals told reporters. Some patients suffer burns covering 100 per cent and 80 per cent of their bodies, she added.

A residential building that was hit by a missile, caught fire. Rescue workers and police rescued 12 unconscious people from the building, a move that saved their lives, head of the Dnipropetrovska regional council Mykola Lukashuk said.

Sixty apartments were destroyed, head of the Dnipropetrovska regional military administration Serhiy Lysak said.

A Russian missile strike hitting an apartment building in Kryvyi Rih is yet another terror attack, head of the joint press center of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine, Natalia Humenyuk said.

“[The strikes] destroyed civilian and industrial sites, including a rescue station. The enemy has gone hysterical and tries to attack various regions of Ukraine, including the capital and the areas that they assume are strategical for the advance of Ukraine’s defense forces,” Humenyuk said on television. 

She said Russia wants to cut Ukrainian supply lines that go into the frontline, but hits residential areas instead.

Ukrainian troops advance in three areas of front line as counteroffensive unfolds

Despite Russia’s recent missile strikes on Ukraine’s cities far from the frontline, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to conduct counteroffensive operations. On June 13, there were more reports of Ukrainian gains.

On the afternoon on June 13, spokesperson for the Ukrainian General Staff Andriy Kovalyov said that the troops of a strike group of Ukraine’s defence forces advanced by 500 metres to 1 kilometer on the Berdyansk front over the past 24 hours. Ukrainian troops have retaken up to three square kilometers, he added. The line of advance is likely south of Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk region toward Berdyansk, where several villages were liberated in the past days. 

On the Bakhmut axis, Ukrainian troops continue assault operations. They have advanced 250 meters near the Berkhivka reservoir, north of Bakhmut, the spokesperson for the General Staff said.

They also advanced 200 meters on the Toretsk front, south of Bakhmut, he added.

Ukrainian troops did not lose positions across the lines of defense in the past day, despite Russia’s heavy artillery and air strikes, Kovalyov said. 

Ukraine eyes Australian F-18s to boost air capabilities

Ukraine has asked Australia about the condition of dozens of retired F-18 fighter jets, the country’s ambassador told AFP on Tuesday, eyeing a potential weapons transfer that could significantly boost Kyiv’s airpower.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko said an initial request had been made about the state of an estimated 41 planes that are making way for state-of-the-art F-35s.

“There has been a request for information,” he said. “Ukraine is looking at fighter jet capabilities, including this one,” he added.

Mick Ryan, a strategist and retired Australian major general, told AFP that the F-18s could help “level the playing field” against Russia’s larger and better-equipped air force, and prevent strikes on Ukrainian towns, cities and critical infrastructure.

The F/A-18 Hornet is a carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft in the 1970s. The F/A-18 is the main fighter aircraft of the U.S. Air Force, and is in service with a number of European and Asian nations. The aircraft is unofficially referred to as the F-18.

Climate Crisis on the Frontlines: Another Consequence of Russia’s war. Ukraine in Flames #460

Russia’s war in Ukraine has far-reaching consequences for the environment and climate change on a global scale. Through their military actions, Russia has not only caused widespread destruction of infrastructure but has also escalated greenhouse gas emissions and triggered devastating fires. The war alone is responsible for generating millions of tons of CO2 equivalent emissions each month. Adding to the environmental toll, Russia’s recent act of terrorism involving the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP dam has resulted in extensive flooding and exacerbated the negative climate impacts. Watch Ukraine in Flames episode #460 to learn more about what is being done and what needs to be done to protect the environment in a country at war.

Guests:

  • Yevheniia Zasiadko, head of the climate department at the NGO Ecodia 
  • Mykola Shlapak, PhD in Economics, environmental consultant
  • Viktoriia Kireeva, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine
  • Olha Polunina, Executive Director of the NGO “Ecodiya”