Russian strikes on Ukraine kill 8

TARGETING “CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE”

“This past week, the Russians launched more than 2,200 attack drones against Ukraine, as well as around 1,650 aerial bombs and 38 missiles of various types, a significant number of them ballistic missiles,” Zelenskyy posted on social media.

The strikes had targeted housing “and other civilian infrastructure” in various parts of the country, he added

In Moscow, Russia’s defence ministry said it bombed a Kyivstar data centre in Kyiv and another belonging to the Omega Telecom company, claiming that the firms were providing services to the Ukrainian army.

It also released an image of a drone bearing the ironic message “Digital Detox”, confirming that the strikes were aimed at disrupting internet access in Ukraine.

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the UN General Assembly his country intended to continue its military campaign “to the end”.

Russia denies that it aims at civilian targets.

The defence ministry also said that Russian forces had seized the border village of Khrypuny in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, where Russia controls pockets of land. 

Russia does not claim the Kharkiv region as its own – unlike the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson region. Throughout the war however, it has attacked the region and seized land there. 

The Kremlin has repeatedly said it intends to seize the rest of east Ukraine.

US-led talks to end the war have failed to produce a breakthrough and the UN has highlighted the growing civilian toll as the two sides become more entrenched.