Launch of Russian missiles results in destruction of fuel storage site in southern side of Ukraine
\n Mykolaiv
\nRussia said Sunday it had again fired its newest hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, destroying a fuel storage site in the country\u2019s south.
\n\u201cKinzhal aviation missile systems with hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large storage site for fuels and lubricants of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlement of Kostyantynivka in the Mykolaiv region,\u201d the Russian defence ministry said.
\nRussia had first claimed the use of hypersonic missiles in what would be the first use in combat of the next-generation weapons a day earlier.
\nAfter Russian claim of striking a Ukrainian arms depot with hypersonic missiles, Ukraine called on China to join the West in condemning \u201cRussian barbarism\u201d.
\nThat attack, not far from the country\u2019s western Romanian border, came as Russia said its troops had broken through Ukrainian defences to enter the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, a scene of mounting desperation.
\nWith the invasion in its fourth week, Kyiv\u2019s embattled leader Volodymyr Zelensky pressed for \u201cmeaningful\u201d talks to halt fighting that has forced at least 3.3 million Ukrainians to flee their country.
\nThe plea for China to condemn the invasion came from a top Zelensky advisor, Mikhailo Podolyak.
\nChina could play an important role in global security, he said on Twitter, \u201cif it makes a right decision to support the civilised countries\u2019 coalition and condemn Russian barbarism.\u201d
\nWhile Western countries have shown unity in the face of an invasion whose brutality has been clearly documented on social media, China has so far refused to condemn it.
\nRussia\u2019s claim Saturday to have unleashed its new hypersonic Kinzhal missile would mark a dramatic new escalation of its campaign to force Ukraine to abandon hopes of closer ties with the West.
\nUkrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat told AFP that the arms depot in the western village of Deliatyn had indeed been hit but \u201cwe have no information of the type of missile\u201d.
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin, who unveiled the Kinzhal missile in 2018, has termed it \u201can ideal weapon\u201d that flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it extremely difficult for missile defenses to intercept.
\nIn another setback, Ukraine officials admitted they had \u201ctemporarily\u201d lost access to the Sea of Azov, though Russia has effectively controlled the coastline for weeks after surrounding Mariupol.
\n\u2018Time to meet\u2019
\nZelensky on Saturday again appealed for peace, urging Russia to accept \u201cmeaningful\u201d talks in his latest video posted on social media.
\n\u201cThis is the time to meet, to talk, time for renewing territorial integrity and fairness for Ukraine,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cOtherwise, Russia\u2019s losses will be such that several generations will not recover.\u201d
\nBut as in previous negotiations there appeared to be little progress in reaching a ceasefire.
\nRussia carried out air raids on Saturday on the southern city of Mykolaiv in quick succession, Vitaly Kim, head of the regional administration, said, a day after a deadly strike on a military barracks there.
\nLess than 100 kilometres to the southeast, Ukraine claimed that a Russian general had been killed by strikes on an airfield outside Kherson, just north of Crimea. Ukraine said he was the fifth top-ranking officer killed since the invasion began on February 24.
\nBritish Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Saturday that Moscow was using talks as a \u201csmokescreen\u201d as it carried out \u201cappalling atrocities\u201d.
\nFierce resistance has managed to stall Russian forces outside Kyiv and several other cities in the east, making them vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks against supply lines.
\nBritain\u2019s defence ministry said that Russia has been forced to \u201cchange its operational approach and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is likely to involve the indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties,\u201d it warned.
\nFighting rages
\nFriday\u2019s attack on the arms depot was the latest strike in western Ukraine, which until a few days ago had remained relatively unscathed by Russia\u2019s push toward key cities from the north and east.
\nAlso on Friday, Russian forces destroyed an aircraft repair plant near the airport of Lviv, the city where millions of people have fled as rockets and shelling continue to rain down on Kyiv.
\nIn Mariupol, rescuers were still searching Saturday for hundreds of people trapped under the wreckage of a bombed theatre where more than 1,000 people had been seeking shelter when it was struck on Wednesday.
\nThere was still no information about potential fatalities, Zelensky said, but 130 people had been saved so far, some \u201cheavily injured.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is no longer Mariupol, it\u2019s hell,\u201d said resident Tamara Kavunenko, 58. \u201cThe streets are full with the bodies of civilians.\u201d
\nAfter weeks cut off from food, water and electricity, the situation in Mariupol has become \u201cextremely dire,\u201d the UN refugee agency said Friday.
\nTweeting a photo of the wrecked theatre, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked multinational companies that were \u201cstill working with or in Russia: how can you keep doing business with them?\u201d
\nHis question echoed comments by Zelensky during a live video address to a Swiss rally in which he blasted firms such as Nestle for not severing ties.
\nAppeals to China
\nRussia\u2019s ally China told US President Joe Biden on Friday that the war was \u201cin no one\u2019s interest,\u201d but showed no sign of giving in to the pressure to join Western condemnation of Russia.
\nBiden warned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of \u201cconsequences\u201d for any financial or military aid for Russia, a move that could turn the standoff into a global confrontation.
\nPutin appears undeterred by further threats or sanctions, holding a triumphalist rally in Moscow on Friday to mark eight years since Russia\u2019s seizure of Crimea, saying his goal in Ukraine was \u201cto rid these people from their suffering and genocide.\u201d
\nRussia wants Ukraine to disarm and disavow all Western alliances, in particular to renounce joining NATO or to seek closer integration with the European Union \u2014 steps that Kyiv says would turn it into a vassal state of Moscow.
\nRussia\u2019s top negotiator said Friday that Moscow and Kyiv had brought their positions \u201cas close as possible\u201d on a proposal for Ukraine to become a neutral state.
\nBut Podolyak, the Zelensky advisor, said his country\u2019s position had not budged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Launch of Russian missiles results in destruction of fuel storage site in southern side of Ukraine Mykolaiv Russia said Sunday it had again fired its newest hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, destroying a fuel storage site in the country\u2019s south. \u201cKinzhal aviation missile systems with hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large storage site for fuels and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[5162,338,456],"class_list":{"0":"post-250463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-hypersonic-missiles","9":"tag-russia","10":"tag-ukraine"},"yoast_head":"\n